I Respect Joe Torre, But He's Wrong This Time

So Friday night I went to a car dealership and left with a car. Wasn’t planned; I was just looking, considering, speculating. But in my experience, and in concert with other key data like timing, price, and longevity, I made the decision to just do it. In the right hand corner behind the dealership finance guy’s desk was a baseball, signed by Joe Torre. I said to him, “I love that guy.” And I do. He led the Yankees through a lot of postseasons, and championships. He knows baseball and he knows how to work with, teach and grow players. He helped grow Derek Jeter. And in his earlier years, he was a player manager for the New York Mets. He is a smart guy. 

But, in a recent interview, loveable Joe Torre said that Aaron Boone knows baseball because he came from “baseball stock.” I have to respectfully disagree and if you read Casey’s piece, BOONE IS ABOUT PRIVILEGE, NOT TRUE HARD WORK, on Saturday, you know he does too. Here’s what Torre said according to MLB.com, “Boonie knows baseball,” Torre said. “He comes from baseball stock, from his grandfather [Ray] to his father [Bob] to his brother [Bret]. He knows what he is doing. You are going to be as good a manager as your players allow you to be. It just wasn’t to be [Tuesday night].” 

It wasn’t meant to be because this team was simply not strong enough, coached well enough and ready for big games like Tuesday night nor were they ready for the big teams they would face after the Wild Card. Poor decisions upstairs and in the dugout, decisions made with data and without the mental muscle behind data, and just an inexperienced coaching staff led to this season from hell. But this season is no different from the last three, honestly. The Yankees are not being led; they are being punished. Forced into algorithm by people who use numbers in isolation of human capital. 

“It’s tough. I’ve been on both ends — luckily the good more so than the bad. It’s not easy,” said Torre, who’s now a special advisor to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. “I was telling someone earlier, baseball is not a game you play, it’s the life you live. It doesn’t go away that quickly,” said Torre. And unfortunately, for Boonie and puppeteer Brian Cashman, they can’t relate with that statement. And that is infuriating for me and every other Yankee fan who invests time and money in this team year after year only to be disappointed by poor management of great players. 

I respect Joe Torre for his baseball knowledge, what he has given this sport and how he coached his players. But saying that “Boonie knows baseball…”crap is just so off base. Maybe he knows baseball, but teaching it, coaching it and elevating it when it counts, is a different story entirely. I simply cannot agree with Torre stating that being baseball-bred prepares you to coach. I hope that there is some ounce of Boss George in that front Yankee office, who would have fired Boone and Cashman a long ass time ago. 

–Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof