|
|
ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals added some depth to their bench Tuesday by signing infielders Shawon Dunston and Eduardo Perez to one-year contracts.
No financial terms of the deals were disclosed. Dunston earned $1 million during the 1998 season, which he spent with the Cleveland Indians and San Francisco Giants. Perez was paid $300,000 by the Cincinnati Reds.
Dunston was placed on the Cardinals' 40-man roster, while Perez signed a minor league contract and will be invited to spring training as a non-roster player. St. Louis also invited former backup catcher Erik Pappas to the team's spring training camp, which opens Thursday in Jupiter, Florida.
"We are pleased to finally get Shawon under contract as the last piece of our puzzle," Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty said. "As we try to put together a quality bench for 1999, we think Shawon and Eduardo could play very important roles. Eduardo can play first and third, while Shawon has the versatility to play in the infield and outfield."
The 35-year-old Dunston batted .222 with six homers and 20 RBI in 98 games last season. A two-time All-Star, he owns a .269 lifetime average with 123 homers and 550 RBI in 1,452 career games for the Chicago Cubs (1985-95, 1997), Giants (1996, 1998), Indians (1998) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1997).
Dunston was the top overall selection in the 1982 free agent draft by Chicago and made the National League All-Star team as a shortstop in 1988 and 1990. He quickly became known for his strong arm while producing above-average offensive numbers. But he played in just 18 games during the 1992 season because of a herniated disk in his lower back, an injury that also limited him to just seven games in 1993 and 88 the following season.
But he made a comeback for the Cubs in 1995, batting .296 with 14 homers and 69 RBI before signing with the Giants as a free agent following the season. After playing just 82 games for the Giants in 1996, he moved back to Chicago as a free agent in 1997 but was traded to Pittsburgh late in the season.
The 1997 campaign was one of Dunston's best, as he hit .300 with 14 homers and 57 RBI in 114 games. He has clubbed double-digit homers six times and his 69 RBI for the Cubs in 1994 is a career high.
Perez, the son of former Reds star Tony Perez, has split six years in the majors between the California Angels and Cincinnati. He batted .236 with four homers and 30 RBI in 84 games while playing first base for Cincinnati last season before being released.
The 29-year-old Perez had his best season for the Reds in 1997, setting career-highs in every major offensive category. He batted .253 with 16 homers and 52 RBI in 106 games. Perez was the Angels' first-round selection in the June 1991 draft.
Pappas, 32, last placed in the majors in 1994, when he went 4-for-44 (.091) with five RBI in 15 games for the Cardinals. He owns a .242 career average with one homer and 35 RBI in 104 games for the Cubs (1991) and Cardinals (1993-94).
ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals and new shortstop Edgar Renteria agreed to a one-year contract worth $1,975,000 and avoided a salary arbitration hearing set for Friday.
Renteria's new salary is more than seven times the $255,000 he made last season. He had asked for $2.45 million in arbitration and had been offered $1.75 million.
In addition to his base salary, he would earn a $25,000 bonus if he has 625 plate appearances.
St. Louis acquired Renteria, 23, in December in a trade that sent three minor-leaguers to the Florida Marlins. Renteria is a career .288 hitter who stole 41 bases last season. He is expected to bat leadoff this season for St. Louis.
Renteria was the Marlins only representative in last year's All-Star game and ended the 1997 Series with a two-out single off Cleveland's Charles Nagy in the bottom of the 11th inning of Game 7, giving Florida a 3-2 victory.
ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals traded former first-round draft choice Sean Lowe to the Chicago White Sox Tuesday in a swap of minor league right-handers.
The Cardinals acquired John Ambrose, 24, who is 24-37 with a 4.98 ERA in four minor league seasons.
Lowe, the 15th overall selection in 1992, is 0-5 in his major league career. He was 12-8 with a 3.18 ERA last year at Triple-A Memphis.
Ambrose was 9-12 with a 5.18 ERA in 1998 at Double-A Birmingham. But he posted a 2.95 ERA in nine relief appearances.
Ambrose was drafted by the White Sox in the second round of the 1994 amateur draft.
ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals filled their need for a second baseman, agreeing Wednesday to a $1.25 million, one-year contract with free agent Carlos Baerga.
Baerga, a switch hitter, was a three-time All-Star with Cleveland but his production has dropped off sharply since he was traded to the New York Mets in 1996.
