Joe Torre

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre surprised the baseball world with the announcement on Friday that he will step down from his position following the season, named Don Mattingly his successor.

Meanwhile, we don't yet know what Torre's future plans include. Will he manage again or is this the end of his career?

If this is the last stop for Torre the manager, it has certainly been an interesting one. Torre, of course, is best known for the four titles he won with the New York Yankees. But is he a great manager? Is he a Hall of Famer?

New York Yankees legend Don Mattingly will be replacing Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre at the end of the season. This ends a disappointing fun for Torre as the Dodgers manager.

Torre started his Dodger career with a 5-0 victory and kept on winning right into the 2008 playoffs. There, he managed his team to a 3-0 sweep over the Cubs.

Joe Torre has made it official: he will be stepping down as the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers at the end of the 2010 season, and thus comes to a close one of the great managerial careers in baseball history.

It is a bitter-sweet end, though, as after 12 brilliant season with the New York Yankees, Torre leaves the Dodgers without having brought a championship to L.A. in his three seasons there.

To make matters all the more wrenching, Torre's Dodgers reached the NLCS in each of his first two years at Chavez Ravine, but could never get over the hump.

Joe Torre shockingly announced he will retire from the Los Angeles Dodgers, and hands  the reins to successor Don Mattingly today  with two weeks left in the regular season.

It's a move that caught everyone by surprise considering that the Dodgers may want to interview others such as Tim Wallach, but nevertheless Mattingly is the incoming manager while Torre is nothing but a lame duck on the West Coast.

Joe Torre is undoubtedly one of the most successful managers in sports history. Starting as a manager for the Yankees in 1996, Torre went on to manage the team for 12 straight years, bringing them to the playoffs in each year. Also add in four championships.

At the end of the 2007 season, Joe Girardi took over as the Yankees manager, and Torre went on to manage the Dodgers. Three years later, he has announced that he will be stepping down as manager of the Dodgers in 2011, and will hand over the job to Don Mattingly.

Don Mattingly will has been announced as the next manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers

Torre, who is in his 29th season as a MLB manager, has resigned as the Dodgers manager. The Dodgers are 72-75 and have been struggling lately.

Torre has managed the Dodgers for three seasons.

The Dodgers have scheduled a news conference for later today where they will name Mattingly as the next manager.

It is still unclear whether Torre will retire or search for another job.

With speculations swirling regarding the future of the Los Angeles Dodgers as far as payroll and players, one thing is finally put to rest today. Joe Torre will not have his contract picked up this off-season, and Don Mattingly will replace Torre as manager. 

The changing of the guard will be officially announced later today before the Dodgers take on the Colorado Rockies.

Via ESPN:

What a difference a year makes.

After two consecutive trips to the NLCS in 2008 and 2009, Dodgers fans had even higher hopes for the 2010 season.

Folks in Dodgertown knew that the divorce between Frank and Jamie McCourt would have some type of effect on the organization, but nobody guessed the 2010 campaign would turn into a struggle on the field.

Although September 1 marks the day that all MLB teams may expand their rosters up to 40 players, the Los Angeles Dodgers are passing on the opportunity—at least temporarily.