Jason Giambi on Joe Torre's Book: “It's Definitely Hurtful”

(Zell's Pinstripe Blog)

Jason Giambi was talked about in Joe Torre’s new book, but not really in a very bad way. Torre said that Giambi was a “defensive liability” in the field, but that is so true. Jason didn’t have any problem with it either. He said:

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”I’m OK with it. I knew what my job was. I came to New York to drive in runs.”

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     Giambi is a very likable guy. He has a great personality and was very open with the media.

He had a few other things to say as well:

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”It’s definitely hurtful,” he told me. “When you play together that long, you’re family. There’s a certain trust involved. We were always like ‘keep everything in-house, especially in New York with that media.’ I was surprised to hear that he was writing a book…he meant so much to that town. But from his point of view, you can respect it. He had to get things off his chest,” referring to Torre’s bitter exit from the Yankees.

“Look, he’s a great manager; he really is. I haven’t talked to Joe about the book yet…someday.”

When I asked if writing the book violated the trust of his former team, Giambi said, “That’s hard to answer. We were all going in the same direction, we were a family. I can see how other guys will be hurt by it.”

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Giambi was a guy that everyone liked in the clubhouse. It seems like he has mixed feelings on the situation. He likes Torre a lot, and thinks he is a great manager, but at the same time he believes that some people might be hurt by some of the things he wrote.

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