Joseph Paul Torre (/ˈtɒri/; 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. 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 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 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 clubs compiled a .605 regular-season
winning percentage and made the playoffs every year, winning four World Series
titles, six American League (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.