The majority of managerial criticism thrown Joe Torre’s way was before he ever stepped foot in the Yankee dugout, with many questioning the move to hire the previously unsuccessful Torre to replace Buck Showalter.
Of course, Torre went on to win the Yankees’ first World Series title in 18 years in his first season at the helm, and while Aaron Boone guided the Yanks to back-to-back 100-win seasons in his first two years as manager, the support for his job is much shakier among the fanbase.
“Fire Boone” chants have already been heard around Yankee Stadium as the team continues to hover around the .500 mark more than halfway through a 2021 season that was expected to see the Yanks as a legitimate contender. Now, with postseason odds continuing to plummet, Torre says all Boone can do at this point is stay the course and continue to believe in his group that has underperformed all year.
“You’ve got a job at hand, and you gotta make sure you do your job,” Torre told Moose and Maggie on Thursday. “I think that’s the toughest thing. I did the best I could not to listen to the radio or read the newspapers when I managed…and make sure you realize the only thing that was important is going into that clubhouse and getting those guys ready to play, and they have to trust in their ability.”
While many fans believe Boone’s seat should be scalding hot, the front office has continued to stand by him, something Torre likely wouldn’t have experienced in his managing days, when George Steinbrenner sat in the owner’s box. Still, it’s New York, and Torre knows the weight of expectations can sometimes take its toll on a club.
“The expectations are sky-high, and I think players put a lot of pressure on themselves,” Torre said. “I really do. It seems like a simplistic response to the question, but human beings still play this game in spite of the analytics.”
One key member of the Yankees’ previous success is closer Aroldis Chapman, who has shown the human side of the game of late, suddenly losing the strike zone and pitched to an 18.90 ERA in his last 10 appearances. After a historically dominant start to the season and a track record of efficiency, Chapman suddenly looks lost on the mound, which Torre also believes could be a symptom of heightened expectations, which makes every game an important one, especially when the team is surprisingly struggling.
“It’s obviously not running like you’d like it to,” Torre said. “Chapman has had his issues, but he has too good a stuff to continue along that road. But the one thing that really keeps coming back and you lose sight of is that the expectation is always high when you’re the Yankees.”
The mental side of the game could be wearing down the Yankees, but Torre still expects a turnaround to happen eventually. The Yanks can only hope they’re not buried in the playoff race before that happens and miss the postseason for the first time since 2016, something Torre never suffered during his tenure in the Bronx.
“Our game, it doesn’t slow down for you,” Torre said. “You gotta play it, and you just gotta try and control yourself. Boonie, it looked like he was gonna go to [Chapman] for the last out in Houston, and Gerrit wasn’t gonna have any part of that, which is all well and good...you gotta keep going back to them, because you know it’s there. you don’t want him to have the feeling that you’ve lost confidence, even though it’s been a little shaky lately.”
Listen to Torre's full interview with Moose and Maggie below!
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