Yankees name Girardi as manager

Girardi has worked as a Yankees TV analyst this year

Former New York Yankees player Joe Girardi has succeeded Joe Torre as the Major League Baseball team's manager.
Girardi, who has signed a three-year deal, spent four seasons as a catcher with the Yankees from 1996 and was Torre's bench coach in 2005 for a year.

Torre had turned down the offer of a fresh one-year deal after 12 seasons in charge of the Yankees.

The 43-year-old Girardi beat bench coach Don Mattingly and first base coach Tony Pena to the Yankees job.

"I'm excited and thrilled," said Girardi. "This all happened pretty fast."

Girardi was a catcher for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies and St Louis Cardinals before joining the Yankees and helping them to three World Series wins.

After working with Torre in 2005, Girardi managed the Florida Marlins the following season and was NL Manager of the Year.

Girardi has spent this season as a Yankees TV analyst after being fired by the Marlins last year.

"He has been a world championship player, played in this environment, been a coach, been a Major League manager," said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman of Girardi.

The Yankees are the major league's highest salaried team with a payroll exceeding $200m (£97m). They have won a record 26 World Series crowns.

Torre has been linked with the Los Angeles Dodgers.