When Torre succeeded Buck Showalter, the Yankees had not won the World Series since 1978, the longest drought since the team’s first title in 1923. It was the 20th change in manager following Steinbrenner’s purchase of the franchise in 1973.

Torre never had much success as a manager before landing in New York, and many predicted he would be gone in no time. But he turned out to be a rock and a buffer to the blustery Steinbrenner. He was calm, stoic and brought an unprecedented period of stability to a team accustomed to constant turmoil.

The Brooklyn native was a former NL MVP and a nine-time All-Star. Before joining the Yankees, he had unsuccessful managing stints with the Braves, Cardinals and Mets — the three clubs he played for. When the Yankees hired him, one New York paper dubbed him: “Clueless Joe.”

But New York won the World Series in 1996, led by a group that included Bernie Williams, rookie Derek Jeter, setup man Mariano Rivera, Paul O’Neill and Tino Martinez. With catcher Jorge Posada added in, they won the Series from 1998-2000, the first team to win three straight since the Swingin’ Oakland A’s of 1972-74, and advanced to Game 7 of the Series in 2001, when they failed to hold a ninth-inning lead at Arizona.

Since then, despite baseball’s largest payroll, there has been only frustration: a first-round loss to the Anaheim Angels in 2002, a World Series defeat to the Florida Marlins in 2003 and a painful exit the following year, when they allowed the Red Sox to overcome a 3-0 deficit in the AL championship series.

They lost to the Angels in five games in the first round in 2005, were eliminated by the Detroit Tigers last year and were knocked out by Cleveland this year.

Communication between Torre and Steinbrenner deteriorated in 2005, and it wasn’t clear that Torre would return for 2006 until after the pair met in Tampa. Steinbrenner meddled less with the team the past two seasons — even during a 21-29 start this year — giving almost unprecedented authority to Torre and Cashman.

Mattingly, who declined comment, became the Yankees’ bench coach this year following three seasons as hitting coach. A six-time All-Star and a former AL MVP, he starred for the team from 1982-95 and is a fan favorite whose No. 23 was retired by the Yankees in 1997.

Girardi is a Torre protege who kept a young Florida team in contention until late in the 2006 season with a no-nonsense approach.

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