LOS ANGELES — Joe Torre showed up Sunday night at Game 3 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium, his old workplace, making it clear he is too old to take on the job as MLB commissioner, but saying if they called he would be interested simply because of his love of the game.
“I’m 73 years old, I really don’t envision that happening, based on the fact that Bud [Selig] has been there 20-plus years,’’ said Torre, Major League Baseball’s executive vice president. “ I think when the owners decide on who the next commissioner should be I think they have to think long-term.
“If they had asked me to do something for the game, I certainly would listen, but I have no aspirations to be commissioner, based on my age. I’m very comfortable working there. I’ve got a significant job. I don’t have a great deal of stress, job-wise in my life and that feels good.’’
Torre also was quick to praise the work of Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who is on the open market now. Torre added he has “no clue’’ what Girardi will do next, but said managing the Yankees is really special. Torre should know.
“I talk to Joe, but I never talk to him about if he is staying or going, but I can tell you this: It’s a pretty tough place to walk away from,’’ Torre said. “On the other hand, if Chicago is the option, that’s a pretty special place to go to.’’
Torre said Girardi has done a pretty special job, after replacing him with the Yankees. How special?
“Remarkable,’’ Torre said.
Cha-ching!
“Right off the bat he doesn’t go to postseason, which the Yankees had done for [13] years and then he only comes back and wins the World Series [in 2009], and then this year kept them in the hunt the whole way when it was certainly an uphill battle. Joey did a remarkable job,’’ Torre said.
Torre was manager for 12 of those 13 Yankees playoff years.
Torre, also the former Dodgers manager, defended his protege, Don Mattingly, the current Los Angeles manager. Torre said he did not see Friday night’s 4-3 Dodgers loss to the Braves in Game 2 of the NLDS, when Mattingly intentionally walked Reed Johnson to pitch to Jason Heyward, who promptly hit a two-run single.
Asked if would have pitched to Reed, Torre said, “Don’t ask me that.’’
Torre said the world of being a manager is tougher than ever.
“You could have the bases loaded and you bring up the best pinch-hitter in the world to pinch hit, he hits into a double play, and then all of a sudden: ‘How could you do that?’ ” Torre said.
Torre said he realized during the 2010 season it was time to leave managing.
“We had a meeting and after we finished, I said, somebody younger should be doing this,’’ Torre said. “I felt very comfortable with that.’’
As for Mattingly, Torre said: “I like his qualities as a person. This job, and when I say this job, I’m not just talking about just the Dodgers, any managing job, especially this time of year, there are a lot of eyes on you. Donnie is a tough kid, but when it came time to manage, he didn’t copy anyone.
“I worked for [George] Steinbrenner for 12 years,’’ Torre said. “The pressure, and I can speak for myself now, the pressure that George Steinbrenner put on me, wasn’t near [as much] as the pressure I put on myself. The pressure of day-to-day managing is big. That is more pressure than who I worked for. I never concerned myself about being fired. I never concerned myself with other people’s decisions.
Baseball is becoming more like society, in which, “we are placing blame on stuff all the time,’’ Torre said. “Baseball has always been filled with negative statistics.’’
Now more than ever, the managers are second-guessed.
Torre said he enjoyed managing in the World Baseball Classic.
“You knew you were going to have [the players] for three weeks, and hug them and love them and then send them back,’’ Torre said.
Kind of like grandkids.
“Exactly like grandkids,’’ Torre said with a smile.