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Posted by Kosmo (208.191.243.90) on January 17, 19101 at 04:31:55:
*** Winfield, Puckett elected to Hall of Fame
NEW YORK (AP) - Dave Winfield and Kirby Puckett were elected
Tuesday to the Hall of Fame on their first try, becoming the
fourth pair of teammates picked by baseball writers in the same
year. Winfield, who had 3,110 hits and 465 home runs, and
Puckett, whose All-Star career was cut short by glaucoma, played
together on the Minnesota Twins in 1993-94. While Puckett spent
his entire career with the Twins, Winfield played for six teams.
Winfield was listed on 84.5 percent of the ballots and Puckett
was chosen on 82.1 percent in voting by 10-year members of the
Baseball Writers' Association of America. It took 75 percent for
election. The outfielders brought to 36 the players elected in
their first year of eligibility. There are 251 overall members in
the Hall. Gary Carter finished third with 64.9 percent, followed
by Jim Rice (57.9), Bruce Sutter (47.6) and Goose Gossage (44.3).
Don Mattingly received 28.2 percent as a first-year candidate.
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=405852497
*** Canseco signs with Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Jose Canseco agreed to an incentive-laden
contract with the DH-desperate Anaheim Angels on Tuesday that
could pay him as little as $200,000 or as much as $5 million. The
free agent slugger got a deal heavily based on plate appearances,
along with an invitation to spring training. Canseco, 36, is 23rd
on baseball's career home run list with 446. He has been
sidelined by injuries in each of the last six years, with back
problems slowing him in four seasons. The New York Yankees
claimed Canseco on waivers from Tampa Bay last August, then cut
him loose after winning the World Series. The Yankees declined a
$4 million option on him in November, instead paying a $500,000
buyout. Canseco hit a combined .252 with 15 home runs and 49 RBIs
in 98 games for the Devil Rays and Yankees. The Angels were third
in the AL with 236 home runs, but their power-packed lineup was
minus a steady and productive designated hitter.
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=405851914
*** Owners gather in Phoenix to discuss competitive balance
NEW YORK (AP) - In their first meeting since Alex Rodriguez's
record $252 million contract with Texas, baseball owners gather
Wednesday in Phoenix and will discuss competitive balance.
Commissioner Bud Selig's staff has proposed a new competitive
draft, in which the teams with the eight worst records over the
previous three years would be able to choose one player left
unprotected by the teams with the eight best winning percentages.
Each of the top teams could protect 25 players in their
organizations. If the draft had been in place after last season,
Atlanta (.626), the New York Yankees (.616), the New York Mets
(.573), Cleveland (.568), San Francisco (.559), Houston (.558),
Boston (.558) and Cincinnati (.530) would have lost players.
While a discussion of competitive balance and the draft was
likely, it was unclear if Selig will bring the proposal to a
vote.
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=405853597
*** Surgeon: Williams heart surgery went well
BOSTON (AP) - Doctors remained optimistic Tuesday even as
baseball great Ted Williams was back under sedation in intensive
care a day after he underwent a lengthy operation to repair
failing heart valves. Doctors at New York Presbyterian Hospital's
Weill Cornell Medical Center were encouraged by Williams'
response to doctors commands immediately after surgery, The
Boston Globe reported. The 82-year-old Hall of Famer, baseball's
last .400 hitter, could not speak when he awoke from surgery
because he was still intubated, but he did respond to doctors'
commands, said Dr. Jeffrey Borer, the cardiologist overseeing the
Williams case. "When he was told to squeeze a doctor's fingers he
did it, and that's very important," Borer told the Globe in a
story to be published in its Wednesday editions. "I think things
went well," said Dr. Wayne Isom, head of the 13-man surgical
team, after Monday's nine-hour operation. "The next 48 hours is
the critical period."
