Joe Torre

From ArticleWorld

Joe Torre was born in Brooklyn, New York on July 18, 1940. He played professional baseball for 18 years in the National League before he became a manger in 1977. He has managed each of the teams he played for including the Atlanta Braves, the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets. He was chosen to be the manager of the New York Yankees in 1995.

Player

Joe Torre began his major league baseball career with the Braves in 1960 as a catcher. On occasion, Torre would play first base as well. He was voted to play in the MLB All-Star Game from 1963-1967 while a member of the Braves’ team. I 1965, he won a Golden Glove award. In 1969, he was traded to the Cardinals as a first baseman. In 1970, when the Cardinal’s catcher Tim McCarver was traded to the Phillies, Torre moved back behind the plate. During the 1971 season, however, the Cardinals’ manager moved Torre yet again - this time to third base. That year, Torre let the National League (NL) with two of the Triple Crown categories – RBI (137) and batting average (.363) and was named the National League’s Most Valuable Player (MVP). He was again nominated to the NL All-Star Team while he was with the Cardinals. In 1975, Joe Torre was traded to the New York Mets and played there until his decision to retire and become a manager in 1977.

Manager

In 1977, Joe Torre was chosen to be the Mets’ manager. Since he felt he could not be both player and manager, he decided to retire from playing after 18 years and concentrate on managing instead. He managed the Mets until 1981 when he took over the managing spot for the Braves. During his first season as the Braves’ manager, Torre helped get them to the NL Division Title. He left the Braves in 1984 and became a broadcaster. In the 90’s, Joe Torre became the manager for the Cardinals. Though he was a good manager, he was unable to get his team to the playoffs and was fired in 1995.

New York Yankees

Joe Torre is best known as the manager for the New York Yankees. He joined the club in November of 1995 and received immediate criticism. Joe had never played for or managed and American League team before and the press was harsh. They called him “Clueless Joe” and mocked his managerial skills. It was Torre who had the last laugh. As of the 2005 season, The New York Yankees and appeared in every post season and have won four World Series’ titles and six American League pennants. In 2003 Torre recorded his 1,500th managerial win and in 2005 he recorded his 900th career win with the New York Yankees.