Antonio Torres (baseball)
{{short description|Colombian baseball manager}}
{{family name hatnote|Torres|López|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
| name = Antonio Torres
| image =
| position = Outfielder / Manager
| birth_date = {{birth date|1931|8|18|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Cartagena, Colombia
| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|12|16|1931|8|18|mf=y}}
| death_place = Cartagena, Colombia
| bats = Unknown
| throws = Unknown
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{{MedalSport|Men's baseball}}
{{Medal|Sport|Manager for {{bb|COL}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|Amateur World Series}}
{{MedalSilver|1971 Havana|Team}}
{{MedalCompetition|Pan American Games}}
{{MedalBronze|1971 Cali|Team}}
{{MedalCompetition|Bolivarian Games}}
{{MedalGold|1973 Panama City|Team}}
}}
Antonio Eduardo Torres López (August 18, 1931 – December 16, 2023), nicknamed "Manía," was a Colombian professional baseball player and coach. He managed the Colombia national baseball team in several international tournaments in the 1970s.
Career
Born in Cartagena, Torres grew up idolizing the exploits of pitcher Carlos "Petaca" Rodríguez, earning his nickname from imitating Petaca's facial expressions on the mound.{{cite news |title='Manía' Torres, el hombre del 'dream team' del béisbol colombiano |url=https://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/CMS-15424155 |access-date=10 May 2025 |agency=El Tiempo |date=27 January 2024}} As a teen, he played with the Cundinamarca team in the Colombian amateur championship, and became one of the first Colombian players to sign with an organized baseball team, joining the Baltimore Orioles organization.{{cite news |title=Murió Antonio "Manía" Torres López, leyenda del béisbol colombiano |url=https://www.eluniversal.com.co/deportes/2023/12/16/murio-antonio-mania-torres-lopez-leyenda-del-beisbol-colombiano/ |access-date=10 May 2025 |agency=El Universal |date=16 December 2023}}
In the Colombian Professional Baseball League, Torres played two seasons with the Indios de Cartagena, before being traded to Vanytor de Barranquilla in 1950.{{cite news |title='Manía' Torres, una vieja gloria del béisbol colombiano |url=https://www.elespectador.com/deportes/mas-deportes/mania-torres-una-vieja-gloria-del-beisbol-colombiano-article-615615/ |access-date=10 May 2025 |agency=El Espectador |date=9 February 2016}}{{cite news |title=Colombian Rosters |agency=The Sporting News |date=10 October 1956 |page=33}} With Vanytor, he participated in the 1958 Pan American Series, an international club tournament against the Leones de León of Nicaragua and Venados de Mazatlán of Mexico; he took on managerial duties for Vanytor after manager Ted Narleski returned to the United States.{{cite journal |title=The Pan-American Series of 1958 |journal=The National Pastime: A Review of Baseball History |date=Summer 1994 |issue=14 |page=70 |url=http://research.sabr.org/journals/files/SABR-National_Pastime-14.pdf}} He also managed Cinco Estrellas de Granada in the 1957 Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League.{{cite news |title=Ten Latin-American Winter Loops Now in O. B. Program |url=https://paperofrecord.hypernet.ca/paper_view.asp?PaperId=834&RecordId=1&PageId=7692692& |agency=The Sporting News |date=25 September 1957 |page=33}}
"Manía" Torres managed of the Colombia national team in appearances at eight Amateur World Series, two Pan American Games tournaments, two Bolivarian Games, and several minor tournaments and exhibitions. The "Sons of Mania" team won gold at the 1973 Bolivarian Games, earning Colombia its first gold medal in a competition traditionally dominated by Venezuela. He also collected three silver medals and three bronze medals.
After his coaching career, he became a recruiter for foreign players to come play in the Colombian leagues.{{cite news |title=SALINAS DIRIGIRÁ AL WILLARD |url=https://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/MAM-182888 |access-date=17 May 2025 |agency=El Tiempo |date=1 November 1991}}
Later life
Torres retired from baseball at age 65, and instead entered politics, as part of a group aligned with Álvaro Gómez Hurtado. He died on December 16, 2023, at his residence in Alto Bosque, Cartagena, after three years of battling coronary disease.{{cite web |title=In Memorian. Antonio Manía Torres: amor eterno por el béisbol |url=https://olimpicocol.co/web/in-memorian-antonio-mania-torres-el-beisbol-fue-su-alma/ |website=Olimpicocol.co |publisher=Colombian Olympic Committee |access-date=10 May 2025}} Following his death, he was honored with an award by the Colombian Olympic Committee for his contributions to baseball in the country.{{cite news |title=Premios Altius: Colombia y sus atletas sobresalientes |url=https://www.aips-america.com/premios-altius-colombia-y-sus-atletas-sobresalientes/ |access-date=10 May 2025 |agency=AIPS America |date=19 January 2024}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Baseballstats|mlb=|espn=|br=|fangraphs=|brm=torres015ant}}
{{Colombia national baseball team managers}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torres, Antonio}}
Category:Colombian expatriate baseball people in the United States
Category:Colombian expatriate sportspeople in Nicaragua