All eyes were on No. 99 for the Los Angeles Dodgers when he stepped onto the field at Fenway Park on Friday afternoon. But there was a special return for another Dodger, good old No. 6.
Los Angeles manager Joe Torre was back in the friendly confines for the first time since Sept. 16, 2007, when he was in his final days with the New York Yankees.
Although he led the hated Yankees into town for many years during the height of the rivalry with the Red Sox, Torre was always respected by Boston fans, and the feeling was mutual. Still, he could distinguish a difference rolling into town in Dodger blue.
"I am looking forward to this experience," Torre said after shaking hands with a few Red Sox supporters aside the Los Angeles dugout. "It’s something new without a Yankees uniform on."
Torre, who turns 70 in a month, managed New York for 12 years, guiding the club to four World Series titles and a playoff appearance in every year. Although he was a figurehead for the Red Sox’ archrivals, he never felt animosity in Boston.
In one memorable scene in 1999, Torre was met with a heavy dose of applause at Fenway after he returned from treatment for prostate cancer. In addition, he and Boston skipper Terry Francona have always had an admiration for one another.
"I love Joe," Francona said Thursday before quipping, "I hope we beat his brains out."
Francona and Torre touched base before Friday’s opener, which is something that the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry did not always allow for.
"It’s a little different now because he’s not in New York. It's a little bit easier to say hello to somebody like that. I used to stay away, at least in public, and he did to. I have a lot of respect for Joe, though."
Of course, Torre knows his return is second fiddle to that of his left fielder, Manny Ramirez.
As the Dodgers skipper strolled in front of his team’s dugout in the hours before the opener of the three-game series, he could tell that the intense media attention was not directed at him.
Torre said he hopes Ramirez is received warmly when he steps to the plate.
"It’s certainly understandable," Torre said of the attention on Manny. "And I really hope that … I know the fans here love to boo, but I certainly hope that they, I think they understand how much Manny meant to this club."
Torre added that he was a bit thrown off when Johnny Damon was booed at Fenway upon his return, saying when he thinks of Damon and the Red Sox, he thinks of the grand slam he hit in Game 7 of the 2004 American League Championship Series.
But then Torre remembers the words on Damon’s uniform.
"You have to be reminded the Yankee uniform is a little different," Torre added.
