12 straight post-season appearances...10 AL East division titles...6 World Series appearances...4 World Series Rings...But in the end the only important number was 5 + 3.
As in the $5 million base salary plus the $3 million bonus for reaching the World Series Joe Torre rejected from the New York Yankees front office.
Keep in mind that the average salary for major league managers is right around the $1 million mark.
I think Joe didn't really want to come back, and instead of being accused of turning his back on the team, he can now point the finger at the Yankees for essentially firing him.
I think the Yankees didn't really wanted him back, and instead of being accused of firing the most beloved manager in Yankee history so gave him an offer they knew he would refuse, so they could claim they wanted to keep him but Joe turned his back on them.
Essentially, the two parties succeeded in making each other look bad.
I personally think that the team that was so dominant from 1996 - 2000 could never be recaptured in the ensuing years. This is because the heart of the team - Bernie Williams, Paul O'Neill, Scott Brosius, Tino Martinez, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter - eventually was replaced by money and the magic was lost.
No matter what, Joe's decision has guaranteed that the entire baseball world will be dominated by Yankees talk from now until the start of next season...
Links:
ESPN Story
ESPN Column
New York Times Column
New York Times Torre Press Conference
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