by Joe Torre
Arthur Richmond for suggesting to The Boss that he hire me.
A family of loving all-stars: my son, Michael, and his family; my daughters, Cristina and Lauren; my late brother, Rocco, and his dear wife, Rose; my mentor, brother Frank; my sisters, Rae and Sister Marguerite; my grandchildren, Kendra, Dylan, Talisa and Reed; all my nieces and nephews; my really cool late father-in-law, Big Ed Wolterman; and my equally cool mother-in-law, Lucille; plus Ali's 15 siblings and their children.
Joe Ponte, my best man and dear friend.
Katie, my very special sister-in-law.
C2 Matt Borzello, my childhood buddy, for being there, and here, and there, and here …
Joe Platania and Arthur Sando, my devoted friends, who are the Oscar and Felix of my life.
Billy Crystal, the former Yankee, for his enduring friendship.
Don Zimmer and Mel Stottlemyre, for being the greatest bookends any manager could ever have. I wouldn't have been able to do it without them.
Drs. Bill Catalona and Howard Scher, for getting me through some tough times.
Dal Maxvill, for getting me back in the game.
Chris Romanello, my assistant, for trying to keep me organized.
Maury Gostfrand, for continuing to be my go-to guy.
John Wooden, for teaching us all the principles of coaching.
George Kissell, for teaching me more about baseball than anyone.
Sonny, a treasured family friend.
My players and staff members, without whom it would not have been possible.
The fans, both those who cursed and those who cheered.
And, for everyone I forgot, thanks for understanding.
Tom Verducci
This book is many years and many opportunities in the making. The year of 1993, for instance, and the opportunity given me then by Mark Mulvoy of Sports Illustrated are most definitely embedded in these pages. Everyone needs someone to believe in them, and Mark believed in me. He hired me in 1993 to work at Sports Illustrated, which was and still is the most evolved form of sports writing to be found. Like a kid getting a roster spot on the 1998 Yankees, I learned and grew from being in the company of the very best, including all-stars such as Gary Smith, Jack McCallum, Rick Reilly and Richard Hoffer. Bill Colson, Mark's successor, was no less an important source of support for me.
Education and the importance of teamwork never stop. I am fortunate enough today to work for a wise and kind man named Terry McDonell, who understood the rigors of this project and generously afforded me the breathing room to confront them. I am indebted to his graciousness. Likewise, Chris Stone at SI was and remains the writer's best friend: a trusted editor who respects the difficulty and the art of telling stories with words. This book would not be possible without his counsel and understanding.
Heartfelt thanks, too, must be sent to David Bauer, Mike Be-vans, Larry Burke, Paul Fichtenbaum, Rob Fleder, Dick Friedman, Damian Slattery, Melissa Segura and all the fine editors and reporters at SI whose influences are part of these pages. The reporting in this book often reflects and draws on my reporting and writing at SI in the years of the Torre Era. Steroids and the Yankees consumed many of my assignments at the magazine in those years. Thanks, too, to Nate Gordon for not just putting up with me pestering him for photos while he was traveling the world, but also for coming through in the clutch.
I must also express my extreme gratitude for the existence of websites such as baseball-reference.com and retrosheet.org. Like cell phones, remote controls and titanium drivers, I don't know how we ever existed without them.
Special thanks go to the Yankee players themselves. The Yankees’ clubhouse can be perceived as a tightly closed society, but when you begin to understand the Yankees as people and not just ballplayers, you start to understand who they are and catch glimpses of their soul. I was fortunate enough to see the kindness in almost all of them, though those who went above and beyond a baseline of cooperation deserve special mention, including David Cone, Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi, Derek Jeter, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera.
Similarly, I have found the general managers, owners and executives of major league teams to be extraordinarily eager to discuss the sport we love, and special thanks from that group must be accorded to Billy Beane, Theo Epstein, Bud Selig and Mark Shapiro.
