Born in
Detroit, Michigan, Tresh graduated from
Allen Park High School. He then attended
Central Michigan University. While Tresh played a majority of his games in the outfield, he opened the season for the Yankees at shortstop, filling in for
Tony Kubek, who was performing
military service. Not until
Derek Jeter in would another Yankee rookie shortstop start on Opening Day. He also played third base, with most of his games at third being played during the season. Tresh won both the
MLB Rookie of the Year and
The Sporting News Rookie of the Year awards in 1962, hitting .286, his career best, with 20
home runs and 93
runs batted in in 157 games. When Kubek returned during the 1962 season, Tresh was moved to
left field. In Game 5 of the
1962 World Series, he broke a 2–2 tie with a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning off San Francisco's
Jack Sanford, leading to a 5–3 Yankee win and a 3–2 series lead. Tresh hit 114
home runs from 1962 to 1966, with a career-high 27 in 1966, and he made the
American League All-Star team in 1962 and 1963. A
Gold Glove winner in 1965, he also homered from
each side of the plate in three games, including a doubleheader in that season in which he hit four home runs, three of them in the second game. In a nine-season career, Tresh was a .245 hitter with 153 home runs and 530 RBI in 1,192 games. Tresh died of a
heart attack at his
Venice, Florida, home on October 15, 2008. ==See also==