Beyond the Book, Torre Still Beloved by NY Fans

Fans lined up outside the Fifth Avenue Barnes & Noble to see Joe Torre

Former Yankees manager Joe Torre was in town to push his new (and #1 on Amazon) book about his time with the Yankees, aptly titled, The Yankee Years. At the Barnes & Noble where he signed copies for fans, Torre downplayed the controversy surrounding the tome, telling reporters, "It's the most memorable time of my career. There were good years and bad years - but even the bad years weren't too bad."

Fans seemed to stand by him: One told the Newsday, "I'm happy with what he wrote, because he spoke his mind for the last 12 years. Why should he stop now?" Another fan, who has visited Yankees spring training for years, added, "I saw the friction down there in Tampa [between Torre and Alex Rodriguez]. I could tell who Joe's guys were and who they weren't. You can tell by the body language." And Torre said he didn't think he violated any trust with the Yankees organization or players, "I can't help how other people look at the book."

The NY Times' Harvey Araton writes today, "I don’t blame Torre for writing a book, for being proud of what he achieved in New York. The Yankees treated him shamefully at the end and were classless in excluding him from the Yankee Stadium finale. I just wish Torre would say he told it as he saw it and stop pretending that there is nothing in 'The Yankee Years' more incendiary than a rundown of his starters for a four-game series in August." But NY Times' "Ethicist" Randy Cohen explained to Newsday, "Torre's ethical obligation isn't to make everybody happy about what he writes. His obligation is to tell the truth. That's his moral obligation as a writer."