Perhaps it seems odd to you that Joe Torre left the Yankees for the sunny skies of Los Angeles, but if you look at his career arc, you’ll realize that this was an inevitable move. Torre seems to gravitate towards the interlocking letters, particularly where hats are in question. Have a look.
1960-68:
He starts his career with the Milwaukee and subsequently Atlanta Braves. He is apparently not yet addicted to the fused letter look, but then, he’s young and naive.
1969 – 74:
After leaving the lamely one lettered cap wearing Braves, Torre heads to Saint Louis and watches his batting average jump 18 points his first year. Two years later, he hit .363 with 34 homers. The hook was set. It was all interlocking letters from here on out for Torre, if he was to have any success whatsoever.
1975-1981
After leaving the Cardinals, there is no way that he is going to a team with one letter on their cap, like the Mariners, or something equally lame. No, he goes to the Mets and becomes one of the last player-managers in history, before becoming a manager full time. He was abysmal in his first stint as a manger, but he was introduced to New York and managing, two important things in his life down the road, all things to those interlocking letters.
1982-1984:
Joe thought he had kicked the interlocking habit in 1982, winning the NL West with the Braves, his original team, but when he got there, the Braves were swept by the Cardinals. Naturally.
1984-1989:
No, this isn’t the style worn by the Angels when he was the color man for the Angels, however it seems likely that Torre lobbied Angels front office for interlocking letters on the cap, as it would benefit the team somehow. Shortly after Torre left, the Angels adopted the cap seen above, and not much later, Angels in the Outfield was made. Coincidence? Probably, but don’t tell Joe.
1990-1995Torre went back to managing with a squad he was comfortable with, the Cardinals. In Saint Louis, he was marginally effective, finishing his career there at about .500, but he set the table for Italian managers in Saint Louis to finish .500 and still win the World Series. Of course, he also caught the attention of his next team.
1996 – 2007
4 rings, never missed the post season. I’d say the ILs on his hat worked out pretty well for Torre in New York.
2008 – ???
Who knows what his time in Los Angeles will bring, but with a logo on the hat like that, can Joe Torre go wrong?
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