Latest news with #FelixTorres
Newsweek
08-08-2025
- Sport
- Newsweek
Former Angels Third Baseman Passes Away
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Felix Torres, a pioneering Puerto Rican baseball player who spent three seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, died Friday. He was 93. The mayor's office of his hometown of Santa Isabel confirmed the news of Torres' death to Newsweek Sports. More news: Legendary MLB Coach, Scout Who Starred in Japan Passes Away Torres was 30 years old when he debuted as the Angels' Opening Day third baseman in 1962. Over the next three seasons, he would hit .254 with 27 home runs and 153 RBIs in 365 games. A detailed view of an Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hat and a catching glove is seen during the sixth inning of the MLB game between the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Los... A detailed view of an Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hat and a catching glove is seen during the sixth inning of the MLB game between the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on July 15, 2018 in Los Angeles. MoreThe Angels selected Torres in the December 1961 Rule 5 draft after he slashed .278/.321/.474 for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, a Philadelphia Phillies Triple-A affiliate. More news: Yankees World Series Champion, St. Louis' Last AL All-Star, Dies at 97 By then, Torres was already a hometown hero in Santa Isabel, and a veteran of more than 10 seasons of baseball in Puerto Rico and the affiliated minor leagues. In 1953 he participated in the World Amateur Baseball Championship in Venezuela, helping Puerto Rico to a sixth-place finish. In 1960 he hit three home runs in the annual Caribbean Series. Torres became the first native of Santa Isabel and the 21st Puerto Rican to appear in a major league game when he was chosen the Angels' Opening Day third baseman by manager Bill Rigney in 1962. More news: Former American League All-Star Pitcher Passes Away The language barrier was a significant one for Torres as a rookie. Not until Puerto Rican-born pitcher Julio Navarro made his debut in September did the Angels have a fluent bilingual speaker in the clubhouse. "Felix was lost here," Angels infielder Leon Wagner told Jackie Robinson in the 1964 book Baseball Has Done It. "He had a wife and couldn't get an apartment and only had two words of English: 'money' and 'beefsteak' . . . I went out and got the apartment for him." More news: MLB News: Former Mets GM Slams Angels For Deadline Trade Angels trainer Freddie Federico told author Samuel Octavio Regalado in the book Viva Baseball! that, when Torres complained of a sore arm, "I worked on his left arm for a couple of days before I discovered he was right-handed." Torres played no fewer than 100 games in his three seasons with the Angels. But by Year 3, he was beginning to cede more playing time, and he believed his salary reflected a similar sentiment from the Angels' front office. Torres told the Associated Press in March 1965 that he made $12,500 in each of his first three seasons and was willing to hold out for $15,000. More news: MLB Trade Deadline: Angels Make Surprising Deal for High Leverage Relievers The holdout did not work. Torres didn't log an at-bat until the Puerto Rican Winter League season began. His career in MLB was over. Torres would play two more seasons in the affiliated minor leagues, with the Seattle Angels in 1966-67, but was not promoted. After retiring as a player, Torres returned home to the southern coast of Puerto Rico. He was inducted into the Ponce Sports Immortals Gallery in 1985. In 2012, he was honored with the Francisco "Pancho" Coimbre Atiles Award, which recognizes outstanding professional baseball players in Puerto Rico. For more MLB news, visit Newsweek Sports.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fear of ongoing ICE raids impacting coastal farming communities
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. - Along the San Mateo County coast, it's the time of year when attention turns toward luring vacationers and sightseers. But many migrants who work the nearby farm fields said they're leery because the current political climate makes it difficult for them to feel safe. "We're all hardworking Latinos working in these fields. And it's very sad for the children, for example, who may have been born in this country and their parents may not be documented," said Felix Torres, standing in a field not far from Highway-1 in Half Moon Bay. The Trump administration's continued nationwide crackdown on undocumented migrants has led to arrests and uncertainty. In Half Moon Bay, city officials said their non-profit social improvement partners have reported that fewer people in the past few months have accessed social services out of fear they could be targeted by ICE agents. "Folks who normally attend some of our non-profit partners' emergency services as far as food, childcare, housing assistance, there's been a decline in attendance, because there's fear because of ICE or other immigration-related topics going to the different non-profits," said Julissa Acosta, a management analyst for the city's community services department. Added Sandra Sension, "We are very aware of what's going on in our country right now." She is a farmworker program director with ALAS in Half Moon Bay. She said they're doing outreach five days a week in an attempt to keep the farming community calm and increase awareness of what is and isn't legal. "We've been hosting several know your rights trainings within our community, distributing the know your rights cards. Here at ALAS we have opened up a fund to be able to bring on a full-time immigration attorney and paralegal," she said. President Donald Trump on Thursday signaled an easing of strict immigration enforcement for farm and hotel workers. "We can't take farmers and take all their people and send them back because they maybe don't have what they're supposed to have, maybe not," Mr. Trump said. For Felix Torres, who came into the country under amnesty during President Ronald Reagan's second term in office and is now living under President Trump's second term, there is hope the ICE raids and the mood of the country will make a shift for the better. "What we are asking right now of the current president is to touch his heart, feel for our community that is hurting and put an end to these ICE raids and separation of these hard-working families," Torres said. The president said there will be a policy statement addressing this in the next few days. Jesse Gary is a reporter based in the station's South Bay Bureau. Follow him on the Instagram platform, @jessegontv and on Facebook, @JesseKTVU.
