It still surprises me that a major league manager can catch so much heat simply by announcing his retirement. But this is Joe Torre we’re talking about, and he did write that book that ruffled so many feathers a little while back. One of the former players he criticized, however briefly, therein was David Wells. Today, Wells had the opportunity to shoot back.
It was on Big League Stew’s podcast where Wells said:
“I had [Yankees pitching coach] Mel Stottlemyre come up to me in ’97 and tell me they were going to sit me out in the first round against Cleveland,” Wells told us. “I said, ‘If you’re going to sit me out the first round, you might as well just send me home.’ That pissed me off because I won like 15, 16 games for them. [...] That’s pretty degrading when you have your manager tell your pitching coach to tell you, ‘Hey, you’re going to sit out,’ rather than telling you himself. That’s what Joe Torre is to me, a coward.
“I don’t like him at all. As a manager, I think he’s terrible. He wasn’t a fair manager. He didn’t treat people the same. He definitely didn’t treat me the same. [...] If he tells you anything else, he’s a liar.”
Audio here.
Wells, of course, is a former Yankee and current TBS commenter who has never been shy about tossing around his opinion. The Charles Barkley of baseball wouldn’t be too far off the mark. It’s not the first time he’s had a go at Torre; in an ESPN radio interview in January, he said that if he saw his former manager, he’d probably “knock him out.”
As for me, it would be nice of the Dodgers wouldn’t just go through the motions in this Padres series. Jerks.
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Does He Eat His 10,000-Calorie Diet With That Mouth? David Wells Calls Torre A Coward [Sportress of Blogitude]
David Wells calls Joe Torre a ‘coward’ on our podcast [Big League Stew]
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- gail - Sep 24, 2010 at 7:12 AM
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Torre’s a coward? Torre didn’t want him to start in the playoffs? Here’s a guy with a world of talent, who would rather work out bending his elbow with a cold brew at 5am than try and improve. He had great stuff and threw strikes, but could have been much better if he worked to get stronger. Just look at his background and look at Torre’s, and tell me who has just a bit more credibility. I think he needs to get swatted again at a gin mill…..
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- YouGotServed - Sep 24, 2010 at 11:18 AM
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I KNEW that stint with Boston after he was already washed up had affected his brain. Typical loser Boston mentality. Maybe Wells can wear the “B” cap when he gets inducted into the Hall (of the Overrated and the Hall of the Overinflated Opinion of Oneself)
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- Lion Woods - Sep 24, 2010 at 12:58 PM
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David Wells has an opinion? About what? extra cheese and mayo? Fat bastard.
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- The Ogre - Sep 25, 2010 at 11:32 AM
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David Wells has had it in for Joe for years. I just don’t think it very effective to try and pin your popularity by bashing Joe Torre. David Wells should know that he’s about 15 years too late to use that type of rhetoric as a platform for success. It’s trite and overdone. David, go eat another donut and tell Austin Powers everyone says hi!
