Joe Torre resigned Wednesday as Major League Baseball's executive vice president for baseball operations to join a group trying to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Torre, 71, managed the Dodgers in 2008-10, then retired and joined MLB last February as a top aide to commissioner Bud Selig.
He is joining a group headed by real estate developer Rick Caruso.
"I have made this decision because of a unique chance to join a group that plans to bid for the Dodgers," Torre said in a statement.
The Dodgers were put up for sale by owner Frank McCourt in November, five months after the team filed for bankruptcy. An agreement between McCourt and MLB said the team is to be sold by April 30, which also is the date for McCourt to pay ex-wife Jamie a $131 million divorce settlement.
Initial bids for the team are due by Jan. 23. The price likely will break the record for a baseball franchise, topping the $845 million paid by the Ricketts family for the Chicago Cubs in 2009.
Torre, the 1971 National League MVP, was a nine-time All-Star during a playing career in 1960-77, then managed the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals. After working as a broadcaster for the Angels, he managed the New York Yankees in 1996-07 and led them to four World Series titles.
Other potential bidders for the Dodgers are groups that include Magic Johnson, the former Lakers star; talk-show host Larry King; Peter O'Malley, a former Dodgers owner; Mark Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks owner; Orel Hershiser and Steve Garvey, former Dodgers stars; and Fred Claire, a former Dodgers general manager.
Winners of six World Series titles but none since 1988, the Dodgers have been in turmoil since October 2009, when the McCourts separated and Frank fired Jamie as the team's CEO.
The Dodgers finished third in the National League West at 82-79 last year, had just three sellouts and fell short of 3 million in home attendance in a full season for the first time since 1992.
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