As a player,he played primarily as a catcher but also played first base. He was named an All-Star from (1963 to 1967) and (1970-1973), won a Gold Glove Award in 1965, and was the NL MVP in 1971. On July 21, 1975, he set the NL record for most double plays grounded into in a single game, 4. Torre managed the Mets and Braves before taking over as the skipper of the New York Yankees in 1995. His Yankee teams have made the playoffs in each of his first 10 seasons (1996-2005) with the club.

In 1996 Torre, building on the Yankees' wild-card berth in 1995, made his first-ever trip to the Fall Classic, leading the Yankees to their first World Series championship since 1978. After losing to the Cleveland Indians in the AL playoffs in 1997, the team won three straight World Series titles from 1998-2000, and in addition American League pennants in 2001 and 2003. On May 12, 2003, he won his 1,500th game. On May 8, 2005, Torre reached 900 career wins as manager of the New York Yankees.

Torre battled prostate cancer in 1999. On December 14, 2005, Torre carried the Olympic Torch in Florence, Italy, running it 400 yards, ending at the world famous Ponte Vecchio bridge. In addition to baseball, Torre is an avid thoroughbred horse racing enthusiast. 

In 2007, Torre accepted an offer to become the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Torre stepped down as manager of the Dodgers in 2010 and in 2011 became the Executive Vice President for Baseball Operations for MLB.