Former New York Yankees manager Joe Torre sat down with Jon Morosi to discuss his life and career in the latest edition of The Road to Cooperstown podcast.
When asked what his biggest managing regret is, Torre pointed to a moment in Game 2 of the 2007 American League Division Series between the Yankees and Cleveland Indians (now Guardians).
Said Torre, “It’s easy for me. It’s the game we played in Cleveland when the midges came out. [Joba] Chamberlain was on the mound, and he peaked into me and said, ‘I can’t see.' I sent Gene Monahan out and he sprayed them with whatever and, little did I know at the time, it was like filet mignon to those bugs, because they didn’t leave.
The one thing I was sorry I didn’t do, I didn't have the guts to do, I guess was take my team off the field. I think that would’ve been the right move because it just wasn’t fair that this kid was trying to pitch with all those distractions.”
Torre had ample success with the Yankees during his run with the team, taking them to the postseason in every one of his twelve seasons with the club. Together, they won six American League pennants and four World Series.
The infamous ‘bug game' between Yankees and Cleveland
Then just 21 years old, Chamberlain had pitched to an 0.38 ERA in 19 regular-season appearances, striking out 34 batters. He’d also shown solid control, walking six batters and throwing one wild pitch over his first 24 big league innings. Cleveland had taken Game 1 of the ALDS with a decisive 12-3 win, but the Yankees were up in a close Game 2 — the only run coming from a Melky Cabrera homer.
Andy Pettitte pitched the first 6 1/3 innings, allowing seven hits. A double and a walk off Pettitte prompted Joe Torre to call for Chamberlain, who got out of the seventh inning by striking out Franklin Gutierrez and retiring Casey Blake on a fly ball to right field.
But conditions had changed significantly when Chamberlain and the Yankees took the field in the bottom of the eighth. Small flies called midges had arrived, drawn in by Northeast Ohio’s unseasonable fall warmth (81 degrees at first pitch). Enjoying the warm evening, a cloud encroached upon the bright lights of what was then called Jacobs Field — and they seemed to converge right at the pitcher’s mound.
As Derek Jeter swatted the bugs from his position at shortstop, the mosquito-like insects attached themselves to Chamberlain’s sweat-streaked face, clouded his vision and crawled their way into his nose, mouth and ears. Chamberlain then walked Grady Sizemore, then threw a wild pitch. Gene Monahan, the Yanks’ longtime head athletic trainer, produced a green canister of Off! bug spray, which made no difference.
A sacrifice bunt moved Sizemore to third and after getting Travis Hafner to line out, Chamberlain threw yet another wild pitch that scored the run. He then hit Victor Martinez and walked Ryan Garko before finally getting out of the inning with a strikeout.
The Yankees' lead was gone, and the game proceeded into extra innings, decided in the 11th by Hafner’s walk-off single off Luis Vizcaino.
Cleveland went on to win the series in four games, then lost the ALCS to the Red Sox — the eventual World Series champions
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