Torborg to Manage the Mets : Baseball: He will resign as manager of the White Sox to be near his home and family in New Jersey.

Jeff Torborg agreed Thursday to leave the Chicago White Sox and come home to manage the New York Mets.

The Mets called a news conference for today, and a source said the team had received permission from the commissioner’s office to announce the hiring of Torborg.

The White Sox said they, too, expected Torborg to leave.

“If the Mets are calling a news conference, I would say it’s going to be about him,” White Sox Senior Vice President Jack Gould said. “It’s very attractive to him. He coached 10 ears in New York. His wife is a Jersey girl.”

All major announcements during the playoffs and World Series must be cleared in advance by the commissioner’s office.

Earlier Thursday, Torborg denied reports that the deal had been completed, but he did say, “It’s deep into discussion.” He could not be reached later in the day.

Torborg, who lives in Mountainside, N.J., played for the Dodgers and Angels for 10 years, managed Cleveland in the late 1970s and coached with the Indians and the New York Yankees. His career managerial record is 407-436.

He began talking with the Mets after the White Sox said they wouldn’t stop him from leaving.

“The main thing that interests me is the location,” Torborg said Thursday morning. “I’ve spent almost 50 years here. My mother, who lives here, is 80 years old. We’re about an hour and 15 minutes from Shea Stadium. I would not have thought about another team in another location.”

Torborg said he met Wednesday with Met General Manager Al Harazin and Chief Operating Officer Frank Cashen.

New York fired Bud Harrelson with a week left in the season in Cashen’s final act before giving the general manager’s title to Harazin.

Don Zimmer, who managed the Boston Red Sox in the 1970s, was rehired as that team’s third base coach.

Red Sox General Manager Lou Gorman also announced that Rich Gale had been named pitching coach and Al Bumbry had been retained as first base coach.