Standing for People

Watching the manager – Joe Torre – manage the team [in 2006]. It blew me away. I’m going, man, this guy is amazing.

What is amazing is that he’s got a player Alex Rodriguez, that’s making $29 million a year, who goes one for 28 hits at the beginning of the 2006 season. One for 28! My word! One for 28! I can do that! One hit at 28 at bats. Average? .200 something. Jeter? .300 something. One for 28. What is that ratio? Below 10 percent.

Guess what I’m saying? Get rid of this guy! Get him out of there! Before he was in a hitting slump, he was in an error slump. He did more errors in that one week than he did in the whole year before. And you’re paying him… I’m going, this guy needs a psychiatrist. Get him off the team.

Guess what? Joe Torre didn’t do that. Joe Torre didn’t even move his position in the batting order. He was clean up. Did not move him. Game after game after game. Hanging in with him, hanging in with him, hanging in with him. Guess what happened? He gets out of the slump. Hits three home runs in one game. The whole week is great. Turns it around just like that. Unbelievable.

What happened? I would have fired the guy. That’s why I’m not the manager, not making the money Torre was making. Get that? How many times have you done that with people? How many times have you given up on them? How many times have you told them, forget it, they’re never going to make it. By the way, the year before it was Giambi. He came back unbelievable. Joe Torre keeps hanging with him, and all of a sudden he’s doing an unbelievable job.

Why am I telling you this? I’m clear Joe Torre is a leader. I never got that about that guy. Too nice. All of a sudden the team is producing results. Inside of leadership that’s what it takes. You have to be standing for people even when they’re not producing results. You’re standing for the vision that that person has. And the vision they have is to win the World Championship. And he knows they’re all playing for that. He knows it’s not personal. And he knows sometimes they get to be down the tubes. Is that clear what I’m pointing to?

So, you can’t quit on people.