NEW YORK -- Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Torre and his wife, Ali, showed their compassion by hosting the 21st annual Safe At Home Foundation gala at Gotham Hall in Manhattan on Thursday night.
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.
The gala was a star-studded event that featured actor Billy Crystal and former big leaguers who either worked or played for Torre over the years, from Willie Randolph to Todd Zeile. But the night belonged to former Major League third baseman Scott Brosius, who was honored for his contributions to the 1998 Yankees' World Series title run.
“Joe is a special guy,” Brosius said. “He has done amazing things with Safe At Home. To be a part of this is very special.”
Under Torre's leadership as manager, the 1998 Yankees won a franchise-record 114 regular-season games before sweeping the Padres in the Fall Classic.
Before the season started, Brosius joined the Bronx Bombers in a trade that sent left-hander Kenny Rogers and cash to the A’s. The Yankees didn’t know what to expect from Brosius, who was coming off a disappointing season in which he hit a career-low .203. It didn’t help that he was dealing with a knee injury that year. But Brosius ended up becoming a mainstay that saw the Yankees win three consecutive championships from 1998-2000.
The ‘98 season ended up being Brosius’ best year of his career, as he hit .300 with 19 home runs and a career-high 98 RBIs. He later put icing on the cake by being named the World Series MVP after going 8-for-17 (.471) with two home runs and six RBIs.
Brosius’ biggest hit of that series came in the eighth inning of Game 3. With Padres closer Trevor Hoffman on the mound, the Yankees were trailing, 3-2, when Brosius hit a three-run homer -- his second long ball of the game -- to give them a 5-3 lead. New York ended up winning, 5-4.
“I swung it pretty well all season long,” Brosius said. “As the playoffs went along, I was swinging it pretty well. Yeah, four games in the World Series, I was able to get a lot of hits. It just felt pretty good to feel like you were helping the team along.”
When Brosius joined the Yankees, according to Torre, the club found out Brosius had a great sense of humor -- and then found out he was great on the baseball diamond.
“The thing that impressed me was how good of a baserunner he was,” Torre said. “He could think on his feet. Then, all of a sudden, he is hitting three-run homers. He was hitting all the good pitchers. For a guy that was hitting eighth or ninth in the lineup, he was huge.”
Brosius felt comfortable in the Big Apple because of Torre’s confidence in him.
“He allowed me to play every day. So on the field, obviously, he was important,” Brosius said about Torre. “But more so for me, he understood people, understood the game and he had a perspective on how he treated you personally. He was so good to me.”
Brosius ended up playing four years with the Yankees, winning four pennants and three World Series titles.
“It was like getting on a train and getting off at the right stop,” Brosius said. “I’m so blessed to be part of a run like that. When I joined this team, this was a really good team. Everybody just talked about winning, talked about getting back to the World Series. It was so refreshing to see that was first and foremost with the guys. Team accomplishments came first over individual ones.”
In addition to Brosius, Safe At Home honored Kate and Bob Devlin for their commitment, dedication, and investment in the foundation. They have been board members for 21 years.