‘Last Comiskey’ filmmaker follows up with Torborg documentary

Arlington Heights filmmaker Matt Flesch is following up his documentary about the 1990 Chicago White Sox with a chronicle of the life of the team’s manager, Jeff Torborg.

“Jeff Torborg: A Wonderful Baseball Life,” goes live on YouTube Thursday. The link can be found at LastComiskey.com.

Torborg led a surprising White Sox team that went from a baseball afterthought to a playoff contender during the farewell season for Comiskey Park, the 80-year-old “Baseball Palace of the World.” His leadership earned him the American League Manager of the Year award.

The 1990 campaign is a huge part of the 90-minute video, Flesch said. But it also delves into what made Torborg a good manager and how he helped a young team to overachieve.

For this film, Flesch was not able to interview Torborg, who died in January. But he spoke to him several times during the making of his earlier documentary, “Last Comiskey.”

“He did say how much he liked it, and I know he watched it several times, and it meant a lot to him,” Flesch said.

Torborg's baseball journey began in New Jersey, where he grew up and attended Rutgers University. His playing career included catching some of baseball's most historic moments, including Sandy Koufax's perfect game in 1965, Bill Singer's no-hitter, and Nolan Ryan's first no-hitter.

The documentary features extensive interviews with former players, including ex-Sox Ozzie Guillen, Scott Fletcher and Wayne Edwards, as well as former major leaguers Ron Guidry, Kevin Millar and Ryan Dempster.

One revelation involves Torborg's influence on the White Sox uniform change in late 1990. During a dinner with team ownership, he suggested returning to the classic 1950s Sox look, saying, “Now that you have a new big league manager, why don't you get a big league uniform?”

Despite his success in Chicago, Torborg left after the 1991 season when it became apparent new GM Ron Schueler wanted to hire his own man. He and his family had grown to love Chicago, with his son Dale attending Northwestern University.

The documentary doesn't shy away from Torborg's later challenges, including his difficult tenure with the New York Mets, his short stint managing the 2003 World Series champion Florida Marlins and his battle with Parkinson's disease during his final 15 years. Family members, including his wife Suzie and sons Greg, Dale, and Doug, provide personal insights into his character.

“It's a character study of a great life, not just baseball, but a great life,” Flesch said. “It's chock full of really awesome stories from 1963 to 2003 and beyond.”

Dale Torborg, who later was the Sox strength and conditioning coach from 2004-2022 and a professional wrestler, served as a producer of the documentary.

“We believe that Matt ‘hit it out of the park’ with this film, which highlights both the impressive highs and crushing lows of my father’s baseball career and life journey,” he said.