AP source: Selig to name Joe Torre MLB executive

[February 26, 2011]  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Joe Torre has been hired as Major League Baseball's executive vice president of baseball operations, a person with knowledge of the appointment said.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Friday because commissioner Bud Selig wasn't expected to formally introduce Torre until Saturday.

MLB said Selig would make a major announcement at the new Salt River Fields ballpark, the spring facility for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.

The 70-year-old Torre won four World Series titles for the New York Yankees in a 29-year career as a manager, retiring after last season following three years with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played parts of 18 seasons in the majors.

Even when Torre stepped away from the dugout, he insisted he would always stay involved in the game to some extent -- though many figured that might be in television, or that he would take another managerial job elsewhere unable to truly call it quits as a skipper.

He likely will help Selig in a variety of roles. MLB lost chief operating officer Bob DuPuy last fall after he spent 8 1/2 years as the commissioner's top aide.

[Associated Press; By JANIE McCAULEY]

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