Biography

Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseball officer from 2011 to 2020. He is also a former player, manager and television color commentator. 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 (AL) pennants and four World Series championships.

Torre's lengthy and distinguished career in MLB began as a player in 1960 with the Milwaukee Braves, as a catcher, first baseman, and third baseman. He also played for the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets until becoming a manager in 1977, when he briefly served as the Mets' player-manager. His managerial career covered 29 seasons, including tenures with the same three clubs for which he played, and also for the Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, until 2010. From 1984 to 1989, he served as a television color commentator for the California Angels and 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 (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) 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, 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. In 1997, Torre's autobiography, Chasing the Dream, was released. Later, he authored an advice book, entitled Joe Torre's Ground Rules for Winners. His third book, The Yankee Years, was released in February 2009. The book, co-authored by Sports Illustrated writer Tom Verducci, details Torre's tenure as manager of the New York Yankees.