Hall Of Famer Joe Torre Passionate About Going To Bat For Kids At Risk Of Family Violence

Some group don’t request an introduction.

Joe Torre, for one.

You cognize him. Baseball icon. Hall of Famer. The only large leaguer pinch 2,000 hits arsenic a subordinate and 2,000 wins arsenic a manager, he steered nan New York Yankees to 4 World Series championships — and nan Dodgers to consecutive National League West crowns and NLCS appearances successful 2008 and 2009.

So you’re well-versed connected Torre’s shot bonafides, but you mightiness not beryllium alert of nan astir meaningful portion of his legacy: He’s spent nan past 24 years helping group who really would request to beryllium introduced to him.

Kids who are excessively young to cognize Torre nan player, manager, colour commentator — but who can, unfortunately, subordinate pinch what he went done erstwhile he was their age. Kids who, for illustration him, are increasing up acrophobic and anxious because of home unit astatine home, and who request what Torre didn’t person — location safe to spell to for help.

Since 2002, Torre and his wife, Ali, person been down nan expanding nan Joe Torre Safe astatine Home Foundation. Across nan nation, they’ve group up safe spaces successful schools, specialized classrooms that consciousness much for illustration surviving rooms and that are parented by master counselors trained successful home unit intervention.

San Francisco Giants adjunct head Ron Washington hugs Joe Torre earlier a crippled astatine Dodger Stadium connected May 14.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

They’re astatine schools successful New York, Cincinnati, Tahiti and successful L.A., astatine Bellflower Middle/High School and John Adams Middle School, John H. Glenn High and McKinley Elementary School, Palisades Charter High, Santa Monica High, Waite Middle School and Washington Preparatory High.

And they’re unfastened to all, whether you’re a kid experiencing unit aliases you want to beryllium capable to thief peers who are.

This past year, nan instauration says it reached much than 28,000 students. And since it began, much than 425,000 young people, families, schools, and communities.

These Safe astatine Home spaces are each named “Margaret’s Place,” successful grant of Joe’s mom, who was for years nan unfortunate of his father’s convulsive ire.

“It’s a reliable taxable to talk about,” Joe Torre said. “But you can’t tally distant from it.”

He did, though. He’s 85 now, but until he was 54, Torre didn’t uncover that shot had been his refuge erstwhile he was increasing up. He didn’t show anyone that erstwhile he was a kid, if he saw his dad’s car successful beforehand of his house, Joe would spell to a friend’s location and hold until he near for his occupation arsenic a New York constabulary detective. Joe didn’t stock memories for illustration he would later, of seeing his large sister, equipped pinch a knife, opinionated betwixt their mother and their father, who was going for his pistol.

St. Louis Cardinals 3rd baseman Joe Torre poses swinging a bat anterior to a crippled successful 1971.

(Dave Pickoff / Associated Press)

He didn’t admit what those traumatic experiences he’d tried to hide did to him, not until he started to talk astir them.

“I thought I was calved pinch this shyness and this nervousness,” Torre said earlier a Dodgers crippled successful May, erstwhile nan nine introduced him and Ali and players and coaches wore T-shirts during batting believe that read: “Everyone deserves to beryllium safe astatine home.”

“During my playing career,” Torre continued, “if we mislaid a crippled and I didn’t get immoderate hits, I’d hit myself up. I was fortunate, I had a bully career, but location was ever thing missing. I really astir apt could person enjoyed it a batch much than I did.”

That didn’t alteration until 1995, erstwhile he started talking astir nan home unit he experienced. He was surprised, he said, to find himself sharing his story, opening up for nan first clip astatine a “Life Success” seminar successful Cincinnati, Ali’s hometown.

“Ali, she says, ‘You want to spell to this Life Success symposium pinch me?’” Joe said. “And she’s 8 months pregnant pinch our girl and I’m not astir to opportunity nary to thing she asks maine to go. So we spell successful and they abstracted you, and they put you successful groups of six strangers — and I’d conscionable been named head of nan Yankees, truthful I’m very self-conscious.

“But aft a time aliases so, you’re successful it, you know? And past we went location and I called my sisters and asked them questions. Because they ever tried to protect me, truthful I had to resistance it retired of them … ‘Did dada deed mom?’

“The biggest point for maine was knowing that my dada bringing fearfulness down connected nan location was what caused my feelings that I was embarrassed to have. Once I went done that, I was capable to spell deeper.”

Yankees head Joe Torre bumps fists pinch catcher Jorge Posada aft a triumph successful April 2004.

(Brian Kersey / Associated Press)

Speaking astir what was antecedently unspeakable helped him header pinch his trauma. He said it made him a much empathetic head and a much assured man. It besides made him want to speak retired publically and to promote others to do nan same, to break nan rhythm of silence.

So they’re getting nan connection retired astatine — wherever else? — ballparks. There was nan extremity astatine Dodger Stadium successful May, and earlier that, successful 2025, 7 awesome convention teams had activations astatine games, arsenic did 63 insignificant convention clubs who hosted a “Safe At Home Awareness Game.”

Because often we do request an introduction, to link kids pinch group who tin support them safe, who tin guarantee them they’re not nan only ones successful their position.

“He’s talked astir this galore times: If he had entree to a programme for illustration Margaret’s Place, he wouldn’t person felt for illustration he had to transportation this load alone,” said Rose Robles, nan foundation’s elder head of programs. “That was 1 point he’s really stressed, he felt he was nan only 1 that was going done this.

“And he would person had immoderate options, immoderate choices for really to respond to what he was experiencing and really to understand it. One point that we opportunity is that unit thrives successful silence, and that is fundamentally what he was experiencing.”

Forty-four percent of nan kids Margaret’s Place counselors helped successful 2024-25 were dealing pinch immoderate shape of unit astatine home. Twenty-seven percent person knowledgeable immoderate shape of narration aliases making love violence. They besides thief kids who’ve been exposed to organization unit aliases different traumatic events, aliases who are grieving a traumatic loss.

Dodgers head Joe Torre pauses for a infinitesimal while answering questions successful August 2010.

(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

At Bellflower Middle and High School, Principal Jessica Cummings said a Teen Dating Violence Awareness Week and genitor workshops focused connected fostering patient relationships accrued consciousness connected her campus.

“We are grateful,” she wrote successful an email, “for this business and nan affirmative effect it has had.”

Of nan students surveyed aft receiving services, Safe astatine Home indicated that 99% reported emotion safer and 93% said they utilized nan devices they learned successful counseling.

Torre has absorbed decades of anecdotal feedback excessively — nan knowing nods he sees successful nan crowd erstwhile he’s talked to groups of kids astir this, nan cameraman who slipped him $20 to put toward nan foundation, nan interviewer who shared his relationship of having grown up successful a convulsive household.

“Anyone tin go a victim,” Ali Torre said, “Our extremity is to intervene and prevent. There are small boys we tin person conversations with: ‘You don’t person to repetition nan cycle.’ To small girls, ‘There’s an action for you…’

“And Joe has opened a batch of doors for us.”

When you deliberation of Joe Torre, it’s arsenic a erstwhile Dodgers skipper. A nine-time All-Star and nan 1971 National League Most Valuable Player.

You should besides deliberation of him arsenic a champion of children who now cognize that they aren’t alone, and that they person group who will spell to bat for them.