Negron: What Torre Did Was Insult

Via Ken Davidoff:

Ray Negron may lack the name value of an Alex Rodriguez or a Joe Torre, but he has stories that would sell. For the better part of the last 36 years – the period that George Steinbrenner has owned the Yankees, in other words – Negron has been behind the scenes of the most famous team in U.S. professional sports. Yet, as he makes clear, “I am not for sale.”

Now an adviser to the Yankees, Negron has turned down offers from multiple publishers to share his memoirs and has found a different avenue to express himself. “One Last Time: Good-Bye to Yankee Stadium” is his third children’s book starring Yankees legends, with the proceeds again going to charity.

“Joe Torre was supposed to be an icon in New York,” Negron said this past week in an interview. “To me, what he did with that book ["The Yankee Years"] was just an insult to everything that’s supposed to be so good about the Yankees.

“You don’t take shots, you don’t talk negative, if you’re a manager. You don’t talk negative about your players. These guys were your players. These guys went to war with you. You don’t do that. That was really bothersome, because I expected more from him.”

I would love to read a book by Negron, but he has too much integrity to just spill the beans about the inner workings of the Yankees organization. I think those defending Torre when the book first came out should take a long hard look at Negron’s words. Negron has plenty to gain by revealing the secrets he knows, but would not expose the organization that turned his life around. If only Torre shared those sentiments.

Follow Me On Twitter