Scott Brosius gave Joe Torre an extended, tearful hug in the fracas on the pitcher’s mound after last night’s 4-1 World Series-clinching win over the Braves last night.
The third baseman buried his head in his manager’s shoulder and sobbed.
Later, in the clubhouse, a subdued celebration took place and Brosius calmly – but guardedly – answered questions about his difficult year.
“It has been a long battle for some of us,” he said. “A lot of guys had to deal with a lot of things. This has been a personal battle for a lot of us.”
Brosius, last year’s World Series MVP, had another strong postseason. He was 6-for-16 (.375) in the World Series and 11-for 44 (.250) in the postseason. But Brosius has been dealing with the loss of his father and was recently joined in grief by Luis Sojo and Paul O’Neill, who lost their fathers in the past five days.
“It’s been an overwhelming year on and off the field,” he added. “It has been well documented the adversity for this team and we were hit with it from Day One.
“First Joe [prostate cancer] then Straw [colon cancer and arrest] and for a few of us with our fathers. But we have had to put it aside and keep pushing.”
Torre agreed.
“It started in 1996 when David Cone went down with that aneurysm,” Torre said. “It shocked everybody, stunned everybody. You had a choice, you could either worry about it or play the season.
“I think we got in the pretty good habit of dealing with whatever low lights and tragedies and hardships, and go out there and do the job that we’re capable of doing.”
Said Brosius: “First and foremost this is a close team. Everyone really cares for and supports one another. It sure makes it a lot easier when you know you have 24 guys behind you. Adversity can tear you apart or it can pull you together,” he added. “For us it pulled us together.”
Brosius said last year’s World Series and this one affected him – and the team – in different ways.
“Both were special, but different,” he said. “I think everybody on the team has a totally different way of dealing with it.”