After twelve years of pinstripes, there’s just something weird about seeing Joe Torre in Dodger Blue:
VERO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Joe Torre’s first day in a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform began before dawn.
It wasn’t by choice.
“I didn’t sleep very well last night,” Torre said after addressing his new players for the first time and then watching pitchers and catchers complete their initial workout of spring training. “That’s usually the case with me. That’s when I knew the excitement was still there.”
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The 67-year-old Torre will begin his 27th season as a big league manager next month. The first 14 were nondescript — his teams didn’t win a single playoff game. The last 12, with the New York Yankees, were successful to the point where he now holds the big league record for postseason victories with 76.
(…)
Torre signed a three-year, $13 million contract to manage the Dodgers two weeks after walking away from the Yankees last fall. So instead of wearing Yankee pinstripes, he’s in Dodger blue with the familiar No. 6.
“I don’t feel weird, the uniform feels good,” he said. “The thing that’s going to be weird is when I start managing games.”
That’s because for the first time since the Mets fired him in 1995, Torre will be filling out a lineup card without the designated hitter most of the time.
Good luck Joe. Unless, of course, you end up opposite the Yankees.
