Joe Torre People Quotations

Competing at the highest level is not about winning. It's about preparation, courage, understanding and nurturing your people, and heart. Winning is the result.

I met Tiger Woods, and I looked in his eyes - and I saw Derek Jeter. They don't have to tell people they're good. They just prove it by the way they love the competition.

I think that I have a sensitivity toward people, and that is a strength.

My feeling is that once he starts, he'll come quickly. We'll let the people down there who are watching him make the determination of when he's ready for competition at this level.

One thing I'll say here. I'm not going to waste my time talking about negative things. We won a ballgame 9-8. I'm not here to start beating on people, especially the people that, if we expect to win, are going to get us there.

I don't dislike Lou because people ask me about him hovering over there, ... If George wants Lou, or anybody else to manage, that's certainly his prerogative. The fact that he's available, it's never really bothered me.

He's cool. He's having a good time. He just really told people a lot more with this last start than we learned since he came over from Colorado. Obviously, we needed every bit of it. Now we can reunite with Moose again because we haven't seen him in about five days.

Having George meet with him -- he doesn't meet with people just for the sake of meeting them. He's certainly thinking in terms of helping our ball club.

He just didn't have the feel for pitching that he normally has. I think the red flag was up when he starts walking people and getting behind in a lot of counts.

The only thing I've said to him is: 'You've already established who you are. There's nothing for you to do that has to be any different from that. The way I judge people is not necessarily where they go eat dinner or where they build a house, it's just how they play between the lines. And the way he plays the game, it would be tough for him not to fit in anywhere.

It certainly came to my mind, 'Do I want to continue to do this?' ... I had both sides. I had people telling me, 'Don't quit' and others telling me, 'Why don't you quit?'

I think a lot of it comes from playing and how bad you want to do something sometimes, ... and letting people know it's OK to be nervous at times, or it's OK to be excited.

I think there's going to be a lot of people interested. Even going back to Houston, going back in May, I don't think is going to be any big deal for him. It'll probably benefit him, the fact that he won't have to pitch the whole time.

Reggie was one of those guys who knew how good he was and let people know how good he was. Some players resented that during those times.

I think (the steroid issue) works to his advantage if you consider that the player he was and the player he is right now are not that different. If people think he was that player because he was on steroids, well they know that's not the case now.

That's going to take a lot of thought, I guess is the best word, ... Only because you certainly don't want to do anything physically that's going to hurt him. I won't know if he's available. But if he is, as the game flows, if you're sitting down there with me, you're going to have the same thoughts I am. You're going to see where you are, see what's happening, and certain people just come into your mind as far as doing things.

The number of years he's pitched so effectively is ridiculous. It's still brand new for him. To me, that's all about what's important. I'm sure he's excited that it's still important. It's not a job for him. It's a profession, but there are other people who rely on him.

If you're going to apply any pressure, those are the people to have. It was emotional.

People are proud of their players.

In baseball, you're always moving people around.

I was always a little hesitant to accuse people of loading a bat to hit a ball farther. I was always very hesitant to approach people because I never had any evidence that I had firsthand knowledge of.

I never concerned myself with other people's decisions.

If I intimidate people, that's not my intention.