Berating personal until they cried, Calling Mangers on the Field during a game, Threatening to move the Team to New Jersey just to upset people.
Posted on 07/28/2014 1:19:41 AM PDT by nickcarraway
The former Yankees manager spoke for 28 minutes Sunday in Cooperstown, making only a passing reference to Steinbrenner. Torre immediately regretted the omission, saying that he 'missed thanking the most obvious guy in the world.'
Joe Torre certainly didn’t look like a guy who had just fulfilled a lifelong dream and taken his place amongst baseball’s all-time greats. Just moments after finishing his Hall of Fame speech Sunday, Torre’s face was ashen. He was frowning.
He was crestfallen that he had blown it by not talking more about what George Steinbrenner had done for him, what The Boss had meant to him. He had mentioned Steinbrenner, the man who hired him for the job that made his career, but Torre felt he did not do Steinbrenner justice and he knew it as he turned away from the podium.
“I missed thanking the most obvious guy in the world when you’re talking about the Yankees,” a visibly shaken Torre said after asking to make an opening statement at the post-speech press conference. “I mentioned George, but my plan was to thank him and the fact that we had a great relationship. It was so obvious that I was going to do it that I went past it, the whole Steinbrenner family.
“It was the proudest time in my whole career and I just feel terrible I omitted that.”
Torre, who had said the day before his speech would be unscripted, was inducted alongside fellow managers Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox and a heavyweight trio of players — Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas — in the 75th anniversary ceremonies. The Hall estimated that 48,000 fans attended, which would make it the third-largest crowd of all-time.
Joe Torre is upset following his speech in Cooperstown, saying he planned to address his relationship with George Steinbrenner but he ‘missed thanking the most obvious guy in the world when you’re talking about the Yankees.’ Torre was long praised as the manager who knew how to best handle Steinbrenner, who was known for his copious firings and hirings until Torre came along. Torre had a complicated relationship with the Yankees after his 12-year tenure ended badly in 2007 and there were hard feelings on both sides, but Torre said the relationship had been repaired. The Yankees even co-hosted a party in Torre’s honor with Major League Baseball at the Ommegang Brewery in Cooperstown Saturday.
Told he looked upset Sunday, Torre said, “I am. I’m very upset. I was with Hal (Steinbrenner) last night and I gave all my accolades last night. Being with the Yankees and you don’t get accepted without George’s acceptance. It was just so obvious for me, because I was so concerned about my family, making sure I didn’t forget anybody, I forgot (trainer) Gene Monahan, too, and I had written him down.”
Torre only mentioned Steinbrenner when he recounted his hiring as manager. “And then the call came from George Steinbrenenr that says, ‘You’re my man,’ ” Torre said. “Well, I know George’s history and I know my brother, Frank, said, ‘You’re crazy.’ But I knew if I was ever going to find out if I was going to do this stuff, this was going to be my best opportunity.”
Will there be hard feelings in the Yankees’ corridors of power? Yanks GM Brian Cashman said he didn’t think so. “He did mention George and he did say, ‘Let’s cut to the chase, I’m here because of the New York Yankees,’ ” Cashman said in a telephone interview.
“The Yankees are George. Everyone knows how much George appreciated Joe and how much Joe appreciated George. I don’t think there’s any issue.
“It was a beautiful day, a wonderful day. This day was about celebrating Joe and his career. No worries. There are no issues. I wouldn’t predict there would be. I feel bad that he feels bad.”
Torre did manage to perk up a bit when he was asked what would have happened if Steinbrenner were still alive. “That would’ve made me feel better, at least he would’ve yelled at me: ‘You ungrateful, such and such.’ ”
Torre did not forget to thank Yankee fans.
Cooperstown Recap Anthony McCarron recaps the day when Joe Torre and others were inducted Sunday, July 27, 2014 during Hall of Fame Induction Day in Cooperstown, New...
“I’m here because of the fans, the fans, unbelievable,” he said. “And I’ve been around, all through the country, the fans have been great to me. But the fans in New York, I want to tell you, you have turned New York City into a small town for me. Thank you very much. Love you, too.”
During his speech, which took more than 28 minutes, Torre took a trip down memory lane that probably delighted those fans. As a way of mentioning many of his players, he talked about highlights from the Yanks’ World Series victories, from Joe Girardi’s triple in ’96 to Derek Jeter’s leadoff homer in Game 4 in 2000. He admitted to nerves, especially because he was standing in front of the 50 Hall of Famers, including his class, in attendance. “Managing was never like this,” Torre quipped.
He thanked the Mets, the first team to hire him as a manager, “for trusting me with the club. A great opportunity for me. A lot of learning, but great experience.”
He even cracked a few jokes: “I’ve always been a (Frank) Sinatra fan, but after 12 years with Mariano Rivera, Metallica sounds pretty good to me.”
‘Might as well cut to the chase,’ Joe Torre says as he's presented with his Hall of Fame plaque in Cooperstown, ‘I’m here because of the New York Yankees.'
Immediately afterward, though, he looked unhappy.
“They made my whole professional life,” Torre said. “I had a pretty good playing career and all that, but what you set out in baseball to do, is to get to the World Series and to have the opportunity to do that with George so many times was an incredible feeling.”
Screw Steinbrenner. Torre should be in as a player.
Steinbrenner was a crook who was convicted of a felony for plotting against his own players. He didn’t care about the players the game or the fans. It was all about money and power. Zelig never should have let him back into organized baseball after he was banned “for life”
Meant Bud Selig. Another useless person IMHO
Joe,Tony,Bobby,( what steroids) Hall of Famers!
i watched his speech on MLB.com skipping over parts of it (its 30 min long)....i think he purposely left out mentioning his father, who he had issues with (unless i missed that part)...
Berating personal until they cried, Calling Mangers on the Field during a game, Threatening to move the Team to New Jersey just to upset people.
He should have prepared his speech in advance. This is one of the biggest days of your life and you wing it. Why? Tom Glavin’s speech was excellent. Some of the other ones, not so much.
In a way, I agree with you. It was the few years Steinbrenner was banned from the Yankees that the team put together a nucleus of players through the farm system that resulted in the 1996-2003 great years for the team. In those years, two very likely first-ballot Hall of Famers, Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter—came up through the Yankees farm system.
Joe Torre, my favorite all time player. Had the pleasure of watching him, Hank Aaaron, Felipe Alou, Phil Niekro, Clete Boyer et al play at the Braves stadium many times.
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