Essay on "Joe Torre Baseball Manager"

Essay 4 pages (1173 words) Sources: 2

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Joe Torre's tumultuous career and relationship with the New York Yankees is the subject of the Yankee Years, co-authored by Tom Verducci. Even before he joined the Yankees, Torre was "highly regarded" for his leadership skills (Torre & Verducci 2009, p. 3). As a baseball manager, Torre's style could be distilled into one word: "trust," (Torre & Verducci 2009, p. 10). Unlike his predecessor Buck Showalter, Joe Torre "gave his coaches and players a wide berth" and did not "micromanage" the team (Torre & Verducci 2009, p. 10). Torre's leadership style was empowering. He states, "I'm of the belief that the game belongs to the players, and you have to facilitate that as best you can. I want them to use their natural ability," (p. 10). Building his team with honesty and trust, Joe Torre established himself as one of Major League Baseball's most legendary and successful leaders.

Torre also notes that he cultivated a trusting and honest relationship with the media as well as with his team. Because the media is crucial to sports, Torre's ability to juggle the public side of his work can be considered one of his greatest strengths as a leader. Handling public relations for a sports team might be one of the toughest tasks in the industry. The media can foster antagonism within a team, too, especially one with a man like Steinbrenner at its head. Torre's talents were not just played out on the field; he also practiced what he preached with the press. Although he was not commonly commended on his communication skills, they were among Joe Torre's greatest leadership gifts. Communication skills would continue to define Torre's success as Yankee manager. Not only did Torre work well with those outside of the organization like the media, but also within the organization he was well-suited to situations that involved conflict resolution. Torre did not avoid conflict; that would have gone against his honest nature. Yet he did not have a confrontational personality that might have caused him to butt heads with Steinbrenner more often.

The Yankees under Joe Torre defined themselves by resourcefulness and hard work. Whereas Steinbrenner cared about aggressive and decisive wins, Torre preferred simple success over the long haul. Through what was admittedly a "mediocre offense" and generally unspectacular statistics, the Yankees still managed to come out ahead and win games (Torre & Verducci 2009, p. 13).

Torre's intelligent, composed leadership style worked and yet it brought the Yankees manager into increasing conflict with their owner, George Steinbrenner. Steinbrenner's model of leadership proved to be a sharp contrast to Torre's. Steinbrenner approached sports with a warlike passion. Torre preferred a more collaborative teamwork model, which is why the latter proved to be such a success for the Yankees. Whereas Steinbrenner would be "always nervous or anxious about something," Torre "banked on his optimism and trust in his players," (Torre & Verducci 2009, p. 14).

Torre's leadership prowess can be at least in part by chalked up to his personality. He remains calm under pressure, which is what made the manager good with the overbearing and uptight Steinbrenner. Torre's notably nice nature also helped him become savvy with the media but also able to solidify trust among his players. His personality blended decisive action, goal-setting, and integrity. As a leader, Torre cannot be called a visionary but he most certainly may be known as a pragmatist.

Occasionally Torre's honesty was so brutal as to become humorous. For example, Torre recalls one incidence during his first World… READ MORE

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