Former manager walks to mound to make pitching change for the Yankees during spring practice

On Monday, the former Yankees manager returned to pinstripes for a nostalgic moment.

Joe Torre walked from the dugout to the pitching mound on Monday.

The Hall of Fame manager made his famous stroll to the mound during the New York Yankees’ spring training game to make a pitching change, evoking memories of the team’s four World Series wins.

Torre, 83, who managed the Yankees from 1996 to 2007, returned to the organization as a guest coach during spring training. During the top of the fifth inning of Monday’s game at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida, Yankees manager Aaron Boone sent out his old skipper for a nostalgic pitching change.

Torre emerged from the dugout in full gear, wearing the No. 6 retired in his honor on his back.

Just like old times.@JoeTorre 🫡 pic.twitter.com/q3rIl8CoZ9

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 18, 2024

He approached the mound, signaled to the bullpen, and shook hands with starting pitcher Carlos Rodon, who had pitched 5 2/3 hitless innings.

Torre, who received an applause from the crowd, grabbed the ball from Rodon and spoke briefly with the pitcher as the Yankee infielders gathered around the mound. Ian Hamilton replaced Rodon, who received a standing ovation from the crowd, in the Yankees’ 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Torre’s final excursion from the dugout to the mound for a Yankees pitching change was in 2007, when he replaced Jose Veras with Mariano Rivera in Game 4 of the American League Division Series.

That was Torre’s final game as Yankees manager, capping a 12-year run that featured World Series victories in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000. Torre’s regular-season record with the Yankees was 1,173-767, making him the franchise’s second-winningest manager after Joe McCarthy (1,460-867).

Torre subsequently spent three seasons as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, completing his 29-year managing career with 2,326 regular-season wins, the fifth-most in history.

Torre, who played in the major leagues from 1960 to 1977 and was an MVP and nine-time All-Star, spent a decade as MLB’s chief baseball officer before becoming a special assistant to commissioner Rob Manfred in 2020.

But he’ll always be recognized for his time in pinstripes, which he donned again on Monday while reflecting on the past.