Torre leaves MLB to join Dodger bid

NEW YORK, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Joe Torre has resigned as Major League Baseball's executive vice president for baseball operations to join a group bidding to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Torre, who spent many seasons as a major league manager including three as skipper of the Dodgers, spent just one year in the MLB position.

"I am so appreciative of the chance the commissioner gave me to see the game from a different perspective by working for Major League Baseball, especially during such a great time for our sport," Torre said in a statement released by Major League Baseball.

"I have made this decision because of a unique chance to join a group that plans to bid for the Dodgers."

Torre, an all-star player, later moved to the dugout to manage the Mets, Braves, Cardinals, Yankees and Dodgers.

During his 12-year tenure in New York from 1996 to 2007 he led the Yankees to four World Series titles.

He will join a group putting together a bid for the Dodgers, put up for sale in November by owner Frank McCourt less than a month after he was awarded sole ownership of the club in a tumultuous divorce settlement.

McCourt and his ex-wife, Jamie, had owned the team since 2004.