Friendly Encounters: Joe Torre and Ira Knobler

This is a weekly series which features friends who have met celebrities.

Ira Knobler is another person I met through some wrestling site.  Ira meets a ton of wrestlers in the New York area.  Today, however, he is featured with a baseball legend.
I loved Joe Torre as a player.  He was playing for the St. Louis Cardinals in the first game I ever saw outside of Chicago.
Does anyone remember that he was a player-manager for the New York Mets in the late 1970's?  It's hard to believe that there were three player-managers in the 70's (Torre, Frank Robinson and Don Kessinger).
It's also hard to believe that Torre received so little support in he Hall of Fame voting.  Torre made the HOF as a manager, but as a player, he hit .297 with 2342 hits.  He won one MVP award, was a 9 time All-Star and won one Gold Glove.  If he isn;t HOF worthy as a player, he is that next step of very close players.
I met Torre on the field during his time managing the Los Angeles Dodgers.  I was part of a pre-game dugout media session, but failed to land him for a one-on-one.  Still, it was a thrill just being on the same field as Torre.
I'm a bit envious of Knobler.  I am sure he got to chat with Torre a bit.  Just add it to the lengthy list of great celebrities he has met.

Ira Knobler and Joe Torre in New York-December 2014.

Revisiting the Joe Torre Shunning

In my ongoing quest to study the effects on a major leaguer after declining an interview request with Johngy's Beat, I am revisiting Joe Torre.  In all fairness to Torre, he did say he might have time after the game, but I did not pursue that option as it usually doesn't come to fruition.
Torre had an excellent playing career and has gone on to have a Hall of Fame managing career.  While his stay in Los Angeles didn't produce a World Series title, he has compiled a 259-227 record for a .533 winning percentage, which is just slightly below his career percentage of .538.
Torre and the Dodgers were off to a great start in 2009.  Then Torre made the mistake of shunning Johngy's Beat.  The results are as follows:
Before the shun, the Dodgers were 55-31 for a .639 winning percentage.  They were in 1st place, 7 games up.
After the shun, the Dodgers went 40-36 for a .526 winning percentage.  They ended in 1st, 3 games up.
Looking deeper into these stats, post-shun the Dodgers would have been in 3rd place.  The Colorado Rockies would be in 1st (six games up on the Dodgers and 5 up on the 2nd place San Francisco Giants.  The San Diego Padres would be in 4th, only 1/2 game behind the Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks would be in last (12 out of 1st and 6 behind the Dodgers).
Continuing the research, Torre and the Dodgers finished 2010 in 4th place, 12 games out of 1st.  Late in the season, Torre announce it would be his last (at least in Los Angeles).  Was he retiring for good or was he just trying to lift the Johngy's Beat Curse?  Only time will tell.
Sooner or later, even Bill James will have to jump on this statistical trend.  For now, all I can say is Johngy's Beat 3 and the players (Torre, Byrd and Jenks) 0.

Joe Torre as he decline my interview request in Milwaukee, WI-July 2009.

Joe Torre and Johngy:Part 2

The last time I saw Joe Torre, I was in the Los Angeles Dodgers dugout partaking in his pre-game interview session. That was my first taste of an interview session like that.
Several weeks ago, when I ran into Torre again, it was one-on-one and it did not turn out as well. Nothing happened. Torre politely turned down my request. He did add that I could try to catch him after the game in the dugout if I wanted.
I thanked him anyway and later chose not to approach him after the game. I had other post-game plans and I had already gotten a few good videos from other players.
I wasn't mad or even upset in the least. Actually, I was kind of pleased with his attitude towards me. I am not a beat writer, nor am I a writer for one of the big sports media outlets. My work is here and for Global Traveler magazine.
I always thought Torre was a class act. He had a great playing career and he is having a great managing career. Getting a polite decline from a future Hall of Famer isn't all that bad.

Joe Torre and me at Miller Park in Milwaukee, WI-June 2009.

The Dodger Way

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Dodgers for winning the National League West. It has to be especially sweet for Joe Torre, who is in his first year as Manager of the Dodgers after a long and successful stint with the New York Yankees. The Yankees parted ways with Torre after 2007 and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1994, a year before Torre took over the helm.

I had the chance to be part of a pre-game interview with Torre on June 8, 2008. Torre was very relaxed and confident about a playoff run for the Dodgers. His confidence was well founded.

I also helped Coach Larry Bowa with fielding practice. It started out simply enough with me asking him a couple questions. Before I knew it, I retrieved a couple baseballs and tossed them to Bowa to be hit to his infielders. The story sounds better if I just stop at the fact that I did help Bowa with fielding practice!

Larry Bowa and me at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA-June 8, 2008.