Joe Torre didn’t go so far as saying he was misquoted in his own autobiography, but he backpedaled quickly from the controversy his co-authored book, “The Yankee Years,” stirred up in New York.
“I don’t think I said anything bad about anybody,” Torre said at the end of his appearance tonight on CNN’s “Larry King Live.”
Torre wrote unflattering things about Alex Rodriguez, George Steinbrenner, Brian Cashman, David Wells and Kevin Brown, among others, and had media searching for reactions from those he wronged.
“I did not burn any bridges,” Torre said. “I don’t think there was any sensitive material in there that shouldn’t be.”
Tonight, in his first extensive interview since excerpts were revealed, the man who managed the Yankees for 12 seasons seemed unfazed and preached patience, true to the persona he always portrayed in the dugout.
“If people read the book and keep it in context, I think they’re going to appreciate the book,” Torre said.
King tried to play hardball with Torre, but an exchange about Steinbrenner showed where Torre was coming from.
Quoting passages in which Torre called Steinbrenner a “tyrant,” resentful” and looking for more credit than the manager, Torre replied, “All those things I think George would be proud of.
“He liked being the boss…I don’t think any of those things I said about George were criticism.”
Torre responded in a similar manner to other tough talk from the book.
On people referring to Rodriguez as A-Fraud, Torre said it was done in a joking matter. By writing that Rodriguez was more concerned with looks than results, Torre said he was trying to take self-imposed pressure off a great player.
“[The next time I see him] I think there’d be a hug involved,” Torre said. “And I don’t think it would be forced by either one of us.”
On A-Rod’s strained relationship with Derek Jeter, Torre said the two never had issues in the clubhouse.
On Kevin Brown making his “life miserable,” Torre said he always liked Brown and wanted him to do well.
On David Wells responding to the book by calling Torre a “punk” who broke the code of the locker room, Torre said he and Wells always had that kind of relationship.
On calling Gary Sheffield, who questioned Torre’s race relations, a “suspicious person,” Torre said, “Gary and I never had any issues.”
On Brian Cashman not standing up for him during his final contract negotiation, Torre said both men were ready for a change.
“To me, the book is much more than controversies,” Torre said.
“I think it’s very informative.
“I don’t think – it certainly wasn’t my intention – to shock anybody.”