“Yankees were different” – When Joe Torre claimed Alex Rodriguez put undue pressure on himself in New York

Ahead of the 2004 season, New York Yankees manager Joe Torre made the trade to acquire Alex Rodriguez from the Texas Rangers. Torre did this to help fill the hole at third base after Aaron Boone suffered a knee injury.

Coming from first the Seattle Mariners and then the Rangers, A-Rod was the headliner. However, that would not be the case with the level of talent surrounding the Bronx Bombers.

Rodriguez reportedly had a hard time taking a step back and being just one of the players. During a 2017 interview with Graham Bensinger, Torre detailed how he believed A-Rod put too much pressure on himself.

“I think he put a lot of pressure on himself trying to still be the guy that everyone looks to, because that’s who he was with every other team he was with,” said Torre.

Rodriguez was not the guy anymore, and he was trying to figure out how to carry himself in his new role.

“The Yankees were different. They had a group that sort of shared the wealth as far as the ability to play together and I think Alex put a lot of pressure on himself trying to do too much too soon” said Torre.

Alex Rodriguez was able to later find success with Joe Torre and the Yankees

When Alex Rodriguez first came aboard, the Yankees made it to the AL Championship Series. The following year, they would make it to the AL Divisional round, where they would be eliminated the next three consecutive seasons.

In 2008, things were dark in the Bronx. They finished the regular season with a record of 89-73 missing the postseason for the first time since 1993. It was odd not to see the famous pinstripes playing under the brightest lights that season.

However, that lit a fire underneath the players. They came out the following season destined to show the world just how good of a baseball team they were.

The club made the postseason, squaring off against the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS. They made quick work of Minnesota, beating them 3-0 and advancing to the ALCS against the Los Angeles Angels.

The Yankees would take down the Angels and face the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. Like the ALCS, this was another six-game series, but Joe Torre and his club came out on top.