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=405855367
*** Posada agrees to $4.05 million, one-year contract
NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Yankees settled the easiest of their
salary arbitration cases, agreeing Tuesday night to a $4.05
million, one-year contract with catcher Jorge Posada. With the
agreement, the Yankees have two players remaining in arbitration,
and they're both All-Stars: shortstop Derek Jeter and closer
Mariano Rivera. Jeter and the Yankees are attempting to negotiate
a huge multiyear contract before Thursday's exchange of
arbitration figures. Rivera's contract talks have not yet reached
the detailed phase. Both Jeter and Rivera are eligible for free
agency after next season. Posada, 29, became the Yankees'
fulltime catcher last season and hit .287 with 28 homers and 86
RBIs, although he tailed off in the second half, hitting .258
from Sept. 1 on with just six RBIs. In order to keep Posada from
wearing down, the Yankees upgraded their backup catcher for this
year, signing Joe Oliver to a $1.25 million, one-year deal.
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=405855766
*** Millar, Sanchez agree to deals with Marlins
MIAMI (AP) - The Florida Marlins agreed Tuesday to a $1.6
million, two-year contract with infielder/outfielder Kevin Millar
and a $1,425,000, one-year deal with left-hander Jesus Sanchez. A
day earlier, the pair were among six Marlins who filed for salary
arbitration, with right-hander Manny Aybar agreeing to a
$665,000, one-year contract just before the filing deadline.
Millar gets $700,000 this year and $900,000 in 2001, up from
$265,000 last season. Millar, 29, hit .259 last season with a
career-high 14 homers and 42 RBIs in 123 games. He started 31
games at first base, 13 in left, 12 at third and six as the
designated hitter. Sanchez, 26, went 9-12 with a 5.34 ERA in 32
starts last season. He became the club's sixth pitcher to throw
two complete game shutouts in one season -- and one of only eight
National League pitchers to do so in 2000.
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=405853365
*** Blue Jays trade outfielder Mottola to Marlins
TORONTO (AP) - The Toronto Blue Jays traded outfielder Chad
Mottola to the Florida Marlins on Tuesday for a player to be
named or cash. Mottola, 29, was the MVP of the International
League last season. He hit .309 with 33 home runs, 102 RBIs and
30 stolen bases for Triple-A Syracuse. The outfielder appeared in
three games with Toronto in September, going 2-for-9 with two
RBIs. The Jays designated Mottola for assignment Monday.
*** Tigers sign catcher Servais to minor league contract
DETROIT (AP) - Catcher Scott Servais agreed Tuesday to a minor
league contract with the Detroit Tigers and was invited to spring
training. Servais, 33, would get a $400,000, one-year contract if
he makes the team and the chance to earn $225,000 more in
performance bonuses. He hit .220 in 40 games with the Colorado
Rockies and San Francisco Giants last year. Servais also played
with the Houston Astros (1991-95) and Chicago Cubs (1995-98). He
has a .244 career average and has thrown out 24.6 percent of
runners attempting to steal.
*** Frankie Rodriguez agrees to minor league deal with Reds
CINCINNATI (AP) - Right-hander Frankie Rodriguez, who pitched for
Seattle last year, agreed Tuesday to a minor league contract with
the Cincinnati Reds. Rodriguez, 28, went 2-1 with a 6.27 ERA in
23 relief appearances for the Mariners last season. He also had a
2-1 record and 4.84 ERA in six starts and three relief
appearances for Triple-A Tacoma. Rodriguez also has pitched for
Boston and Minnesota.
*** Court says Giants must face harassment suit
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court refused to free the San
Francisco Giants from a lawsuit by players in the Dominican
Republic who say they were sexually harassed by the team's former
Latin American scout. The court, without comment Tuesday, turned
down the Giants' bid to dismiss the lawsuit filed in San
Francisco. The players have filed a separate claim in the
Dominican Republic. The 13 players sued the Giants and scout Luis
Rosa in San Francisco in 1998. The players said they were
recruited in the Dominican Republic by Rosa and signed contracts
to play for the Giants' minor-league team in that country. The
players' lawsuit said Rosa told them they must submit to his
sexual advances to stay employed by the Giants, and that when
they refused to comply they were suspended or fired. The lawsuit
also said Rosa's employers knew of his conduct.
