Sports

JOE TORRE TO MANAGE DODGERS

A recruitment process that started before Joe Torre turned down the Yankees on Oct. 18 ended today when the Dodgers and Torre announced a three-year deal that puts him in charge of an underachieving club 3,000 miles away from his New York home for a little more than $13 million.

Reported exclusively on nypost.com Tuesday and strongly denied by Dodgers brass as late as yesterday, Torre got what he wanted from owner Frank McCourt with regard to coaches salaries and more input into player personnel decisions than he had in The Bronx.

Torre is expected to bring coaches Don Mattingly (hitting) and Larry Bowa (third base) to Los Angeles and former Yankees first-base and bench coach Lee Mazzilli is in negotiations to be Torre’s bench coach. It’s likely Mariano Duncan, who played for Torre and the Yankees (1996-97), will be retained as first-base coach. Rick Honeycutt could stay as the pitching coach.

The hiring was announced hours after Joe Girardi, who was offered the Dodgers job before Torre, officially was introduced as Torre’s replacement at a Yankee Stadium press conference.

“Joe Torre is one of the most respected men in the game of baseball,” said McCourt, who handled the bulk of the negations that began long before Grady Little resigned or was forced out this week. “As a player, a broadcaster, a manager and in his life off the field, Joe is a winner through and through. As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Dodgers moving to Los Angeles, we will again have a Hall of Fame-caliber manager at the helm. Joe’s dedication, desire and ability will help lead the Dodgers to our ultimate goal: a world championship.”

Torre won four of them as a Yankee, appeared in two more World Series, won nine straight AL East titles, and led the Yankees into the postseason in each of the 12 seasons he worked for George Steinbrenner. But three straight first-round eliminations in the playoffs led Yankees brass, headed by Hank and Hal Steinbrenner, to ask Torre to take a pay cut from $7.5 million to $5 million for next year on a one-year contract that had $3 million in incentives. Torre refused, calling the incentives “insulting.”

Torre, a former Angels broadcaster who never hid his fondness for Southern California, is the eighth Dodgers manager since the club moved from Torre’s home borough of Brooklyn.

“Few managers in the history of the game have accomplished what Joe has delivered,” GM Ned Colletti said. “Throughout his career he has demonstrated the ability to turn a vision for success into results on the field and we welcome his passion and leadership. We have tremendous fans and they deserve no less.”

Torre, 67, is 2,067-1,770 in 26 years of big-league managing and is eighth on the all-time list among MLB managers. His 76 postseason victories are the most in history.

“Having grown up in Brooklyn, I have a great understanding of the history of the Dodger organization and I am committed to bringing a world championship back to Los Angeles,” Torre said. “I consider it an honor to be a part of this organization, which is one of the most storied franchises in all of sports.”

Over the past 12 years, Torre posted a .605 winning percentage (1,173-767) and guided the Yankees to 12 consecutive postseason appearances, 10 AL East titles, six AL pennants and four world championships, including three consecutive titles from 1998-2000. He was named the AL’s Manager of the Year in 1996 and again in 1998 when the team won 114 games.