How would you like to be the highest paid individual in your profession? Most people would like to have such a distinction, but one person who did not was New York Yankees Manager Joe Torre, who turned down $5 million for a one-year contract to return to the helm of the baseball team.
Much has been made of Torre’s refusal of management’s offer; many side with the skipper who feel it was time for Torre to move on from the team he has managed for 12 seasons. Others feel Torre has thumped his nose at the team that pulled him from managerial obscurity and hurled him into the managerial elite by amassing 1,173 wins and 767 losses under Torre’s direction.
Most who are critical of his decisions not to return only see the dollars offered to Torre; though the sum was $1.5 million less than what he earned for this season, Torre still would have been the highest paid manager in baseball (Chicago Cubs manager Lou Pinella will earn $3.5 million next year). However, the contract offered to Torre was only for one year. One more season in the sun is all the Yankees were willing to give to the man who was the sole manager in charge of a team that had seen nine different skippers in the 11 years prior to Torre’s arrival in New York.
Granted, much of the success of the team can be attributed to the talented roster that the Yankees field. The Yankees have produced 15 Hall of Fame members.
The decision to field which players at what positions on whichever game day is left up to the manager, and in this capacity Torre has shined. During his tenure in the Bronx, Torre has racked up 12 post-season appearances, 10 AL East titles, six AL pennants and four World Series titles.
Under the nine managers before Torre, the Yankees had only been to the post season once. Players matter, no doubt, but one cannot deny the influence Torre had on turning the Yankees around from a laughing stock to one of the most winning and consistent teams in baseball.
Though the Yankees have not returned to the Fall Classic since 2003 and suffered a humiliating loss to their arch foes the Boston Red Sox in 2004 by blowing a 3-games-to-none lead in the series, Joe Torre is still the right man for the job as manager of the Yankees.
Torre’s ability to be calm under the scrutiny of the New York media and unflappable response to a fan base accustomed to winning daily lends much to his stoic character and unrelenting pursuit of a return each year to the playoffs. He was a mild-mannered man on the bench and rarely (if ever) lost his cool on the field when arguing a call with an umpire. Torre managed the egos of multi-million-dollar superstars on a daily basis and the outcome was a team who won 90 or more games 10 times during his 12-year reign.
Offering such a person only one more year in charge is a slap in the face, no matter the salary for that term. Torre has proven to be a winner and if faith were placed in him – via a multi-year contract offer – then he would certainly lead the Yankees to the playoffs again and another World Series title.
The Yankees will suffer through finding another manager. Torre has the track record but the team’s management no longer wants to back a winner. The Bronx has mediocrity to look forward to while the team which snaps up Torre – should he want to manage another team next year – will benefit from having a manager who knows how to win.
Lopez, an English senior, can be reached via [email protected]
