The gamut of highs and lows, more than any one man should ever have to experience in one day, finally had overwhelmed Paul O’Neill in the midst of the post-game celebration, so he collapsed into the strongest, most secure arms in baseball.
He collapsed into the arms of his professional father figure, into the arms of Joe Torre.
“He was crying as you can well imagine,” Torre said of O’Neill, whose father died early yesterday morning. “I said your dad got to watch this one, because, you know, he’s been laid up and not obviously being able to watch games on TV. And everyone, Luis [Sojo] and Scott [Brosius] and Paul were just all, as you can well imagine, their thoughts go to their dads.”
All three players lost their fathers over the past two months. All three play for a manager who is as close to being a father figure as any man in baseball.
Like a father, Torre always knows the right thing to say to maintain discipline, keep the atmosphere enjoyable and instill individuals with the confidence they need to perform at their best.
Like a father, Torre is proud of the accomplishments of his players.
“There’s no question this club was very, very special,” Torre said. “I know I’ve said that about the other two actually, the other three clubs, but having to validate what we did last year, one of those freak years where you win everything and everything turns out well, I thought 11 out of 13 was good last year, then all of a sudden we zipped through the postseason, which is only done because you have ability and they know what to do with it.”
Under Torre, the Yankees have won 12 consecutive World Series games. They have won 18 of their last 19 post-season games. He was asked about the possibility of one day wearing a Hall of Fame ring and answered with talk of rings that mean more.
“Wearing a World Series ring, there’s nothing better than that in professional sports,” Torre said. “And, you know, if I happen to go into the Hall of Fame, obviously that will be something very, very special.”