‘Toughest man I have ever met’
Joe Torre did not know Mel Stottlmyre too well when he hired him as his pitching coach, but in their years guiding the Yankees’ 1990s dynasty, they became more than just successful colleagues.
On Monday, Torre mourned the loss of a dear friend and a brilliant pitching coach who had battled cancer for years.
“I am sorry to hear of Mel’s passing,” Torre said in a statement. “Mel was a role model to us all and the toughest man I have ever met.
“Sometimes a manager hires a friend to be their coach but with Mel, as with Zim, he was my coach who became a dear friend and someone who became very special to me,” Torre said, referencing the late Don Zimmer. “I send my deepest sympathies to his wife Jean, boys Mel Jr & Todd as well as the entire Stottlemyre family. “
At one point, Stottlemyre, Zimmer and Torre were considered the three wise men as the Yankees won four World Series titles under the triumvirate.
In fact, Stottlemyre had cited his relationship with Torre as one reason he left the organization in 2005. He was upset that owner George Steinbrenner had not acknowledged Torre’s work after a 2005 AL division series loss to the Angels. Instead, Steinbrenner congratulated Angles manager Mike Scioscia.
“My first thought was, ‘What about Joe?’ Joe did a hell of a job, too. To congratulate the other manager and not congratulate your own, after what he’s done this year, I laughed,” Stottlemyre said then.
The Yankees also released a statement Monday on behalf of Hal Steinbrenner.
“Mel’s popularity transcended generations, all of whom thought of him as their own,” the message read. “His plaque in Monument Park will forever serve to celebrate the significance of his legacy. We extend our deepest condolences to Mel’s wife Jean & the entire Stottlemyre family.”