The people who are most responsible for bringing this book to life were the ones I knew were there for me every day. David Black, my literary agent, believed in me long before I believed in myself. Every writer should be so lucky as to have a confidante like David in his corner, and not just because he knows the most fabulous places to eat lunch in New York. Bill Thomas, my editor at Dou-bleday, kept a cool head and sharp wit while up against an unforgiving production schedule and cruel economic times for the publishing industry and beyond. His enthusiasm for the project, especially as the pages came in, meant the world to me.
Of course, extra special thanks to Joe Torre. He gave this project far more than his name. He gave it his sincere care and attention, and for that I am extremely grateful. Above all, I thank him, as you should, for his unblinking honesty. What may be the last dynasty in baseball, and one of the most eventful eras in baseball history, has been illuminated by the honesty of a man who saw it all up close. Best of all, he knows only one way to share it: by telling the truth. He neither ran from the truth nor attempted to so much as bend it.
Finally, and most of all, I am thankful for the love and support from my wife, Kirsten, and our sons, Adam and Ben. I am incomplete without them, and having to give this book the time and attention it required often left me missing them. Kirsten, Adam and Ben, I am forever grateful for your understanding, but most of all, for your love.
When Torre was named Yankee manager on November 2, 1995, he was not a popular choice.
Jim Leyritz's 8th-inning home run against Atlanta in Game 4 of the 1996 World Series was a pivotal moment in the Yankees’ comeback from a 0-2 deficit in the series.
The big hit in the clinching Game 6 was a triple by Yankees catcher Joe Girardi. It was the Yankees’ first title in 18 years.
John Wetteland, the Yankees closer and World Series MVP in 1996. As good as Wetteland was, he was let go to make room for Mariano Rivera the following season.
Bernie Williams was a force at the plate and a Gold Glove-caliber center fielder. Classy and graceful, Williams won a batting title and was one of the best clutch hitters in play-off history.
Paul O'Neill and Tino Martinez epitomized the intensity and selflessness that characterized the great Yankee teams and were adored by the fans.
Scott Brosius was a terrific defensive third baseman, who played hard and handled the bat well.
Andy Pettite never was considered the ace of the staff, yet won 170 games in a Yankee uniform and pitched brilliantly in many big games.
Jorge Posada emerged as an offensive force at catcher and was the most vocal and fiery force in the clubhouse.
The greatest closer in baseball history and the essential element in the Yankees’ dominance: Mariano Rivera.
The unquestioned star of the Yankees was shortstop Derek Jeter, who combined Hall of Fame-level skills with a team-first mind-set, a ferocious competitive drive, a willingness to play hurt, matinee-idol looks, and an aptitude for great plays in key situations. The bond between Torre and Jeter was unshakable.
Torre handled the notoriously brutal New York media with aplomb and honesty.
Early on, Torre stood up to owner George Steinbrenner, earning his respect. Steinbren -ner was unpredictable and volatile, but the emotional owner gave Torre space as long as the Yankees kept winning championships.
Torre often was criticized for his management of the pitching staff, mostly involving players who had not earned his trust. But for years, the Yankees were successful because the team rarely lost when leading after six innings.
Steinbrenner and the front office people in Tampa often tried to get to Torre by attacking his coaches, espe
cially pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre and bench coach Don Zimmer. Zimmer would leave with some bitterness after 2003.
The Yankees’ storied past was both an inspiration and a burden to the team and to Torre. Yogi Berra had stayed away from the Stadium for many years after a feud with Steinbrenner, but returned often after a reconciliation, to the delight of the fans.
Reggie Jackson was a special advisor to the team. He tried to help Alex Rodriguez with the pressures of being a superstar in New York.
Torre considered General Manager Brian Cashman a good friend, but by the end of his time in the Bronx they had grown apart.
The incredible 1998 season, in which the Yankees won 114 games in the regu lar season, was highlighted by David Wells's perfect game on May 17, 1998.
Scott Brosius was the MVP of the 1998 World Series in which the Yankees swept the Padres.
Another title season in 1999, another perfect game, this time by veteran righthander David Cone.
1999 was the first season Roger Clemens pitched for the Yankees. He won two World Series titles and a Cy Young Award in 2001 but later allegations about steroid use would cloud his legacy with the team.
