Torre’s hiring starts new Yankees dynasty
Before the World Series titles and the Hall of Fame induction, when Joe Torre was hired by the New York Yankees on Nov. 2, 1995, the media was far from impressed.
“Torre is just another guy seeing trees instead of forests,” Ian O’Connor wrote in his New York Daily News column, which ran the headline “Clueless Joe” on its back cover. “But danger lies ahead. Torre cut a deal with a baseball devil.”
“If Torre is the end of the star search, it will mean the search involved one phone call,” Mike Lupica wrote in the Daily News days before the hiring was announced.
But after 12 seasons with the Yankees, Torre proved that he was indeed a star – and one of the best managers in the game.
Prior to joining the Yankees, Torre was 894-1,003 in 14 years as a manager with the Mets, Cardinals and Braves, a winning percentage of .471. He had never won a playoff game as a skipper or a player.
Yankees Gear
Represent the all-time greats and know your purchase plays a part in preserving baseball history.
Be A Part of Something Greater
There are a few ways our supporters stay involved, from membership and mission support to golf and donor experiences. The greatest moments in baseball history can’t be preserved without your help. Join us today.
The Yankees had been good under previous manager Buck Showalter. After a 76-86 record in his first season, Showalter started turning the franchise around. In the strike-shortened 1994 season, the Yankees had the best record in the American League and returned to the playoffs in 1995 in the new Wild Card spot.
After the season, the team parted ways with Showalter. He finished with a .539 winning percentage over his four seasons.
Yankees owner George Steinbrenner turned to Torre, who had been dismissed by St. Louis the season before. He’d be working under an owner who was always demanding of his skipper. The Yankees, as evidenced by the 22 World Series titles they had won, wanted greatness.
"Hopefully, you go out and win, and when you win everybody's happy," Torre said in the New York Times. "I like to see smiles on people's faces. I worked for Ted Turner and Anheuser Busch. Those people are used to winning. They get very impatient when they don't, and I can understand that. I do, too."
Torre would prove to be the right move for the Yankees.
The 1996 edition of the Yankees, guided by star rookie Derek Jeter, sailed to a 92-70 record. Not only was it better than any regular season record under Showalter, it was the best record of Torre’s career.
New York went on to knock off the defending champion Atlanta Braves and win their first World Series since 1978.
“What was funny 11 months ago was fact last night. In Yankee Stadium, Joe Torre was trying to win a championship,” O’Connor wrote in the Daily News. “So we ate our words, bagged our cynicism. If the retraction comes a tad late, we offer it with sincerity.”
The Yankees kept improving under Torre. They went 96-66 in 1997, falling just short of a second-straight pennant. In 1998 they won 114 games, the most in AL history at the time, and won their first of three-straight World Series titles.
"When Bob (Watson, the Yankees’ general manager) called me, the realization of what the Yankees organization means hit me," Torre told the Times. "I was in the office where the World Series trophy sits. That's what it's all about for me. It's one missing piece to my puzzle in my career."
By his final season with New York in 2007, he had four of those World Series puzzle pieces and six total pennants.
Torre finished his time in the Bronx with 1,173 wins and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014.
Evan Gerike was the 2022 public relations intern in the Hall of Fame’s Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Youth Leadership Development
Related Stories
Torre, Rivera help make history at Game 3 of 2001 World Series
Yankees' selection of Jeter launched a legend
Jeter named World Series MVP while capturing fourth ring
Yankees' acquisition of Raines helps kick-start dynasty
Torre, Rivera help make history at Game 3 of 2001 World Series
Yankees' selection of Jeter launched a legend
Jeter named World Series MVP while capturing fourth ring
