Los Angeles Dodgers hire Joe Torre to be Manager
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Bill Jempty | Thursday, November 1, 2007 |
It took the former Yankee, Met, Brave and Cardinal manager two weeks to find work again.
LOS ANGELES – Joe Torre grew up in Brooklyn rooting against the Dodgers. Now, a half-century after they moved west, he’s their manager. Torre was hired by Los Angeles to succeed Grady Little on Thursday, taking the job two weeks after walking away from the New York Yankees.
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.
The 67-year-old Torre will be introduced at a news conference Monday at Dodger Stadium. Little resigned Tuesday after completing two seasons of a three-year deal.
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.
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.
The Dodgers are hoping Torre can bring success to Los Angeles. Contrary to popular opinion, managers aren’t miracle workers. Some teams and managers have gotten lucky, the team I grew up a fan of did almost 40 years ago. That’s the exception not the rule.
The Dodgers don’t have the talent IMHO to be a serious contender. Torre will retire before the Dodgers win another World Series.
I also suspect the Yankees are due for a correction. Joe Girardi(Don’t get me wrong, I liked Girardi when he managed the Marlins) isn’t likely to meet the same fate as the Yankees of the mid 60′s and Johnny Keane met, but when all is said and done Don Mattingly may not regret being passed over say three years.
Update- Post updated to add the Braves to teams Torre managed in the past.
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Before the Yankees, Torre managed for the 3 NL teams he played for: NY, St. Louis and Atlanta.
Earl Weaver was once asked how many games he was responsible for winning, he indicate zero.
He probably was being humble. A good manager may be worth 2 or 3 games; a great manager 5 or 6. Of course a bad manager could cost a whole bunch of games.
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