Torre Accepts Yankees Job, Brings 14 Years Of Experience

Insisting he’s not worried about interference from George Steinbrenner, Joe Torre on Thursday accepted baseball’s least secure job - manager of the New York Yankees.

“If I concern myself with what-ifs and how I’m going to handle it, then I shouldn’t be here,” Torre said at Yankee Stadium after his two-year, $1.05 million deal was announced.

Torre, a Brooklyn-born fan of the New York Giants, succeeds Buck Showalter, who balked at Steinbrenner’s attempt to force out some of his coaches.

Showalter already has interviews scheduled with the Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics. The Arizona Diamondbacks also are showing interest.

Torre, 55, was fired by the St. Louis Cardinals in June and wasn’t contacted about the Yankees job until Tuesday.

Torre has a .471 winning percentage in 14 seasons as a major-league manager. He has led just one team to a first-place finish: the 1982 Braves, who won the N.L. West and were swept by the Cardinals in the playoffs.

Colorado general manager Bob Gebhard agreed to a three-year deal with outfielder Dante Bichette worth about $11 million.

Bichette, who had a $3.1 million salary this year and made $200,000 more in performance bonuses, can make about $1 million a season in bonuses under the new contract.

Bichette’s statistics topped teammates Larry Walker, Vinny Castilla and Andres Galarraga. He hit a National League-leading 40 homers, drove in 128 runs and hit .340. He led the league with a .620 slugging percentage.

Todd Worrell and the Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to a one-year contract with an option for 1997. The team also announced it will not offer arbitration to center fielder Brett Butler, pitcher Tom Candiotti and third baseman Tim Wallach, giving up exclusive negotiating rights to the three free agents while leaving the door open to them.

Left-handed relief pitcher Paul Assenmacher and the Cleveland Indians agreed to a two-year contract worth about $1.7 million. Separately, the Indians declined to exercise 1996 options on first baseman Paul Sorrento and pitcher Mark Clark, making the pair eligible for salary arbitration.