2000 was the last championship year for Torre's Yankees, as they beat the Mets in the “Subway Series.” A key play in the epic, 12-inning Game 1 was Derek Jeter's off-balance laser relay throw to Jorge Posada, which nailed Timo Perez at the plate and snuffed a Met rally
Jeter, who was the MVP of the 2000 Series, celebrates the Yankees’ third straight title with Torre.
The 2001 World Series was one of the best ever played, heightened by the emotional charge of the September 11th attacks.
Scott Brosius's home run in the bottom of the 9th in Game 5 tied the score, and the Yankees went on to win—a night after Derek Jeter had won the game in the bottom of the 10th with a walk-off home run. But the Yankees lost in the 7th game on a very rare blown save by Mariano Rivera.
Torre did not fully endorse the Yankees’ signing of Jason Giambi, a prodigious hitter with limited defensive skills. He put his objections in writing to Steinbrenner, so he couldn't be accused later of asking for Giambi if the acquisition did not work out.
Chuck Knoblauch was an All-Star second baseman and a key member of the Yankees’ title teams from 1998-2000, but he developed a mysterious inability to throw to first base, an affliction that hastened his decline.
2003 featured a season-long battle with the Red Sox, peppered by a brawl during Game 3 of the ALC series that started when Pedro Martinez beaned role player Karim Garcia. In the dugout Martinez pointed to his head and then at Jorge Posada, infuriating Posada and the Yankees. In the melee Martinez threw Don Zimmer to the ground. The bad feelings persisted and when the Yankees won the pennant in one of the greatest Game 7's ever, the vindication was sweet. It was the last moment of grandeur for Torre's Yankees.
Andy Pettite and Roger Clemens were the best of friends. When the Yankees let Pettite leave after the 2003 season, many Yankee fans felt it was a terrible mistake. Clemens, who had retired with some fanfare, joined Pettite with the Astros and took them to their first World Series in 2005. Later, when allegations that Clemens was a steroid user came out, Pettite tearfully revealed that he had once used human growth hormone to recover from an injury. Pettite returned to the Yankees in 2007 and pitched effectively.
The high-priced free agent pitcher Kevin Brown, whom Cashman brought in to anchor the rotation when Pettite and Clemens left the team. Thiry-nine years old at the time the Yan kees acquired him, Brown would distinguish himself by breaking his hand by punching a wall and spending several weeks on the dis abled list, retreating to the clubhouse in the middle of a start and telling Torre he wanted to quit, and getting shellacked for 2 runs in the first inning of Game 7 of the 2004 American League Championship against the Red Sox.
The trade for Alex Rodriguez signalled a deep change in the culture of the Yankees. A-Rod was one of the greatest players in the history of the game, but his obsession with his own statistics, his strained relationship with Derek Jeter, his failure to per form in the clutch, and his penchant for creating media circuses did not endear him to his teammates, or the Yankee fans. Torre appreciated having someone of A-Rod's talents on the team (he did win two MVP Awards under Torre), but dealing with his complicated psyche and the clubhouse distractions he created became wearying.
The Yankees playoff run in 2007 ended in a cloud of bugs on a warm September night in Cleveland. Torre says the biggest mistake he ever made as Yankee manager was not pulling his team from the field.
Through it all, it was a job Torre loved. When the Yankees, no longer controlled by an ailing Steinbrenner, forced him out, an era ended.
DOUBLEDAY
Copyright © 2009 by Anjoli, Inc. and Tom Verducci
All Rights Reserved
www.doubleday.com
DOUBLEDAY and the DD colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Torre, Joe, 1940-
The Yankee years / by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci. — 1st ed.
p.cm.
1. Torre, Joe, 1940-2. Baseball managers—New York (State)— New York—Biography. 3. New York Yankees (Baseball team). I. Verducci, Tom. II. Title.
GV865.T64A3 2009
796.357092—dc22
[B] 2008052628
eISBN: 978-0-385-52938-9
v3.0