Frank Enjoys Joe’s Day

Frank Torre sat in his hospital bed Tuesday watching the televised ticker-tape parade honoring his kid brother’s team.

Perched on his head was a Yankees’ World Series Champion baseball cap, and in his chest was a new 28-year-old heart.

“It’s almost frightening -- it feels like a million bucks,” said Torre, his voice still hoarse from yelling during the sixth and final game Saturday night, just one day after his long-awaited heart transplant.

At the opposite end of Manhattan from Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, Torre’s brother Joe, the Yankees’ manager, was receiving the adulation of millions of ecstatic fans and the key to the city from Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.

Frank Torre, a terrycloth robe over his hospital gown and a World Champions jacket hanging nearby sat with his wife, Anne, and chuckled as they read get-well wishes from the likes of former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda and Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Hank Aaron.

“You’re in our thoughts and prayers,” wrote Lasorda. “P.S. I hope you got an Italian heart.”

“Not bad for two kids from Brooklyn,” wrote Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, who grew up in a Brooklyn neighborhood near the Torre family.

Frank Torre played from 1956 to 1960 with Milwaukee Braves teams that won two National League pennants and one World Series -- in fact, they beat the Yankees in 1957. He retired in 1963 after two seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies.

After a 2 1/2 month wait, Torre, 64, received his new heart on Friday, the Yankees’ off day before the 3-2 Series victory Saturday night over Atlanta. He acknowledged that his story is almost too incredible to be real.

“If you had taken the book or movie to some producer or director they’d have thrown you out,” he said, laughing. “They would have said it was too much of a fantasy.”

He and his wife expressed gratitude to the family of the Bronx man whose death renewed Torre’s hope for life, and encouraged people to participate in the organ donor program.

Torre said he didn’t regret missing the parade. “I think I’ve taken enough of my brother’s thunder,” he said.

“My brother ... has finally convinced the rest of the world of something I’ve already known -- that he’s not just a good manager, he’s a great manager and he’s never had a chance to manage a team that was competitive.”

Torre fingered the championship cap, a gift from Joe Torre. “It’s one of the few he could keep dry!” he exclaimed, referring to the postgame locker-room champagne deluge.

Dr. Mehmet C. Oz, the cardiologist who performed the transplant with Dr. Eric Rose, called Frank Torre’s prognosis “super.”

“He was a very cool cookie,” said Oz. “I never had a patient so calm before surgery. Because he’s used to spending his life peaking for important events.”

Torre probably will be discharged from the hospital next week, but will continue a regime of physical therapy, medication and regular checkups, Oz said.

To stay nearby for follow-up care, Torre, a Florida resident, has rented an apartment near the doctor’s home in Fort Lee, N.J., for six months. “I told him he’ll have to teach my daughter baseball,” Oz said with a smile.