After 12 seasons, 1,173 wins, 10 division titles, six American League pennants and four World Series championships, Joe Torre will not return as manager of the New York Yankees next season. As amazing as these numbers are, they still don’t truly do justice to the man who accepted the toughest job in professional sports and still made it look easy.
While working under the heavy hand of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and the relentless questioning of the New York media, Torre has done a remarkable job of anchoring his team during the roller-coaster rides that have come to define the Yankee’s seasons over the last few years. His calm demeanor and easy-going personality have always provided some stability for his players who face the pressures and expectations of winning every year.
However, Torre’s success has not come easy. He has had to overcome many obstacles to get to where he is today. He grew up in Brooklyn, NY, and had a very troubled childhood. As a child, he witnessed his father’s physical and emotional abuse of his mother for many years.
This left a lasting mark on Torre, the youngest of five siblings, culminating in his founding of the Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation which educates adults and children about domestic violence. Today the foundation operates in resource centers in New York and New Jersey called Margaret Houses, named in honor of Torre’s mother.
During the peak of the Yankee dynasty in 1999, Torre shocked the sports world when he announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Word of his diagnosis came five months after Yankee player Darryl Strawberry was diagnosed with colon cancer and two days after Yankee legend Joe DiMaggio died from complications from lung cancer surgery. He captivated baseball fans everywhere by maintaining the composure that he was always known for, and within two months he was back in the clubhouse with his team.
Torre’s personal challenges tested his resolve, his faith and his decision making. But instead of folding under the weight of the immense adversities he faced, he always fought back with courage, confidence and honor. As a result of his challenges, he gained qualities that have put him in a class by himself as a Major League manager.
Torre has exemplified the virtues of leadership and loyalty throughout his baseball career and his players have come to revere him for this. He led not by yelling and screaming like Lou Pinella or Ozzie Guillen, but instead by example. Yankees third base coach Larry Bowa said of Torre last week: “He treats everybody with respect, whether you’re a batboy, a coach or a trainer.”
His integrity and character inspired the people around him and motivated them to put their individual accomplishments aside to work together to achieve greater goals. He believed in all of his players and he could always be counted on to defend them from the media if they were attacked.
Torre’s loyalty to his players over the years has earned him a tremendous amount of respect from not only those he managed, but also from Yankee legends who are still involved with the organization.
Recently, his bench coach and former Yankee first baseman Don Mattingly said, “the two regrets that I had as a player are that I wish I would have had a chance to play with Thurman [Munson], and I wish I would have had a chance to play for Joe.”
This April, when the gates open for the final season of the old Yankee Stadium, Joe Torre will not be there. But what will always remain within its hallowed walls is the legacy of the man who overcame the odds to become the most decorated baseball manager of our generation.
As a Yankee, Torre demonstrated not only the leadership but the class and dignity of a true champion. His 12 years as manager may have come and gone, but the memories that he has helped to create will last a lifetime.
Tony Spadaccia is a freshman political science and business management major.
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