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=405847602
*** Former Astros pitcher gets his Hall of Fame recognition
HOUSTON (AP) - All Jim Deshaies wanted was for Hall of Fame
voters to adhere to a fundamental American principle: "One Man,
One Vote." He got his vote Tuesday, when the ex-Astro pitcher's
playful Internet campaign culminated in a single vote of support
among the 511 voters for baseball's Hall of Fame. In a 12-year
major league career with six teams, Deshaies had an 84-95 record
and 4.14 ERA and went a record 373 career at-bats without getting
an extra-base hit. Still, he was nominated for the Hall, voted on
by 10-year members of the Baseball Writers' Association of
America. A Web site was set up to promote Deshaies' bid for the
Hall and, when the results were announced Tuesday, Deshaies
basked in the glow. "As you know by now, this campaign fell 386
votes shy of reaching the Hall, but the fact that we reached our
stated goal is a testament to the validity of our effort, as well
as to the wisdom of never setting one's sites too high," said
Deshaies.
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=405852691
*** Winfield gets 'big call' from baseball's Hall of Fame
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Dave Winfield made the right choice.
Drafted by teams in major league baseball, the NFL, NBA and old
ABA, he picked the sport he first played as an 8-year-old in St.
Paul, Minn.
"I just had a love for the game," he said Tuesday after being
elected to the baseball Hall of Fame on his first try. "Every
year I played it professionally, it was the same way."
Winfield was listed on 435 of 515 ballots -- 387 were needed for
election -- in voting by 10-year members of the Baseball Writers'
Association of America.
He'll enter the Hall in August with former Minnesota Twins
teammate Kirby Puckett, who was picked on 423.
"I'm honored, I'm humbled," Winfield said inside the gated
Bel-Air community where he lives with his wife, Tonya, and their
6-year-old twins. "I owe a debt of gratitude to a lot of people
that made contributions to my career and my life."
A multisport standout at the University of Minnesota, Winfield
was drafted by the San Diego Padres, the Minnesota Vikings of the
NFL, the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA, and the Utah Stars of the
now-defunct ABA.
"I really didn't have any doubts that it was the wrong choice,"
he said of baseball. "Football wasn't a consideration. You see
what happens to those guys. They're laughing one week and they're
on crutches the next."
Winfield played for six teams, but spent his longest time with
the New York Yankees.
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=405854880
*** Puckett thrilled to join Hall of Fame
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - If he still could see out of his right eye,
Kirby Puckett would have been out on the field, taking hacks.
Instead, he was back in the "Room of Doom," talking about how he
became the third-youngest living player elected to the Hall of
Fame.
"I was definitely an overachiever," Puckett said following his
election to the Hall. "I did way more than I ever thought I'd do.
But I had a love for the game that was unmatched."
Puckett, 40, was the type of player they had to kick out of the
ballpark: first to arrive, last to leave. When he came to the
Metrodome following his election, he returned to the very same
room where he announced the end of his playing days 5 1/2 years
ago.
"I was at the top of my game when I was forced to retire," he
said. "I think you could put my numbers over 12 years up with
anybody and they'd be comparable."
He was a roly-poly walking advertisement for the game of
baseball, thankful for every walk to the plate, every sprint
around the bases. The 12 years didn't seem like enough. Among
living players, only Lou Gehrig (36) and Sandy Koufax (37) made
it at a younger age.
"I wasn't playing to get into the Hall of Fame," Puckett said.
"But I'm here now, and I'm here to stay."
Puckett believes he is being enshrined because his passion for
the game was so great. He loved to play and he never stopped
smiling.
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=405854829