For what it’s worth, Dodgers get Torre

The Los Angeles Lakers recruited the most decorated coach in pro basketball eight years ago, and Phil Jackson promptly led Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal to the NBA championship. The Los Angeles Dodgers hired the most decorated manager in baseball Thursday, but their fans should not reserve seats for a championship parade just yet.

Joe Torre, who signed a three-year contract worth $13 million to become the Dodgers’ manager, won four World Series titles in 12 years with the New York Yankees. He can bring credibility, experience and personality to Los Angeles, but baseball experts cautioned the Dodgers and their fans not to expect Torre’s presence alone to translate into many victories over the 162-game season.

“A good manager is probably worth a game or two,” San Diego Padres General Manager Kevin Towers said. “But a lot of times, in our division, that can be the difference.”

The Dodgers finished eight games out of first place in the National League West last season, behind the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies and Padres. They now turn to Torre, the highest-paid manager in baseball.

Jackson inherited two superstars when he joined the Lakers, in a sport where two players make up 40% of a starting lineup. Torre inherits a Dodgers team in transition, directed to repair a clubhouse fractured between emerging young players and established veterans.

“It’s the not the wins and losses he has control over. It’s the attitude,” said former major league manager and player Larry Bowa, who coached under Torre in New York and is expected to follow him to Los Angeles. “He has a way of getting everybody on the same page. I’ve never seen anything like it. That will make the ballclub better.”

Baseball analysts have long debated how they might quantify the worth of a manager. Baseball Prospectus, a baseball think tank, studied Torre’s tenure with the Yankees in trying -- and ultimately failing -- to determine how much of the team’s success could be attributed to him.

Nate Silver, executive editor of Baseball Prospectus, said game management in baseball -- how to arrange a lineup, when to change pitchers, whether to call for a bunt or steal play, and so forth -- is less important than in other sports.

“It shouldn’t make for more than a couple of wins’ worth either way,” Silver said. “But there’s no way we’ve found to quantify things like the manager motivating his players over a 162-game schedule and getting the best results out of them.”

Under Torre -- and with a lineup laden with All-Star players -- the Yankees scored the most runs of any team in the major leagues last season. The Dodgers ranked 21st among the 30 teams.

Alex Rodriguez led the Yankees with 54 home runs; Jeff Kent led the Dodgers with 20.

Rodriguez, the crown jewel among this year’s free agents, is available to the highest bidder. So Torre might make his most significant contribution to victory by helping to lure a free agent, or several, to the Dodgers.

“Throughout the industry, he has a tremendous reputation,” Towers said. “If things are close to even, in terms of dollars and living environment, then a lot of players will want to play for him. That can be a huge plus.”

Torre’s Yankees lived up to their “Bronx Bombers” nickname, but they deployed a diversified offense. The Yankees were the only team in the American League last season to hit 200 home runs and steal 100 bases.

“They play an intelligent brand of baseball,” Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said. “They balance a great blend of running the bases, which is overlooked, with an incredibly deep lineup that can drive the ball.”

They took the most pitches -- and, as a result, played the longest games in baseball, with an average time of 3 hours 14 minutes. (The Dodgers’ average game lasted 2 hours 54 minutes, according to Stats LLC.)

The Dodgers can run, led by outfielder Juan Pierre and shortstop Rafael Furcal. But their hitters, including young players such as infielder James Loney and outfielder Matt Kemp, are not masters of power and patience at bat.

Ned Colletti, the Dodgers’ general manager, said Torre expressed no concern about managing a team dotted with young players after managing the Yankees and their record $200-million payroll. In New York, stars such as shortstop Derek Jeter and pitcher Mariano Rivera emerged under Torre.

In the last two years, Torre nurtured infielder Robinson Cano and outfielder Melky Cabrera, even moving veteran Johnny Damon out of center field to accommodate Cabrera.

“He’s not one of the guys that says veterans only,” Bowa said.

During games, the television camera hardly ever catches Torre displaying any emotion. He exudes calm, his trusty water bottle by his side, well aware that he can do only so much to control the outcome.

After all, Torre was fired three times before the Yankees hired him. He had never won a playoff game in 14 years leading the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals.

He is a manager, not a miracle worker.

Said Scioscia, speaking generally: “You’re certainly not going to take a team that doesn’t have the talent to get to the level of contending and just turn it around as the manager.”

Don Zimmer, who coached under Torre for eight seasons with the Yankees, put the forecast for his success with the Dodgers in refreshingly blunt language.

“If the players play good, he’ll be a good manager,” Zimmer said. “If the players play bad, he’ll be a bad manager.”

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bill.shaikin@latimes.com

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Joe Torre

* Born: July 18, 1940, Brooklyn, N.Y. Younger brother of Frank Torre, former first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Braves

Playing career

* 1960-77: Catcher, first baseman and third baseman with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets. Batted .297 with 252 home runs and 1,185 RBIs in 2,209 games. Won the batting title with St. Louis in 1971 (.363). Nine-time All-Star

Managing career

* 1977-81 New York Mets (286-420, .405 winning percentage)

* 1982-84 Atlanta Braves (257-229, .529 winning percentage)

* 1990-95 St. Louis Cardinals (351-354, .498 winning percentage)

* 1996-2007 New York Yankees (1,173-767, .605 winning percentage)

* Career: 2,067-1,770, .539 winning percentage

Postseason

* Reached playoffs all 12 seasons as Yankees manager

* World Series championships (1996, ‘98, ’99 and 2000)

Note: From 1985 to 1990, was a broadcaster for the Angels