Joe Torre Quotes & Sayings

We all have different ways to do things. — Joe Torre

There's nothing that can replace the feeling of winning. — Joe Torre

I felt there was a lot of love in my house. And my mom was, you know, the basis of all that. — Joe Torre

You hear the word 'cancer,' it scares you. You think of death. — Joe Torre

Baseball has changed dramatically since I began my tenure with the Yankees. — Joe Torre

I feel emptiness, and he probably won't be able to close his eyes for two or three days. — Joe Torre

If a club is winning, you never pay attention to a guy who's 0-for-10. If a club is losing, all of a sudden you'll find that he's the main reason why you're losing, which is absurd for me. — Joe Torre

A winner is somebody who goes out there every day and exhausts himself trying to get something accomplished. — Joe Torre

Golf is the only game I know where you call a foul on yourself. — Joe Torre

When I was a teenager and my brother Frank was in the World Series in '57 and '58 against the Yankees, Braves winning in '57 and the Yankees in '58, little did I know the next time these two teams would meet in the World Series, I would be managing the Yankees. — Joe Torre

It's not easy to just say you don't want to do something any more. — Joe Torre

You have to fix something when it first appears. — Joe Torre

When I was coming home from school as a youngster, and I saw my dad's car in the driveway, I would go to a friend's house. I connected my dad being there with fear. — Joe Torre

Kids are much more intuitive these days. Not that I'm crazy about what's on TV, but they know so much these days. — Joe Torre

St. Louis has always been special to me. — Joe Torre

If you do the best you can, you never have to look back. — Joe Torre

In my book success and winning are not always the same thing. To me, success is playing - or working - to the best of your ability. — Joe Torre

Umpires sometimes have a quick trigger. — Joe Torre

I don't think there's any player that's more talented than Alex Rodriguez. He cares very deeply about doing well. Baseball is his life. He puts a lot of pressure on himself. — Joe Torre

You don't catch the knuckleball, you defend against it. — Joe Torre

Obviously generating revenue is what this is all about anymore, which is sad, but again, you have to find ways to make it work. But, yeah, that's certainly intriguing. — Joe Torre

When we lost, I couldn't sleep at night. When we win, I can't sleep at night. But, when you win, you wake up feeling better. — Joe Torre

I won't be managing the Mets. I am closing the door on managing the Mets and probably everybody else. — Joe Torre

Baseball is a game of life. It's not perfect, but it feels like it is, — Joe Torre

There will be a time when everyone on the team is going to contribute to winning a pennant. — Joe Torre

When I became the manager of the New York Yankees, it was an opportunity to realize my lifelong dream of winning the World Series. We were fortunate enough to succeed in our first season in 1996, and in the years that followed, we wrote some great new chapters in Yankee history. — Joe Torre

Boomer is ... Boomer. That pretty much tells you all you need to know — Joe Torre

Every place where I played or managed is special to me because of the memories and the friendships that each afforded me. — Joe Torre

There's only one New York. — Joe Torre

I'm not very complicated. — Joe Torre

The Dodgers to me are the Yankees of the National League. — Joe Torre

TV is not accurate. — Joe Torre

When I was a player and hit into a double play, I felt as if I was letting everyone down. — Joe Torre

I don't have a great deal of stress job-wise in my life, and that feels good. — Joe Torre

I've seen that picture before. It was a two-seamer that didn't sink until it hit the upper deck somewhere. — Joe Torre

My relationship with George Steinbrenner was great. He was the boss, and I accepted that. — Joe Torre

Pitchers make adjustments, and it's up to the hitters to readjust and sort of tweak what they do. — Joe Torre

I can understand the fact you don't want the ball slipping out of a pitcher's hand because someone can get hurt. — Joe Torre

You could have the bases loaded, and you bring up the best pinch-hitter in the world to pinch hit, he hits into a double play, and then all of a sudden: 'How could you do that?' — Joe Torre

It's huge. You win the first game of the series, you want to win the series. — Joe Torre

As a member of a competitive team, you want to make sure you have yourself ready to play. You don't control anything but what you do. — Joe Torre

Jerry Coleman was the kind of player who made me proud to wear the pinstripes. — Joe Torre

Major league baseball is about the history of the game. Baseball history is so important. It's so much more than money. — Joe Torre

Stress is something that is sort of out of your control. You get stressed out over looking at the finish line. Stress is something that is an outside thing. Stress is an anxiety. — Joe Torre

I hated the Yankees and Dodgers and wound up managing both. — Joe Torre

I have great confidence in Rick Caruso's unique qualifications and his ability to lead a successful bid for the Los Angeles Dodgers. — Joe Torre

The second you think you've arrived, someone passes you. You have to always be in pursuit. — Joe Torre

You know, Mike Milken, the money that he has raised for cancer research has been remarkable. — Joe Torre

Winning is a lot of fun. I remember having a meeting a couple years ago and telling the guys: 'You're not enjoying yourselves.' O'Neill said to me afterwards, 'Skip, it's not fun unless you win.' — Joe Torre

As a supporter of the Prostate Cancer Foundation and their Home Run Challenge program, I am extremely grateful for the valuable partnerships and relationships built with Major League Baseball and our affiliates. — Joe Torre

'Million Dollar Arm' touches on many of the Safe At Home Foundation's core values, such as children, teamwork and family. — Joe Torre

When you take a job, you don't just accept the pats on the back. You have to accept the kicks in the pants. — Joe Torre

