Joe Torre rejects Yankees contract offer
October 18, 2007 
Yankees manager Joe Torre rejected a $5 million one-year extension from the team Thursday:
In a surprising turn of events, club president Randy Levine announced during a conference call with reporters originating from Tampa, Fla., that Torre declined a contract that would have paid him a base salary of $5 million, with $1 million bonuses for each level of the postseason the Yankees reached next season.
Torre was exactly right for turning down such a patronizing offer from George Steinbrenner and the Yankees. By accepting the offer, which would have been a pay cut for Torre, the manager would have essentially been put on probation by the team, only making his full salary if he guided the team to a World Series win.
Yankees fans should be ashamed at the way the Yankees administration is treating one of the best managers in baseball history, who helped bring the team to 4 World Series championships and 6 pennants in 12 years.
Steinbrenner was patronizing Torre, treating him like a new manager who needed monetary incentives to progress to the World Series. I’d like to see Steinbrenner or anyone else involved in this contract offer to name any other major league manager who did better with a team over a 12 year span as manager. There isn’t one.
I actually got a chance to meet Joe Torre in person, as he received an honorary degree at my college graduation. From what he spoke about that day and from all we know about him and what he has done for medical research, the community, and charity, its obvious that he doesn’t only excel at leading a baseball team. He’s also an all-around great person. Torre is a wonderful asset to have not just for a baseball team, but for a community.
And what the Yankees just offered him, after 12 years of faithful service, amounts to a slap in the face. A one year contract? But, in typical Torre fashion, he simply turned down the offer and left quietly, not making this whole issue into what surely could have become a media circus, complete with raking Steinbrenner over the coals for his questionable decisions over the years.
Joe Torre wouldn’t want that to happen because he seemingly holds one quality dear, respect. Too bad the Yankees and Steinbrenner couldn’t return the favor to Torre.
