Yankee Icon set to release new book detailing his thoughts on his Yankee Career I'm very upset to hear that Joe Torre, the best coach to wear pinstripes in the last forty years, has written a tell-all book detailing his time with the New York Yankees. As a fan, though, I'm also interested to see what he will say and what the true story was behind his bitter departure from a Yankees organization that forever shaped his legacy.
During The Joe Torre Era (1996–2007), Joe was known to fans and the media to be a player's coach who championed a 'keep it in the family' mindset when discussing clubhouse events to the public. Players loved him, the media loved him. He was always steadfast in his coaching style; fans never saw him lose his cool (unlike other Yankee coaches Billy Martin or Lou Piniella). Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera began and cultivated their careers under the watchful eyes of Torre and his staff. When New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner would blast his team's performance, either by attacking players individually or the team on the whole, Joe always stood by his men and implored Joe to keep calm. He was a bright spot in the minds of sports fans who hated the Yankees simply for buying talent away from other teams.
During his 12 years coaching the New York Yankees, arguably the most successful 12-year run by a Yankees team since the late 1960s, they never missed the post season and even won four World Series titles (the mecca of the baseball world).
Perhaps truly unaware of the hard work that went into coaching a successful team of extreme personalities in the most popular city in the world, George Steinbrenner tarnished the business relationship he had with Joe Torre in 2008 by offering him a new contract with performance-based incentives. We may never know what was said behind the closed doors of those meetings; but one thing is clear, George Steinbrenner didn't want to pay Jo Torre for a multi-year deal and Torre felt his not receiving a multi-year deal would garner much media scrutiny from the press. This, along with Steinbrenner's insistence on offering a 30% pay cut to Torre led to Torre leaving and signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Maybe the success Joe brought to the city had spoiled George Steinbrenner. Four world series titles in 12 seasons is an unreal achievement and to make the post season every year during a coach's tenure is also an amazing accomplishment. It's understandable for fans to be disappointed, then, when their favorite team doesn't get as far into the playoffs as they are accustomed. But to throw your coach under the bus for not winning the world series title every season? To express distaste for a system that had worked so well in the past 12 years? As a Yankees fan, I was totally disgusted by the behavior of some fans and by the way management tarnished Joe Torre's legacy.
Even the most casual sports fan could see that the team was trying to run Torre out of town because of a perceived failure to do his job, which as anyone who looks at Torre's record understands is so far from the truth. What makes me even more upset about his leaving is not the fact that the Yankees didn't make the playoffs and the Dodgers did, but the omission of Joe Torre's name or likeness during the Yankee Stadium closing ceremonies. Joe was not mentioned once, nor were any images displayed of him from the Joe Torre Era, New York's most successful stretch run since they were coached by Casey Stengel.
So am I going to read the book? Most definitely. Will I enjoy reading about the behind-the-scenes dynamics of his team? Yes, Yes! Will I be comfortable hearing my favorite baseball coach of all time blast some of his former players? Definitely Not! Even so, I'm glad Joe has gotten a chance to speak. I just hope reading this book, "The Yankee Years", written by Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci with Joe Torre and published by Doubleday, doesn't tarnish my personal views on Joe Torre.