Home-plate collisions are something you cannot ignore. — Joe Torre

If I intimidate people, that's not my intention. — Joe Torre

Baseball, while you're doing it, you think it's going to last forever. — Joe Torre

By rule, the decision to reverse a call by use of instant replay is at the sole discretion of the crew chief. — Joe Torre

You can't win the Kentucky Derby unless you're on a thoroughbred. — Joe Torre

I have no problem with cheating. Whatever you can get away with. — Joe Torre

The game itself is an autonomous game, but everybody is a part of it. No contribution is too small. — Joe Torre

I think that I have a sensitivity toward people, and that is a strength. — Joe Torre

Not that managing in the American League is easy, but this is certainly different. I'll have to have somebody poke me in the rear end when I have a pitcher that's going to hit. — Joe Torre

Respect is the word I want. You have to earn it. You give, and you get it in return, that's how I see it. — Joe Torre

If all of us who love baseball and are doing our jobs, then those who get the game from us will be as proud to be a part of it as we were. And we are. This game is a gift, and I am humbled, very humbled, to accept its greatest honor. — Joe Torre

I think that winning creates chemistry, as opposed to other way around. I've been on a lot of friendly teams that couldn't win, trust me. — Joe Torre

Every time I pull somebody out of the bullpen, I believe he can do the job. I have to believe it. If he doesn't, hopefully he will do it the next time. — Joe Torre

I never concerned myself with other people's decisions. — Joe Torre

I feel very fortunate to have broken in with the Milwaukee Braves organization. — Joe Torre

Getting fired is what happens to a manager sooner or later. — Joe Torre

That's the sign of a good relationship, when you can pick up a phone and it doesn't matter when the last time you spoke was. — Joe Torre

My father wasn't the best role model to me. — Joe Torre

When you've been in the game as long as I have, you know the managers you've played for, the good ones and the bad ones. Even the good ones get fired. — Joe Torre

A lot of pitchers today are afraid of the ball. Warren Spahn pinch-hit for me when I was a rookie. He hit a sacrifice fly. I couldn't argue. I was 20 years old and just happy to be in the big leagues. And Spahnnie was a good hitter. — Joe Torre

To wind up in Cooperstown is surreal for me. To go into the Hall of Fame is one thing. When you think of all the other Yankees that are in here, it's pretty special. This is just a shrine. To visit it, much less be inducted, it's still sort of unbelievable to me. — Joe Torre

I'm a very private person, and I don't want to share stuff with anyone. — Joe Torre

I think there's more of opportunity to win games in the National League than the American League because there are more decisions to make. — Joe Torre

Spring Training is a fun time for me. — Joe Torre

As a player, to me the Dodgers were the Yankees of the National League because ... you either loved them or you hated them. — Joe Torre

I know in the heat of battle, it's hard not to get angry, especially in the 19th inning. — Joe Torre

I wish I could paint that picture. As a 20-year-old kid, that was a big thrill. — Joe Torre

When you're in a slump, you do something different, just to try it. I remember one time I was in a slump, and I borrowed one of Henry Aaron's bats and hit two homers. I used my own bats the next night. I just needed a change. — Joe Torre

It's something you hope doesn't happen. When you sign on to do a job, you hope you'll be able to get it done. But that's not always in your control. — Joe Torre

Even though I was never a Yankee fan until I put on the uniform, when you think about the deep history of this organization, you always knew what the Yankees represented. — Joe Torre

It's nice to have writers write nice things about you and guys on radio and TV say nice things about you, but the guy who's in the locker next to you is the one you play the game for. — Joe Torre

First of all, you want umpires to call what they see. In the case of fair or foul, the smartest thing is to call the ball fair. Because if it's called foul and ruled fair, where do we put the runners? — Joe Torre

Scott Boras, I've known for a long time. We were both in the Cardinals organization. I'm a lot older than Scott. He's a very tough man, very tough agent. — Joe Torre

Whatever sport you're looking at, it's usually the team that makes the least mistakes that has the most success. — Joe Torre

Chicago is a pretty good town. — Joe Torre

I was always a little hesitant to accuse people of loading a bat to hit a ball farther. I was always very hesitant to approach people because I never had any evidence that I had firsthand knowledge of. — Joe Torre

We've got to decide, how much replay do we want? Because if you start doing it from the first inning to the ninth inning, you may have to time the game with a calendar. — Joe Torre

You look at a guy who's being brave. He's afraid, or he wouldn't be brave. If he isn't afraid, he's stupid. — Joe Torre

He [Nomar Garciaparra] could go 0-for-10 in rehab and it wouldn't mean anything. — Joe Torre

I do love the feeling of a big win. But you don't have to have a World Series ring to be a winner. A winner is somebody who goes out there every day and exhausts himself trying to get something accomplished. Being able to get the most from their ability. That's what characterizes a winner. — Joe Torre

There is no worse emotion than fear. — Joe Torre

You're always in the storm's eye, so to speak, when you're with the Yankees. — Joe Torre

I've been very, very fortunate. I never had to work for a living. — Joe Torre

We've beat up our umpires. They're now allowed to be human. — Joe Torre

I am deeply saddened and shocked at the loss of umpire Wally Bell. — Joe Torre

Watching other teams in the World Series is like watching somebody else eat a Hot Fudge Sundae. — Joe Torre

When I was 16 years old, my brother Frank said, 'You'd better become a catcher, because you're too big and fat to do anything else.' Well, I took his advice. It was a quick way to get to the big leagues, and I've never regretted it. — Joe Torre

Unless you have bad times, you can't appreciate the good times. — Joe Torre