Former New York Yankees manager Joe Torre is still “nervous” about COVID-19 pandemic

New York Yankees, Joe Torre
UNSPECIFIED - CIRCA 1996: Manager Joe Torre #6 of the New York Yankees argues with the umpire during an Major League Baseball game circa 1996. Torre managed the Yankees from 1996-07. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

Joe Torre is part of a rich tradition of winning managers of the New York Yankees‘ franchise. After all, he was the leader of the late-90s dynasty that won four World Series in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000.

That’s why his voice is, and should always be, important to the Yankees community. This time, he raised it to let people know he’s concerned about public safety because of the coronavirus pandemic that is not only ongoing, but is starting to grow in cases, once again.

“I’m nervous and I’m nervous based on just the pandemic,” Torre said in a telephone interview with Newsday. “Any baseball we can have is a bonus for us, but it’s a time we’ve never dealt with .. and we have no idea when it’s going to end. I look forward to this baseball season, but it’s with a ‘I hope everybody’s going to be okay’ [mindset]. … Baseball will survive. Baseball will find a way to be flexible enough to still be there for people. I just hope when we’re able to play we’re seeing the game the way it was meant to be played.”

The Yankees will open the season in Washington

The league will begin its season on July 23 with an attractive duel featuring the current World Series champions, the Washington Nationals, facing the New York Yankees in the nation’s capital city.

Regarding the place in history of the team that ends up winning it all in 2020, Torre believes that “people may look back on it and say somebody stole one. But I don’t think anybody’s going to judge it ‘til they look back on the season and possibly think it should have an asterisk. One thing about our game is that when you played 154 (games) or 162 (games), the best teams got to the postseason. … But it’s going to be a real postseason with tough games you have to win – if and when we get started.”