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Ring dynasty Profiles of Joe Torre and his nine four-time champions
Updated: Wednesday October 24, 2001 1:02 AM
For the third year in a row and the fourth time in five seasons, the baseball season ended with the New York Yankees on top of the world. Joe Torre has won all four World Series in which he has managed and his teams are 16-3 in the Fall Classic. The following are profiles of Torre and the nine players who were members of all four World Series teams:
Joe Torre"Clueless Joe" is what New York tabloids tabbed Torre upon his hiring prior to the 1996 season and after owner George Steinbrenner's fallout with Buck Showalter. All Torre has done since is lead the Yankees to three stright world championships and four titles in five years. Torre, a Brooklyn native who rooted for the New York Giants growing up, has become the modern-day Casey Stengel. A manager whose on-field decision-making and ability to win were questioned before he inherited and then brilliantly navigated a juggernaut. The 125-win 1998 Yankees will always stand out above the other champions as perhaps Torre's finest hour as a manager -- he earned the second of two Manager of the Year Awards after that campaign -- but the job he has done in the last two years -- albeit with the largest payroll in the game -- has been even more impressive. "Dynasty" is a word thrown around with far greater and less-deserved frequency in sports these days. Torre and his club have earned that label. "It seems to me like every decision Joe's made since I've been here as a Yankee has been the right decision," Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte said. "And things have always gone -- wrong or right, the organization has always done a great job of making decisions. Sometimes people raise their eyes at them. Then all of a sudden, they turn out to be great decisions. That's the job of a manager."
Mariano RiveraHolder of a major league record 17 postseason saves and a record seven in World Series play, Rivera has bounced back more than nicely from what appeared to be the home-run ball that would damage his career as a championship closer. Sandy Alomar Jr.'s tying homer in Game Four of the 1997 AL Division Series helped derail the Yankees' quest for back-to-back titles and raised a serious doubt concerning Rivera's ability to replace John Wetteland as the team's closer. Undaunted, Rivera tossed 34 scoreless innings thereafter and was on the mound to celebrate each of the last three championships. He has gone from strikeout pitcher to bat-breaking machine during the Yankees' run but has shown the uncanny ability to reach back for a few extra miles per hour when needed most -- as evidenced by his two-inning save in Game Four of this year's Fall Classic. "When you feel good out there on the field, you do a lot of things, great things," Rivera said. "That's what it's all about. That's what (my teammates) have been doing for me. They have been making a lot of good plays and they have been there for me. And I appreciate that, because they are my team and I love them and they love me. And that's how we work. We work as a team, we go down as a team and we win as a team."
Tino MartinezNot only has Martinez done an admirable job replacing Yankee icon Don Mattingly since 1996, he has been the benefactor of the championships Mattingly played so long and hard for. A defensive stalwart and run-producing machine with a penchant for losing his stroke in the postseason, Martinez did the opposite this year -- going from regular-season flop to playoff hero. Martinez spent most of this season reading about how he was washed up at 32 and that prospect Nick Johnson would be taking his position next April. An injury to Johnson and Martinez's renaissance in the playoffs has put the pressure back on the organization to re-consider giving Martinez at least one more year at first base. Martinez' grand slam in Game One of the 1998 Fall Classic sparked the Yankees to a four-game sweep of San Diego and he also launched a solo shot that helped turn what appeared to be a 5-1 loss in Game Three vs. Atlanta last year into a dramatic 6-5, 10-inning triumph. "The way we finished the season, losing eight in a row, everybody wrote us off," Martinez said. "That makes it somewhat sweeter. We've been fortunate. We've won three in a row and this was definitely the most difficult of them all."
Paul O'Neill"The Warrior" according to Steinbrenner, O'Neill has often fought through late-season injuries and batting slumps to find a way to contribute during October. A winner of five World Series titles (one with Cincinnati in 1990), the often-grumpy, never-satisfied right fielder best exemplifies the Yankees' overall resiliency, tenacity and dislike of losing. If Torre is the master of keeping an even-keel and harboring his emotions, O'Neill is the tempest that rocks the boat just enough to keep everyone alert and hungry. The opposition can't bear to watch O'Neill's gesticulations at every strike call against him at home plate, but they also have to respect his unwillingness to give up -- best evidenced during his key 10-pitch at-bat in Game One against Armando Benitez. While it was more than obvious that O'Neill could not catch up with Benitez's fastball, he did find a way to foul it off enough to draw a walk before scoring the tying run. Torre has allowed O'Neill to manage the regular-season finale each of the past three years and may have to manage against him someday. "It's fun to go out and play well at this time of year," O'Neill said. "But this is why we're here."
