Joe Torre Not A Hall Fame Manager

As a manager Joe Torre was extremely lucky to be in the right place at the right time. He was NOT a great manager. Torre had numerous times to prove himself as a manager prior to landing with the Yankees in 1996 and he failed miserably at every stop (Mets, Braves, Cardinals.) Torre's one success was the 1982 Atlanta Braves, who got off to a torrid start that season, only to do a colossal flop in the season's second half (the Braves would barely hold on to win the West Division in 1982, but were swept away by the Cardinals.)

When Torre walked in the Bronx in 1996 he inherited a team that was ready to win. A team that was molded by Buck Showalter. Buck was given the boot for not bowing down to Baron Von Steinbrenner, while Torre came in and got all the credit for his work. Buck was the man who took over the lowly early 90's Yankees and prepared them to win. Torre just inherited the car keys.

While you can't take away Torre's championship rings, they are somewhat tainted in the following ways. #1 Torre managed the Yankees when they had an economic stranglehold over baseball. It was a period when the "haves and have not's" issue favored the "haves" by a country mile. The Yankees could do whatever they wanted with impunity during this period and Torre was clearly benefactor of this. #2 On top of his Yankees having a gross financial advantage over every team in the sport during his run as manager, his team were the worst PED offenders of the era.  Half his team was on roids and Saint Joe knew nothing about it? C'mon.

Then there were the Yankee teams from (2002-2007) who had the top payrolls in baseball by a mile and underachieved every single season, finally leading to Torre's exit in 2007. Torre would then have mixed results with the Los Angeles Dodgers before hanging them up.

Torre was joined in today's Hall Of Fame selection by managers Bobby Cox and Tony LaRussa. As a manager and GM Cox turned the 1977 expansion Toronto Blue Jays into a powerhouse. He then turned around the hapless Atlanta Braves and turned them into a juggernaut for two decades. On the other hand Tony LaRussa first turned around the sad sack Chicago White Sox before taking over the truly awful mid 80's Oakland A's and building them into a wrecking crew that dominated baseball in the late 80's. He ended up his career cleaning up Torre's mess in St. Louis and winning two World Championships along the way. 

Both Cox and LaRussa are Hall Of Fame caliber managers. Joe Torre is NOT!