LOS ANGELES -- Joe Torre was hired Thursday to manage the
Los Angeles Dodgers, taking the job two weeks after walking away
from the New York Yankees.
"Joe Torre comes with a great resume," Dodgers general manager
Ned Colletti said on a conference call. "What he's done the last
12 years is as powerful as any manager in recent memory."
The winningest manager in postseason history, Torre moved from
one storied franchise to another, agreeing to a three-year, $13
million contract. He becomes the Dodgers' eighth manager since they
left his hometown, where he rooted for the rival New York Giants.
"As a kid growing up, you didn't like them," Torre said on
WFAN radio in New York before the hiring was announced. "As a
player, to me the Dodgers were the Yankees of the National League
because ... you either loved them or you hated them."
The 67-year-old Torre will be introduced at a news conference
Monday at Dodger Stadium. He succeeds Grady Little, who resigned
Tuesday after two seasons and with a year remaining on his
contract.
Torre joins the Dodgers for their 50th anniversary season in Los
Angeles, hoping to spur October success.
Favored to win the NL West this year, the Dodgers finished
fourth. They have only one playoff victory since winning the 1988
World Series under Tom Lasorda.
"I'm so happy for him. I think his record speaks for itself,"
said Lasorda, a special adviser to Dodgers owner Frank McCourt. "I
think what he accomplished with the Yankees, he should have been
able to control his destiny.
"We're happy that he's here -- very happy."
Torre guided the Yankees to four World Series championships from
1996-2000, and they made the playoffs in all 12 years he managed
them. New York lost to Cleveland last month, eliminated in the
first round for the third straight year.
Following that defeat, the Yankees offered Torre a one-year
contract with a pay cut. He earned $7.5 million last season -- more
than any other big league manager by far.
Calling the performance incentives in the proposal "an
insult," Torre turned it down. He was hired by the Dodgers on the
same day the Yankees introduced Joe Girardi as their manager.
The Dodgers had the NL's best record in mid-July. During their
late-season slide, problems surfaced between older and younger
players on the team, prompting criticism of Little.
"I think he's going to do a good job in the clubhouse because
he's got great leadership abilities," Lasorda said of Torre. "He
knows how to handle a ballclub."
Since Lasorda left during the 1996 season after suffering a
heart attack, the Dodgers are 1-9 in three playoff appearances. One
of those was in 2006, Little's first year as manager, when the
Dodgers won the NL wild card with an 88-74 record but were swept by
the New York Mets in the first round of the playoffs.
Torre ranks eighth on baseball's career list with 2,067
victories. He also managed the Mets, St. Louis and Atlanta but won
only one division title in the NL, in 1982 with the Braves.
He passed former Dodgers managers Leo Durocher (2,009) and
Walter Alston (2,040) last season on the career wins list. His
teams have won 76 postseason games.
Colletti said he met face-to-face with Torre, though he declined
to say when or where.
"I asked him, 'Do you really want to get back into something
like this?' He looked at me and he said, 'There's no doubt in my
mind what I want to do and where I want to do it,' " Colletti said.
"He likes the idea that the Dodgers are the franchise that is
looked upon in many ways as one of the great icons in American
sports. He likes the challenge of that, the market size, the chance
to take a club that hasn't had a chance to go to the World Series
since 1988 and do something about that.
"I don't have any doubts that his appetite is there and he's up
for the challenge."
Colletti said he first spoke with Torre about four days ago.
"I went into it hopeful, curious -- probably more curious than
hopeful," Colletti said. "By the time we got done talking, I was
more hopeful than curious."
Teams are generally directed to interview at least one minority
candidate for open managerial jobs. The Dodgers were granted an
exemption by commissioner Bud Selig, however, because of a strong
track record on minority hirings.
Earlier this week, the Dodgers acknowledged they talked to
Girardi about potentially replacing Little. Colletti said he did so
because he was aware Little was leaning toward stepping down.
Don Mattingly, Torre's bench coach this year, is set to join his
mentor in Los Angeles as hitting coach. Mattingly lost out to
Girardi for the Yankees' managerial job.
Mattingly's son, Preston, is a minor leaguer in the Dodgers'
organization.
"We don't have a coaching staff yet," Colletti said. "We're
talking to a bunch of former players and coaches. We're not quite
there yet."
Mattingly could be in line to manage the Dodgers when Torre
retires. Considering his age, that probably won't be too many years
down the road.
"Joe is 67 years old. We don't expect Joe to manage a very,
very long time," Colletti said, adding it would make sense to
"groom somebody under Joe's direction" the way Lasorda was
groomed under Alston.
Alston managed the Dodgers from 1954-76, and Lasorda was their
manager from 1977-96. Torre is the team's sixth manager since
Lasorda stepped down.
Torre completed a $19.2 million, three-year contract with the
Yankees this season. He made $7.5 million this year _ the highest
salary among major league managers _ and the Yankees offered $5
million for next year with an additional $3 million in performance
bonuses.
"Joe Torre is one of the most respected men in the game of
baseball," McCourt said. "As a player, a broadcaster, a manager
and in his life off the field, Joe is a winner through and
through."
McCourt said on the season's last day that Little would return
as manager next season. In resigning Tuesday, Little insisted it
had nothing to do with reports that the Dodgers were talking to
Torre.
With his track record, Torre seems destined to follow Alston and
Lasorda into the Hall of Fame.
"There's definitely a locker waiting for him in Cooperstown,
that's for sure," Lasorda said. "I've known him for close to 30
years and we've been good friends."