Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Torre had a simple message for retiring Giants manager Bruce Bochy.
"[In] retirement, keep some things in mind," Torre said in a pre-recorded video message on the Oracle Park scoreboard Tuesday. "Be happy. Be healthy. Be proud. And I'll see you in Cooperstown."
Torre, MLB's chief baseball officer, sat near the Giants dugout during their game Tuesday night against the Colorado Rockies, and Bochy and Torre briefly greeted one another after the tribute played. The game was the first of Bochy's final homestand as Giants manager, and Torre can relate to what Bochy is feeling.
The 79-year-old retired from managing after the 2010 season, which was his 29th in a major league dugout. Bochy's final season is his 25th.
Torre told Giants broadcasters Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow that he knew it was time to retire when, in his final season, he wasn't sure if his players could "hear me." He wasn't aware how dramatically different his life would feel when he no longer was managing.
"You know, you don't realize how much it takes out of you until you stop doing it because you live with the stress on a daily basis," Torre told Kuiper and Krukow. "And you don't know any different because, whether it's in-season or out of season, there's something you're trying to think about that may help make you better. ... But once you stop, and now you go to sleep not caring about who won a game -- or not needing to win a game, I should say -- it makes a difference."
[RELATED: Watch MadBum move up all-time charts with homer vs. Rockies]
Sports
Bochy doesn't have to worry about that transition just yet. He still has five games remaining on the homestand after Tuesday -- and five more chances to do what he does best.
"I'll tell you what: He's special," Torre said. " ... He's a throwback. Right now, where baseball is with all the analytics, he's got personal touch -- still -- on a game-to-game basis."
