RYE, N.Y., Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Former New York Yankees Manager Joe Torre Friday told reporters the incentive-laden one-year contract package he was offered to stay was "an insult."
Torre rejected the offer Thursday after meeting with team officials in Tampa, Fla.
"The terms of the contract were probably the thing I had the toughest time with," Torre said in an opening statement. "One year, for one thing, the incentives, for another thing. The fact that I’d been there for 12 years, I didn't think motivation was needed."
Money, Torre said, was an issue, but taking a pay cut from a reported $7.5 million to $5 million was not a big concern.
The one-year offer and the playoff bonus system were the decisive factors.
"The incentives, to me, I took as an insult," he said. "I don't know how to say one is never enough, two is never enough."
Torre won four World Series titles, went to the post-season every year, and is the winningest manager in franchise history.