``Carlos is an experienced, quality infielder who gives us good offensive potential at second base and versatility from both sides of the plate,'' Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty said.
The Cardinals' second baseman for the past two seasons, Delino DeShields, agreed in December to a $12.5 million, three-year contract with Baltimore. St. Louis considered signing Pat Meares, let go last month by Minnesota, and moving him from shortstop to second base. Meares was seeking about $2 million.
Baerga, 30, had his best season in 1993, when he hit .321 with 21 homers and 114 RBIs. He hit .314 the following season, dropped to .254 with Cleveland in 1996, then hit .193 during the rest of the season with the Mets and .281 and .266 during his full seasons in New York.
Baerga, coming off a $21.4 million, six-year contract, has a .293 career average with 121 homers and 676 RBIs. He gets a $1 million salary, which will be increased to $1.25 million if he's on the opening day roster.
The signing continues the revamp of the Cardinals. First baseman Mark McGwire and center fielder Ray Lankford are the only remaining starters from last year's opening day lineup.
Since the end of last season, St. Louis has signed outfielders Eric Davis and Darren Bragg and reliever Scott Radinsky, and traded for reliever Ricky Bottalico, starter Garrett Stephenson and shortstop Edgar Renteria.
Rookie J.D. Drew is expected to start in left field, replacing Ron Gant, who was traded to Philadelphia in the Bottalico deal.
ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- The St. Louis Cardinals today signed free agent outfielder Darren Bragg to a one-year contract with a club option for 2000 and named Mike Easler hitting coach.
Bragg played the last 2 1/2 years with the Boston Red Sox and hit .279 with eight home runs and 57 RBI last season. The left-handed hitter became a free agent when the Red Sox elected not to tender him a contract in December.
"Bragg fills our need for a versatile fourth outfielder," said Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty. "He's an exciting player who can play all three outfield positions and his hustling style of play can be infectious."
The 29-year-Bragg will back up projected starting outfielders Ray Lankford, Eric Davis and J.D. Drew.
After the Cardinals re-signed 40-year-old reserve outfielder Willie McGee last month, manager Tony La Russa said the team would still shop for a fourth outfielder. Jocketty inquired about obtaining Dave Martinez from Tampa Bay or Stan Javier from San Francisco, but settled on Bragg.
Bragg spent two-plus seasons with the Seattle Mariners before being traded to the Red Sox in July, 1996. He is a career .261 hitter with 30 home runs, 175 RBI and 38 stolen bases in 469 games.
Easler replaces Dave Parker, who opted to return to his business interests in Cincinnati.
A veteran of 14 major league seasons, Easler has spent the last nine years coaching at either the professional or amateur level.
"Mike possesses a strong combination of abilities that you look for in a hitting coach," said La Russa. "He's strong with both the mechanical and mental sides of hitting."
In 1992, Easler took over as the hitting coach for the Milwaukee Brewers, and helped the team rank second in the American League with a .268 batting average. He spent the next two seasons with the Red Sox.
Easler managed Nashua of the first-year independent Atlantic League last season. Seven of his players were signed by major league organizations.
Known as the "Hit Man", Easler was a lifetime .293 batter with 118 home runs and 522 RBI in 1,151 games with Houston (1973-75), California (1976), Pittsburgh (1977-83), Boston (1984-85), the New York Yankees (1986-87) and Philadelphia (1987).
NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Edgar Renteria, who delivered the game-winning single for the Florida Marlins in Game Seven of the 1997 World Series, was traded Monday night to the St. Louis Cardinals for three prospects.
The Cardinals acquired Renteria to fill a hole at shortstop, giving up a pair of relievers, right-hander Braden Looper and left-hander Armando Almanza, and shortstop Pablo Ozuna in the process.
Renteria's single off Charles Nagy in the 11th inning gave the Marlins a 3-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians in Game Seven of the 1997 Fall Classic and made the Marlins champions in just the fifth year of their existence.
The 23-year-old Renteria was then one of the few Marlins to surive the financially based dismantling that followed the 1997 season. He hit .282 with three homers, 31 RBI and 41 stolen bases for the Marlins in 1998 and made his first All-Star appearance.
The native of Colombia was one of just five remaining players on the World Series roster. Infielder Craig Counsell, outfielder Cliff Floyd and pitchers Livan Hernandez and Antonio Alfonseca were the others. Pitcher Alex Fernandez was on the team all season, but was injured in the League Championship Series and was placed on the disabled list.
The Cardinals were in the market for a shortstop after trading Royce Clayton to Texas at the July trading deadline. Luis Ordaz and Placido Polanco were used at the position for the final two months of the season.
The departure of Renteria leaves top prospect Alex Gonzalez, a highly touted 21-year-old from Venezuela, to take over as shortstop. Gonzalez hit .151 in 25 games for the Marlins last season. Earlier today, the Marlins selected veteran shortstop Benji Gil from the Chicago White Sox in the Triple A phase of the Rule 5 draft.
Looper, 24, the third overall pick in the 1996 draft, pitched briefly for the Cardinals in 1998 and was 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in four relief appearances. He spent most of the season at Triple A Memphis, where he was 2-3 with a 3.10 ERA and 20 saves.
The 26-year-old Almanza split time between Triple-A Memphis and Double-A Arkansas last season and led all Cardinals relievers with 59 appearances. He paced the Carolina League with 36 saves in 1997.
Ozuna, 20, was the Cardinals' Minor League Player of the Year in 1998 and led the Midwest League in batting (.357), runs (122) and hits (192).
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Pitcher Mark Petkovsek was traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to the Anaheim Angels today for a player to be named later.
Petkovsek, a 33-year-old right-hander, was 7-4 with a 4.77 ERA in 10 starts and 38 relief appearances for St. Louis last season. He has a 31-20 career record with a 4.72 ERA, making 207 appearances for Texas, Pittsburgh and the Cardinals, 40 of them starts.
Anaheim designated catcher Ben Molina for assignment to make roster space for Petkovsek. The Angels have 10 days to trade Molina, assign him outright to the minors or place him on unconditional release waivers.
Last season, Molina hit .294 with Triple-A Vancouver of the Pacific Coast League, with 22 RBIs in 49 games, and also spent time with Double-A Midland.
Thu, Dec 10, 12:02:37PM
by Associated Press
BOSTON — For more than two decades, Dennis Eckersley stood on the mound like a gunslinger, with his flowing hair, droopy mustache and one of the most talented arms in baseball. Eckersley with son Jake in 1997. /AP
After pitching in the most games in major league history — 1,071 — Eckersley said Thursday, Dec. 10 he had thrown his final fastball.
His 24 seasons in the majors were really two careers: 13 years as a starter and then, after a battle with alcohol, a move to the bullpen for 11 years as one of the most dominating relievers the game has ever seen.
``It's hard to walk away,'' he said, fighting back tears. ``It's been a major part of my life since I was 8 years old.''
The Eck piled up awards and memories: six All-Star appearances, the AL Most Valuable Player and Cy Young awards in 1992, the AL championship series MVP in 1988. He pitched a no-hitter for Cleveland in 1977, sat in the dugout for the 1978 Yankees-Red Sox playoff, gave up Kirk Gibson's famous World Series home run 1988, and closed out games for the three Bash Brothers pennant winners in Oakland.
``I guess the favorite memories are some of the magic that happened in Oakland,'' said Eckersley, who was born and raised in the Bay area. ``We had some magic that lasted for about five years, those were some of the special times.''
Now 44 and third on the career saves list with 390, he only admitted he had reached the end this week, after the Red Sox refused to offer salary arbitration, making them ineligible to re-sign him until May 1.
``To be honest with you, somebody had to make the decision for me because I wouldn't have done it,'' Eckersley said. ``I would much rather have left like I've done today than to leave in the middle of the season or getting booed out of the ballpark. I didn't want to taint my career.''
In his last appearance on Sept. 26, Eckersley broke a tie with Hoyt Wilhelm by pitching in his 1,071st game. As the Red Sox reliever ran in from the bullpen — a trademark of the Eck — fans at Fenway Park gave him a standing ovation.
Eckersley, who regularly runs in the offseason to keep in shape, said the thought of retirement started creeping into his mind after the playoffs.
``People started saying that I could do it again, and I thought, `Well, I guess,' but you know, physically, I did not want to keep it going,'' he said. ``I just started gearing down. Usually I just keep running, but all of the sudden I didn't want to run anymore. That's what happens I guess, that's what happened to me.''
