BAMBINO: Things that are always certain in life; death, taxes, and Joe Torre leading the Yankees to the post season. Now, this great era in Yankees baseball comes to an end with Joe Torre rejecting a feeble offer by the Yankee Brass to retain him for another year. To me, the offer was an insult to a class act who was loved by his players and the fans. A guy who brought stability to a very unstable job in baseball, a guy who year in and year out led his team to the playoffs. A guy who had to deal with picadors within the organization who did nothing but question his moves and the way he handles his players. Joe Torre did not deserve any of the grief his employers laid on him.
CLUELESS JOE
I couldn't believe the headline in the NY Daily News when the Yanks hired Torre. I liked the idea from the start. I always knew that Torre was a good player and a good manager. He had a National League approach to the game which he implemented with the Yanks. He also had a very even keeled approach to dealing with the media. He was a regular guy from Brooklyn. How can you not like that? Well the Daily News ate crow over that headline several times.
THE 4 RINGS
Torre led the Yanks to their first WS Championship in 18 years when they shocked the Braves 4 games to 2 in the 1996 WS. To me that was all I needed to keep me warm at night as a Yankee fan. But no, Torre then led them to their best season in the history of the franchise in 1998 winning 125 and losing only 50 games en route to another Championship sweeping the Padres. 1999 saw Torre fall ill with prostate cancer and he missed some games, but he was back by the playoffs and the Yanks swept the Braves for yet another WS Title. His legacy was culminated in 2000 by being at the helm for a third straight WS Title, this time at the expense of the Mets in the first Subway Series since 1956.
6 AL PENNANTS
Joe led the Yanks to 6 World Series winning 4 of them. That's .666 winning Pct. The Yanks won the pennant in 2001 after the horrific 9/11 attacks and really captured the spirit of New York and the country. Unfortunately, the Diamondbacks had fate on their side as they rallied in the bottom of the 9th in Game 7 to take the series. Still the Yanks had nothing to hang their heads about. They did lose key players to retirement and other teams (O'Neill, Brosius, Tino). 2003 saw them play the Red Sox in the ALCS and the Yanks won Game 7 in 13 innings with Aaron Boone's walk off HR to take the AL Pennant. Again, it looked like fate with on the Yankees side. But the Florida Marlins had other plans. They beat the Yanks in 6 to take the title, celebrating on the Yankee Stadium field.
2004
Upper Management clearly never forgave Joe for the Yankees losing to Boston in the 2004 ALCS after being up 3-0 in the series. To me, it was the Baseball Gods giving Boston and their tortured fans, a taste of the victory well. I thought Torre made the right moves, but the Red Sox were a destined team. I got over it quickly.
2005, 2006, & 2007
The Yankees bounced back from the '04 debacle and won the division but lost to the Angels in the first round. George was livid, but still extended Joe's contract for 2 more seasons. 2006 saw the Yanks win another Division Title only to lose to the Tigers in the first round. 2007 saw them floundering the first 2 months of the season. After the All Star break, the Yanks were the best team in baseball and they clinched a Wild Card birth. I thought this was Torre's best work. He held the team together and ushered in the youth and the Yanks were the team to beat. Unfortunately, the Cleveland Indians out pitched them and beat the Yanks in the first round.
LEGACY
No matter what happened the last few seasons, Joe Torre cemented his legacy among the Yankee great managers and in the history of the game. He brought nothing but class and winning to a storied franchise. He led the Yanks to 4 WS Titles in a 3 tier playoff system where his great predecessors only had to win one series. His even keeled, never panic attitude helped me through tough times in my life. Thanks Joe for the memories. This was the best era that I have seen in my 40 years on earth.
ALL TIME YANKEE MANAGERS
1) Joe McCarthy - 1931-1946 (1460-867, 7 WS Titles, 8 AL Pennants)
2) Joe Torre - 1996-2007 (1173-767, 4 WS Titles, 6 AL Pennants) * 3 Tiers of playoffs.
3) Casey Stengel - 1949-1960 (1149-696, 7 WS Titles, 10 AL Pennants)
CLUELESS JOE
I couldn't believe the headline in the NY Daily News when the Yanks hired Torre. I liked the idea from the start. I always knew that Torre was a good player and a good manager. He had a National League approach to the game which he implemented with the Yanks. He also had a very even keeled approach to dealing with the media. He was a regular guy from Brooklyn. How can you not like that? Well the Daily News ate crow over that headline several times.
THE 4 RINGS
Torre led the Yanks to their first WS Championship in 18 years when they shocked the Braves 4 games to 2 in the 1996 WS. To me that was all I needed to keep me warm at night as a Yankee fan. But no, Torre then led them to their best season in the history of the franchise in 1998 winning 125 and losing only 50 games en route to another Championship sweeping the Padres. 1999 saw Torre fall ill with prostate cancer and he missed some games, but he was back by the playoffs and the Yanks swept the Braves for yet another WS Title. His legacy was culminated in 2000 by being at the helm for a third straight WS Title, this time at the expense of the Mets in the first Subway Series since 1956.
6 AL PENNANTS
Joe led the Yanks to 6 World Series winning 4 of them. That's .666 winning Pct. The Yanks won the pennant in 2001 after the horrific 9/11 attacks and really captured the spirit of New York and the country. Unfortunately, the Diamondbacks had fate on their side as they rallied in the bottom of the 9th in Game 7 to take the series. Still the Yanks had nothing to hang their heads about. They did lose key players to retirement and other teams (O'Neill, Brosius, Tino). 2003 saw them play the Red Sox in the ALCS and the Yanks won Game 7 in 13 innings with Aaron Boone's walk off HR to take the AL Pennant. Again, it looked like fate with on the Yankees side. But the Florida Marlins had other plans. They beat the Yanks in 6 to take the title, celebrating on the Yankee Stadium field.
2004
Upper Management clearly never forgave Joe for the Yankees losing to Boston in the 2004 ALCS after being up 3-0 in the series. To me, it was the Baseball Gods giving Boston and their tortured fans, a taste of the victory well. I thought Torre made the right moves, but the Red Sox were a destined team. I got over it quickly.
2005, 2006, & 2007
The Yankees bounced back from the '04 debacle and won the division but lost to the Angels in the first round. George was livid, but still extended Joe's contract for 2 more seasons. 2006 saw the Yanks win another Division Title only to lose to the Tigers in the first round. 2007 saw them floundering the first 2 months of the season. After the All Star break, the Yanks were the best team in baseball and they clinched a Wild Card birth. I thought this was Torre's best work. He held the team together and ushered in the youth and the Yanks were the team to beat. Unfortunately, the Cleveland Indians out pitched them and beat the Yanks in the first round.
LEGACY
No matter what happened the last few seasons, Joe Torre cemented his legacy among the Yankee great managers and in the history of the game. He brought nothing but class and winning to a storied franchise. He led the Yanks to 4 WS Titles in a 3 tier playoff system where his great predecessors only had to win one series. His even keeled, never panic attitude helped me through tough times in my life. Thanks Joe for the memories. This was the best era that I have seen in my 40 years on earth.
ALL TIME YANKEE MANAGERS
1) Joe McCarthy - 1931-1946 (1460-867, 7 WS Titles, 8 AL Pennants)
2) Joe Torre - 1996-2007 (1173-767, 4 WS Titles, 6 AL Pennants) * 3 Tiers of playoffs.
3) Casey Stengel - 1949-1960 (1149-696, 7 WS Titles, 10 AL Pennants)
No comments:
Post a Comment