LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paying tribute to one of baseball's most successful franchises, Joe Torre was front and center for his introduction as the new manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

His news conference Monday was held in center field at Dodger Stadium to accommodate the overload of media, a first according to team spokesman Josh Rawitch.

Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully began the news conference attended by team owners Frank and Jamie McCourt and general manager Ned Colletti.

''Wow! This has been wild here. The last two weeks have been a whirlwind for my wife Ali and me,'' Torre said. ''You say goodbye to one prestigious organization and you say hello to another prestigious organization.''

Torre walked onto the fog-shrouded field arm-in-arm with his wife Ali. They took seats on a stage with their backs to the multitiered seating section.

Torre left the New York Yankees after 12 seasons and four World Series titles. He follows Casey Stengel in becoming the second person to manage both storied franchises. Stengel led the Brooklyn Dodgers to losing records from 1934-36, moved over to the Boston Braves, then guided the Yankees to seven Series titles from 1949-60.

The 67-year-old Torre replaced Grady Little, who quit last week, and takes over an underperforming team that hasn't won the Series since 1988. The Dodgers finished fourth in the NL West last season at 82-80.

Torre, who grew up in Brooklyn rooting for the New York Giants, guided the Yankees to postseason appearances in all 12 of his seasons. He left when the Yankees offered him a $5 million, one-year contract with $3 million in performance bonuses that Torre termed ''an insult.'' He made $7.5 million this season, the last of a $19.2 million, three-year agreement.

Exactly two weeks after he left the Yankees, Torre agreed to a $13 million, three-year deal with the Dodgers.