San Francisco ? Bruce Bochy is leaving the San Diego Padres and heading up the California coast to manage their division rival in San Francisco.

Bochy agreed to a three-year contract worth roughly $6 million to replace Felipe Alou and become the Giants’ new skipper after working out details late Thursday. Bochy’s mission is to turn around a team he said was “off track” in recent seasons.

“Oh, what a great day,” Bochy said when introduced Friday at San Francisco’s waterfront ballpark. “I look forward to this challenge. I think this is a situation that is just going to get better. … I’ve been managing in this division for 12 years. I know it.”

Normally, Major League Baseball frowns upon such announcements during the World Series, but the Giants were excused because Bochy is set to leave Monday for Japan with an All-Star team.

Bochy was the only candidate to replace Alou who has previous major league managerial experience, something general manager Brian Sabean said he preferred. Bochy said he had interest from other teams but the Giants were the only club with a chance to get him away from San Diego.

The Giants received permission from the Padres on Wednesday to talk to Bochy, who traveled to the Bay Area on Thursday to meet with Sabean and other team officials. They negotiated into the night before reaching a deal – and the Padres will not receive any compensation from San Francisco.

The Giants had only a seven-day window in which to come to an agreement with Bochy because he was employed by another team. Bochy had one year left on his contract in San Diego but was told he would not receive an extension now, and was allowed to explore other options.