The right-hander, who spent seven years with the Red Sox before moving on to the Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals, had returned to the team last December intending to finish his career in Boston.
He was a 20-game winner with the Red Sox in 1978, the year of that famous playoff game against the Yankees.
``I told somebody that this (return) was like the coming out party for me in '78,'' said Eckersley, who resides in Sudbury. ``You're lucky to be in the big leagues, let alone play where you live. I was lucky to come back here.''
Eckersley trails only Lee Smith (478) and John Franco (397) on the career saves list. He pitched a no hitter for Cleveland on May 30, 1977, against California.
Eckersley broke into the major leagues in 1975 with the Cleveland Indians, and pitched for the Red Sox from 1978-84. He was 20-8 with a 2.99 ERA in '78, his best year as a starter, but his production diminished over the next six years.
After going 6-11 with the Cubs in 1986, Eckersley was traded to the Athletics, who turned him into a reliever and gave him a second career.
``I'd be crazy saying I thought I'd do this,'' Eckersley said. ``Twelve years ago, my whole life changed when I went into the bullpen. I was just trying to make it to the big leagues, I know how fortunate I was. You never think you're going to have a 24-year career. Nobody's that cocky.''
Eckersley's career rebounded after he quit drinking and joined an Alcoholics Anonymous program in January 1987. A year later, he had a major-league leading 45 saves.
From 1988-1993, he averaged 43 saves per season. In 1990, he had 48 saves and a 0.63 ERA for one of A's three consecutive pennant winners he played on.
One memory Eckersley may want to forget was when he gave up Gibson's homer to lose Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. It was a Series Eckersley and the A's wound up losing in five games.
Despite a mediocre year with the Red Sox — he went 4-1 with one save and a 4.76 ERA in 50 relief appearances — Boston fans continued to cheer, and often gave standing ovations to the right hander.
``I had a good run,'' Eckersley said. ``I had some magic that was with me for a long time, so I know that I was real lucky to not have my arm fall off for one thing, and to make it this long physically is tough enough. But to me, it's like you're being rescued too when your career's over. It's like, `Whew,' the pressure's off.''
ST. LOUIS -- Jack Buck might be making some tiny concessions to his mild form of Parkinson's disease. But he isn't ready to put the knife to his long St. Louis Cardinals broadcasting career, or anything else in his whirlwind schedule as he surges on with the vigor of someone two decades his junior.
Buck plans no change in the way he has called Cardinals baseball in recent seasons. He'll work on about 100 radio broadcasts -- the home games, plus those that occur on the three or four Cards trips he plans to take. At 74, he's taking it the proverbial one season at a time.
``A lot depends on the Parkinson's,'' he said. ``It's staying at about the same rate now, which means it's under control. So I'll do this year and take it from there after that. When it's time to go, it will become very apparent to me. But I know if I'm not doing baseball after next season, I'll be doing something because I don't like sitting around.'' He can try writing comedy if he ever retires from broadcasting. His self-deprecating wit remains in prime-of-the-career form.
``Maybe I'll drive a cab, become a dealer out at Players (Island Casino) or open a watch repair shop. Those would be good job for a guy with Parkinson's, wouldn't they?'' Not bad material for a guy who deadpanned, ``I've given the Cardinals some of the best years of my life. Now I'm going to give them some of the worst'' in August when a statue of Buck was dedicated outside Busch Stadium.
Listening to Buck weave his craft in 1998 wasn't the same as in '68, when he was part of the soundtrack of the Cards' run to the World Series. His voice isn't as resonant or crisp at times. But this probably has more to do more with the fact he's 74 instead of 44 than it does with Parkinson's. He perseveres, and instead of trying to hide his ailment he has taken a straightforward approach. He even has lent his name to a couple of Parkinson's support groups after he stumbled on to the knowledge four years ago that he had the ailment.
``I was reading an article in Parade magazine; it talked about diminished handwriting, about tremors, and I said, `Somebody is following me around. That's me.'''
A trip to the doctor confirmed his suspicions, although it didn't seem to faze him much.
``It doesn't bother me,'' he said. ``That's life, things happen. Actually, it bothers other people more than me.'' But it's no big deal, Buck says.
``You handle it, you move on,'' he said simply.
