A dozen years after he retired, Tom Lasorda is coming back to manage the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In spring training, that is.

The 80-year-old Hall of Famer will guide a split squad of Dodgers for eight games in March while Joe Torre takes the other half to China for a two-game exhibition series.

“There is no one else in the game of baseball like Tommy Lasorda,” Torre said Wednesday. “He’s excited about it. I thought it was a great idea. He’s such a fan favorite. Knowing his enthusiasm for the game, I know he’ll embrace it.”

Lasorda is ready to go.

“What a thrill this will be, not just to manage the games, but the thought behind it,” he said. “This really is a very, very special honor.”

This is the Dodgers’ final spring training in Vero Beach, Fla., and Lasorda has long been a fixture at the camp. He usually rides around Dodgertown in a golf cart, chatting with fans and signing autographs, and his arrival at tiny Holman Stadium is often accompanied by “Hail to the Chief” playing on the sound system.

Lasorda managed the Dodgers for nearly 20 years before a heart attack hastened his retirement in 1996. He is now a special adviser to Dodgers chairman Frank McCourt.

Lasorda last managed in 2000, when he led the United States to a gold medal in the Sydney Olympics, beating the heavily favored Cuban national team in the championship game.

“I can’t think of a more fitting tribute to a man who embodies the Dodger organization than to have him lead the team during our final week of games here in Vero Beach,” Torre said.

Lasorda will manage the Dodgers from March 11-18 and work the team’s final home game at Dodgertown. The team will move its spring training headquarters next year to Glendale, Ariz.

This is Lasorda’s 59th season in the Dodgers organization, including time as a player, scout, minor league manager and major league coach. As the Dodgers manager, his teams were 1,599-1,493 and won two World Series, four NL pennants and eight division titles.

At Fort Myers, Fla., Red Sox center fielder Coco Crisp is prepared to talk to Boston management about a trade if it appears he will not win back his starting job taken by rookie Jacoby Ellsbury in the postseason.

At Bradenton, Fla., free-agent pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim agreed to a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates.