Joe Torre

Hall of Fame manager and player who led the Yankees to four World Series titles.

Joseph Paul Torre Jr. (born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive and former player, manager, and television color commentator. He has served as a special assistant to the commissioner of Major League Baseball since 2020. He previously served as Major League Baseball's chief baseball officer from 2011 to 2020. Torre ranks fifth all-time in MLB history with 2,326 wins as a manager. With 2,342 hits during his playing career, Torre is the only major leaguer to achieve both 2,000 hits as a player and 2,000 wins as a manager. From 1996 to 2007, he was the manager of the New York Yankees, and guided the team to six American League pennants and four World Series championships.

Quick Facts

Position

Catcher
First baseman
Third baseman
Manager

Born

18 July 1940

Birthplace

Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

Bats

Right

Debut league

MLB

Debut date

September 25

Debut year

1960

Debut team

Milwaukee Braves

Lore & Background

Torre's professional baseball career began as a player in 1960 with the Milwaukee Braves, as a catcher and first baseman. He also played for the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets, until becoming a manager in 1977, when he briefly served as the Mets' player-manager before retiring as a player. His managerial career covered 29 seasons, including tenures with the same three clubs for which he had played, and also stints with the Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers, until 2010. From 1984 to 1989, he served as a television color commentator for the California Angels and for NBC. After retiring as a manager, he accepted a role assisting the Commissioner as the executive vice president of baseball operations. A nine-time All-Star, Torre won the 1971 National League Most Valuable Player Award after leading the major leagues in batting average, hits, and runs batted in. After qualifying for the playoffs just once while managing the Mets, Braves, and Cardinals (leading the Braves to the 1982 NL West title, before losing in the NLCS), Torre's greatest success came as manager of the Yankees. His Yankee clubs compiled a .605 regular-season winning percentage and made the playoffs every year, winning four World Series titles, six AL pennants, and ten AL East division titles. In 1996 and 1998, he was the AL Manager of the Year. He also won two NL West division titles with the Dodgers, for a total of 13 division titles. In 2014, Torre was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Reader's Guide

Torre was born July 18, 1940, in Brooklyn, New York City, to Italian immigrants Margaret and Joseph Sr., a plainclothes officer in the New York City Police Department. He was the youngest of five children, with two brothers, Frank and Rocco, and two sisters, Rae and Josephine. Torre was raised in the Marine Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. He played baseball at Saint Francis Prep and for the Brooklyn Cadets. He converted to catcher on the advice of his brother Frank. Torre worked briefly at the American Stock Exchange after high school. He was signed by the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent in 1959. In his first minor league season with the Class C Eau Claire Braves, he won the Northern League batting championship with a .344 average. Torre made his major league debut on September 25, 1960. He played for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves (1960–1968), St. Louis Cardinals (1969–1974), and New York Mets (1975–1977). He won the 1971 NL MVP, a Gold Glove in 1965, and was a nine-time All-Star. As a manager, he led the Braves to the 1982 NL West title, the Yankees to six AL pennants and four World Series titles, and the Dodgers to two NL West titles.

Did You Know?

He won the 1971 National League MVP after leading the majors in batting average (.363), hits (230), and RBIs (137).
Torre hit the first major league home run at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium on April 12, 1966.