Joe Torre Dodgers

Joe Torre, a former player and manager of the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, and New York Yankees was hired at the end of the 2007 baseball season to become the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, replacing Grady Little.

Fast Facts:

1. Hired: November 5, 2007
2. Contract: $13 million over three years
3. Rejected New York Yankees one-year, $5 million contract, with $1 million incentives for reaching each playoff round
4. Brought coaches Don Mattingly and Larry Bowa with him in move to Dodgers

Background

During his playing career, Torre won the National League Most Valuable Player Award and was a nine-time All-Star. While Torre may have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on the merits of his playing career alone, it was in managing the Yankees between 1996 and 2007 when he made himself a shoe-in for the Hall. He led the Bombers to six World Series and four World Championships. However, between 2001 and 2007, although the Yankees reached the Series twice, they never won, and after the Yankees were eliminated in the first round of the 2007 playoffs by the Cleveland Indians, many baseball reporters and pundits felt that Torre's days with the team were numbered. After meeting with Yankees management, including the ailing George Steinbrenner and his heir apparent Hank Steinbrenner, Torre rejected the team's offer, calling it "insulting" because of its incentive structure. Less than a month later, after the Dodgers fired manager Grady Little, Torre became the new manager of the Los Angeles (and formerly Brooklyn) team. Torre brought with him the heart of his coaching staff on the Yankees, bench coach Don Mattingly, and third base coach Larry Bowa.

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