Joe Torre 1977-1981
Joe Torre’s time with the Mets, let’s face it, was probably the worst time in his baseball career. He had his worst years as a player in a Mets uniform, and he certainly had hit worst years as a manager in a Mets uniform.
He certainly didn’t make it to the Hall of Fame as a manager for the job he did with the Mets.
It’s hard to ascertain if a manager is good because of how his players are, or how bad he is because of how bad his players are. And Torre is the perfect example of that conundrum.
Torre oversaw a hugely successful Yankees dynasty. That’s what got him his Hall of Fame nod. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Atlanta Braves as well. Do you see any World Series titles there? No…you don’t.
Then take a look at this time with the Mets.
After taking over just before the Midnight Massacre in 1977, Torre managed for three full seasons and then a part of the strike-shortened 1981 season. In those three full seasons, the Mets lost 97, 99, and 95 games. And, yes, the Mets were not a good team. But Torre was not a good manager either.
The Mets were bad. And they were, admittedly, in the throes of the darkest period of the team’s history. But watching Torre strut out there, constantly hands in his back pockets, and the same quiet routine every game, was not just frustrating, it was nauseating. He was getting ‘on the job” training when the Mets should have been acquiring assets to bring the team back to the level it was in 1969 through ’73.
Torre was the symbol of apathy. And the fans were so ramped up that didn’t need, or want, a manager at the helm that had so little fire. And they were glad he was – fired.