After Joe Torre Is Honored, the Yankees Gain a Win
It was just before the start of the 1996 baseball season, and Joe Torre, who had just been hired to manage the Yankees, needed a new uniform number. He wanted a single digit, and with his new team, there were only two choices: No. 2 or No. 6.
Neither number particularly spoke to him, so Torre he called his wife, Ali, who noted that he had worn No. 9 over the last nine years of his playing career. Why not flip it around?
'We turned nine around and made it six,' Torre said early Saturday afternoon, smiling at the memory. 'That's how scientifically we did that.'
Torre became the 18th person to have his number retired by the Yankees on Saturday. While the stands at Yankee Stadium were still filling up before the team's 5-3 win over the Chicago White Sox, Torre stood in Monument Park, beyond the center-field fence, and unveiled the plaque with his likeness and the No. 6 that would be added to the celebrated collection there.
Torre had an unsung career as a manager when he joined the Yankees, having been fired from his previous three jobs. When he finally left the Yankees after 12 seasons, he had four World Series rings.
'When you know the neighborhood you're in out there, it's pretty cool,' Torre said about Monument Park. 'It's unbelievable. I mean, this is the Yankees. You start talking about number retirements. This is the New York Yankees.'
The Yankees' storied past is more pleasant to reflect upon than their present. The team started the day three and a half games out of the second wild-card slot. But Torre's ceremony allowed the fans in the sellout crowd to bask in memories of happier times.
After unveiling his plaque, Torre rode to the infield in a golf cart. His wife was beside him; Yoga Berra was in the passenger seat. Sitting on chairs arrayed across the infield were 15 friends and colleagues, including seven players from the so-called dynasty years.
John Sterling, the team's radio announcer, read a proclamation from Mayor Bill de Blasio designating Aug. 23 as Joe Torre Day. Torre was lavished with gifts, including a 14-karat gold ring lined with diamonds.
The dedication on Torre's plaque was read aloud. It began, 'His calm approach and dignified manner provided the foundation for one of them most successful eras in franchise history.'
After all the gifts and tributes, Torre stepped to the podium and addressed the crowd, his voice welling with emotion. 'The one thing you never forget and never lose the feeling for is you people,' he said as he waved toward the stands.
He went down the line of guests, expressing his gratitude, telling jokes and sharing memories. He particularly beamed when he addressed his former players in attendance: David Cone, Hideki Matsui, Paul O'Neill, Tino Martinez, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte.
Then Torre turned to the dugout, where Derek Jeter, the only player left on the current team that he managed, was leaning over the railing, wearing the No. 2 jersey that Torre had decided against.
'There's one single digit left out there,' Torre said to Jeter, referring to Monument Park.
Jeter, who is playing his final season and will surely have his number retired as well, was given the day off Saturday.
The Yankees did fine without him. Hiroki Kuroda pitched six innings, allowing just two runs while striking out six White Sox batters.
Martin Prado drove in two runs, and Carlos Beltran hit a solo home run in the sixth inning to lead the Yankees' offense, which scored five runs for the first time since Aug. 8.
It was an important victory, but with time in this season running short, the current Yankees, it is clear, could use some of the good fortune that Torre said he experienced during his tenure with the team.
'Did I ever dream we were going to win four World Series in five years? Heck, no,' Torre said of his first year with the team. 'That's not even on the radar screen. But it just kept happening.'
And 18 years after picking No. 6, Torre watched as it was hoisted up alongside the team's all-time luminaries.
INSIDE PITCH
Masahiro Tanaka threw 35 pitches in a live batting practice session Saturday morning, taking another incremental step in his attempt to return this season from a torn ligament in his pitching elbow. Tanaka said he felt rusty, but he was encouraged that he could progress without feeling pain. He threw 20 pitches, took a rest, and then threw 15 more, simulating two innings on the mound against his teammates Zelous Wheeler and Brendan Ryan. Tanaka threw all his pitches, including the split-finger fastball. 'The guys were talking about hard it was to pick up the split with the arm motion,' Manager Joe Girardi said, 'which is a good sign because it means he's not babying it.'
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