The Los Angeles Dodgers hired Grady Little as their new manager Tuesday and signed him to a two-year contract with a club option for a third year. The Dodgers, who parted ways with Jim Tracy on October 3 after their first losing season since 1999, were the only team without a manager entering this week's Winter Meetings. In Little, they get a manager who went 188-136 in two seasons with the Boston Red Sox before he was fired prior to the 2004 season and replaced by Terry Francona, who then led the Red Sox to their first World Series title in 86 years. Little's departure from Boston was preceded by a much-criticized decision to stick with starting pitcher Pedro Martinez in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series. The New York Yankees scored three times in that inning to tie the game and eventually won on Aaron Boone's home run in the 11th inning. Little appears to have put the circumstances of his dismissal in Boston behind him, even going so far as to begin his remarks Tuesday by thanking the Red Sox for what he called "the chance of a lifetime." Still, he's happy to be getting a second chance. "There's no way I can put into words how happy I am to get this opportunity with this franchise," said Little. "I have confidence with what I did with the ball club in Boston, but at the same time you never know what lies in your future. "The opportunity is here now, and you can bet your butt I'm going to make the most of it." The Red Sox finished second in the AL East in each of Little's two years with the team, both times behind the nemesis Yankees. His winning percentage of .580 is the best by any major league manager since 1970 and ranks 12th in MLB history among the 280 men who have managed 320 games or more. "While we are building a club for the long haul, we also want to win now, and Grady Little has the skills and experience to lead this team right out of the gate," said new Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti, who was hired less than three weeks after Paul DePodesta was fired on October 29. Little, 55, is the 25th manager in Dodgers franchise history -- the seventh since the team moved to Los Angeles -- and the fifth in the last eight years. He had been working for the Chicago Cubs in several capacities. The Dodgers, plagued by injuries, were just 71-91 last season.