Derek JeterRuth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle ... and now Derek Jeter. Although the slender shortstop will never match put up by the numbers of the aforementioned foursome or current center fielder Bernie Williams, he has weaved his way into the leadership role and serves as front man for baseball's most successful franchise. Movie-star looks and a penchant for seemingly always saying the right thing at the right time or nothing at all have helped draw comparisons between Jeter and the "Yankee Clipper", but the former has proven far more personable although clearly less statistically breathtaking. Firmly entrenched as the lead voice in the clubhouse after the departure of veteran catcher Joe Girardi, Jeter has not been spoiled by his instant success -- he appears instead to treasure every moment of it and understand that with great winning comes great responsibility. Was in the midst of every big rally during the 1996 World Series as a rookie and once again proved to be the offensive catalyst in this year's Fall Classic. Jeter is the first player ever to win All-Star Game and World Series MVP in the same season. "Well, I think the core has pretty much been the same since the first year," Jeter said. "We know we've added guys. Mr. Torre drives the bus, so to speak. And he is very good at motivating people and motivating the team. Winning isn't easy. I've said it before. We made it look easy the past few years." "Derek is a special person," Torre said. "There's no question he's a leader and the reason someone is allowed to be a leader is that nobody resents it."
Jeff NelsonA righthanded "specialist" that has put in extra duty this postseason after a sparkling regular season, Nelson is one of the few Yankees that can get under Torre's skin both on the field (not throwing strikes) and off (flapping to reporters about his use). But the tall curveballer has gotten some of the biggest outs during the Yankees' run after helping to eliminate them from the 1995 ALDS as a member of the Seattle Mariners. Nelson and Martinez came to New York in 1996 and neither seems eager to leave, although Nelson will command a high salary as a free agent this offseason. Whether it has been Juan Gonzalez, Ivan Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra, Javy Lopez, Miguel Tejada or Greg Vaughn or Edgardo Alfonzo, Nelson has often been murder on righthanded hitters in the postseason. He combines with Mike Stanton (who came to New York in 1997) to provide an effective setup tandem before Rivera is summoned.
David ConeWon the first of the Yankees' incredible streak of 14 straight World Series games with a Game Three triumph at Atlanta in 1996, sparking the club to four consecutive wins and its first world championship since 1978. If Derek Jeter is the prince of New York City, Cone has served as everything from king to court jester during his tenure in the Bronx, often taking pressure off his teammates by standing at his locker a full hour after a game he did not participate in to utter his "state of the team" addresses. Will likely be the first of the four-time world champs to disappear after a career-worst campaign. A 20-game winner in 1998, Cone tossed a perfect game in 1999 before tossing seven innings of one-hit ball in Game Two of the World Series against Atlanta, earning himself a one-year, $12 million deal. The only way Cone can remain in pinstripes next year is taking something in the area of a $10 million pay cut.
Andy PettitteNot exactly Whitey Ford, Pettitte has certainly been the Yankees' most consistent hurler and one of the winningest pitchers in baseball since this run started in 1996. Since he won Game Five of the 1996 World Series, a 1-0 thriller in which he outdueled Atlanta's John Smoltz, Pettitte has shown an ability to come up big when the Yankees need him most in October. The lone time he came up really small -- the 1997 ALDS against Cleveland -- was also the lone time since 1996 that the Yankees did not reach the Fall Classic. Pettitte has watched the likes of Jimmy Key, Cone, Roger Clemens and Orlando Hernandez capture most of the media attention while he continued piling up the wins. Allowing two uneared runs in this year's Game Five clincher did nothing to blemish his reputation as the Yanks' quite ace in the hole. Maybe he is Whitey Ford? "Well, I was spoiled a bit," Torre said. "The first year, in '96, you know he won very important games during the season, during the postseason, a big Game Five against the Braves, 1-0. So right away, you know, he was better than I was as a player because I never got to postseason and that impressed the hell out of me."
Luis SojoA key reserve who was thrust into the starting second base job during this postseason due to Chuck Knoblauch's throwing problems, Sojo will enjoy watching endless replays of his RBI single that gave the Yankees the first "Subway Series" in 44 years. Whether it's the key pinch-hit single or the steady glove at any of three infield positions, Sojo has always delivered more than Torre or anyone else could expect from a bench player. After a solid tenure in the Bronx from 1996-99, Sojo wound up in Pittsburgh to start this season before general manager Brian Cashman picked him up on the waiver wire. He has been a non-stop contributor since and who knows where New York would be if he had not turned on the offense in the ALDS against Oakland. "I knew that they wanted me back," Sojo said. "But as soon as they got me back, I never (thought) that I'm going to be in every day. I've been doing this job for three or four years here and I mean, I got the chance to play before I retire. It's like a dream come true."
Bernie WilliamsThe quietest superstar on his own team and in the game. Williams has done nothing but put up better and better offensive numbers since 1995 -- his growth as a player has mirrored the development of this dynasty. Walkoff home runs in Game One of both the 1996 and 1999 AL Championship Series thrust Williams into the national spotlight, but it is his every day presence both in center field and both sides of the plate that make him the foundation of this team. So what if he doesn't hit in the World Series, Williams usually gets them there by battering the opposition in the ALDS and ALCS. Nearly escaped to Boston after the 1998 campaign, Williams' decision to stay (thanks to $88 million Yankee dollars) likely shifted the balance in power in the AL East for years to come. His second-inning homer off Al Leiter in Game Five snapped an 0-for-22 World Series funk and several hours later, he and his teammates again hoisted the championship hardware.
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