Torre pays it forward with Safe At Home Foundation

NEW YORK -- Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Torre and his wife, Ali, showed their compassion by hosting the 20th annual Safe At Home Foundation gala at Gotham Hall in Manhattan on Thursday night.

Torre credits his team at the foundation for working hard and helping people stay safe.

“The team is so committed. We have a great board that we had from the get-go,” Torre said.

The Safe At Home Foundation helps children afflicted by violence and abuse in their homes, schools and communities. The foundation has reached a lot of students through individual and group counseling, school-wide campaigns, peer leadership and educational opportunities.

The foundation helps young people cope with trauma and get on the path to healing, hope and empowerment. Safe At Home's signature program is a school-based safe room called Margaret's Place -- named in honor of Torre's mother.

Torre has seen his share of abuse as a kid. His father, Joe Sr., would often abuse his wife, and the cruelty made Torre a shy person.

“I knew what I had to go through as a kid,” Torre said. “I was embarrassed by it. I was a nervous kid. I was afraid to go to school. It was strange stuff. Luckily, I had the ability to play baseball, I had a place to hide. But once I went to counseling, I found out what Dad was doing was causing my issues. I thought I was born that way. I just wanted to go out there and see if we could reach kids and help them going forward.”

The gala was a star-studded event that featured a lot of former big leaguers who either worked or played for Torre over the years, from Don Mattingly to Derek Jeter. Mattingly is a person who loves going to the gala.

“We could go anywhere for Joe if he asked us to come,” Mattingly said. “The work that he is doing is tremendous. … It's just perseverance. He continues to work in things that he cares about. Something that is close to your heart doesn’t seem like work. We need to keep doing this.”

For Jeter, there wasn’t any hesitation to attend the gala. In fact, Jeter considers Torre a second father. During their 12 years together (1996-2007), the Yankees won four World Series titles.

“Any opportunity I get to support him, I do. He does the same thing for my foundation,” Jeter said. “The group we had together stays close over the years. It’s always great to catch up with him.”

But the night belonged to Troy Vincent Sr., the NFL's executive vice president of football operations, for his work as a national leader and advocate against domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse. It started in 1986 as a teenager when he vowed that he would no longer stand for men harming his mother. While Vincent was grateful to be recognized, he felt the Torres should be the ones honored.

“I’m humbled,” Vincent said. “But the real honoree is Joe and Ali, quite frankly. You are talking about 20 years with the work that they’ve done here -- the impact that they have on family, children.”