Torre May Take Job with MLB

Joe Torre may not stay retired much longer.

The former Los Angeles Dodgers manager is leaning toward accepting a job with Commissioner Bud Selig that would allow him to stay in Los Angeles.

“He’s got a position that he thinks that I can handle,” Torre told The Associated Press on Monday. “I know we’re on the same page, and I think it’s just a matter of just sort of crossing the Ts and dotting Is at this point in time.”

Torre said he’s still resolving some questions in his own mind, but he expects to decide in the next two-to-three weeks. Selig’s office is based in New York, but Torre says the commissioner hasn’t said he couldn’t work from Los Angeles.

The 70-year-old Torre retired in September after three years managing the Dodgers, ending a career on the bench that included overseeing the New York Yankees. He played 17 years in the major leagues.

“I’ve been in the dugout forever, I know what I’m doing there,” Torre said. “When you start all of a sudden saying, `This is your job,’ it’s not necessarily fear, it’s just not sure about being able to do a job. With all the subject matter we’ve talked about, I feel good about it.”

Torre said he and Selig haven’t discussed job titles, but they have determined what responsibilities the job would entail, although he declined to be specific.

“I’d rather have that come from the league office,” he said before teeing off in his Safe at Home Foundation’s golf tournament at Wilshire Country Club.

“I want to do something that I feel useful. It really intrigues me the fact that I think this could fill the bill.”

Torre talked to Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti on Monday and said he doesn’t plan to work for the team in any capacity next season. Instead, he prefers a job helping all of baseball.

“This is more all-encompassing,” he said of working for Selig. “Instead of just one team, it would involve trying to do something that would help baseball. If I can contribute in some way, I would want to do that.”

Torre already is part of the special committee for on-field matters formed by Selig a year ago to examine possible changes in the sport, along with Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia.

“That’s what really got my enthusiasm going because I realized how open the commissioner was to ideas,” he said. “It’s really fun to bang it around there.”

The committee met two weeks ago during owners’ meetings in Arizona, and is set to get together again next week.

“We’ve talked about scheduling and postseason scheduling and the possibility of another wild-card team, so there’s a lot of significant decisions that are going to be made,” Torre said.

Beth Harris