That attitude impresses family members, including his son and Cardinals broadcast partner, Joe Buck.
``When you're in the public eye like he is, you open yourself up to questions on why you don't look the way you did a year before,'' Joe Buck said. ``Once he realized there was nothing to be ashamed of, that we as a family were there for him, it made it easier. He's not one of these guys with a big ego. He's dealt with it tremendously.''
It helps that Buck earns his living with his mouth, not his hands.
``He's not splitting atoms, he's not doing manual labor for his profession, so this is more of a frustration than anything else,'' Joe Buck said. ``He may have trouble buttoning the little button on the collar of his shirt. So what if it doesn't get buttoned? And he still gets a lot of requests for autographs, and absolutely signs them no matter how hard it is. The autograph at times may not look the same, but it still has meaning. He's a people person, and this has not gotten him down.''
Although next season will be Jack Buck's 46th in the Cardinals' broadcast booth, it will be his fifth in the part-time role. He is three seasons removed from being the radio voice of ``Monday Night Football'' and the Super Bowl, a role he filled for 16 seasons as he teamed with Hank Stram before CBS decided to go with a younger duo. And it has been seven years since CBS-TV decided to go with a younger man as its lead baseball play-by-play man. He's taken advantage of the easier professional pace by enjoying leisure activities.
He's written an autobiography. There have been trips to the Kentucky Derby, Greece and Spain. One to Alaska is in the works. And although he's cut back a bit on his master of ceremonies duties on the local banquet circuit, he's far from falling out of the public spotlight during the offseason. Case in point: He was the grand marshal for Thanksgiving Mid-America Holiday parade that wound through downtown St. Louis.
``I have a comparatively mild case of Parkinson's,'' Buck said. ``There's nothing I can't do that I want to do. I play golf. I hit the treadmill once in a while. I've got some effective medication. I'll die from something else, not Parkinson's.'' Relatives are upbeat _ about his malady and his grit.
``As a family we think if this is the worst thing wrong with him, great,'' Joe Buck said. ``He's hasn't let it dictate what he does with work or his personal life. And never once have I heard him complain. He's a guy who fought in World War II, so he's not going to moan and groan about what's happening to him. When the medication is right and he's rested, there is very little notice of the disease.'' Added another close relative: ``I hope he can be a blessing to those who have Parkinson's because he just doesn't stop.'' Actually, Buck would rather talk about the Cardinals than himself.
``As much as he loves his family and friends, baseball broadcasting and radio is his life,'' Joe Buck said. ``To the family, it's important to keep him going out there, for him to keep pawing through and not quit because of the disease. He loves doing the banquets, going to KMOX to be on the air, especially to broadcast baseball. He's in a game played by young men, by kids. He loves going to the ballpark and interacting. It's a good form of, maybe not therapy, but staying young.''
Buck has been around the Cardinals since 1954. Never did he see a season like the last one, when a team that finished 19 games out of first place and was effectively buried by midseason smashed attendance records. A home run-record-smashing season by a guy named McGwire caused that.
``It never was like this before, never with Roger Maris, Jack Clark or even (Stan) Musial. In two years, he's the best-known Cardinal ever,'' Buck said. ``And I do mean ever. A lot of time has gone by since the days of the Gas House Gang, and when Stan Musial shakes some young person's hand now they don't know who he is. But with the attention Mark McGwire got this season, he's better known than any of them ... He's been elevated to an uncharted level.''
When it became apparent McGwire had a legitimate shot at breaking Maris' homer record, Buck said he would not disrupt the normal broadcast rotation to be behind the microphone for any historic homers. He was there for No. 60 and the record-tying homer, No. 61. But the luck of the draw had Mike Shannon there for 62, 69 and 70.
``That stuff doesn't matter to me, I've had plenty of thrills in the booth,'' Buck said. ``Sure, I would have enjoyed it. But it doesn't matter.''
He was behind the mike for the record-tying homer, with a clear, crisp call:
``Swing and look at there! Look at there! Look at there! McGwire's No. 61! McGwire's Flight 61 headed for planet Maris! Home run McGwire, 61 .... Pardon me while I stand and applaud.''
He kicked himself afterward for sounding too rehearsed. But he already is looking forward to McGwire's first homer of '99. In fact, he said he already knows what he'll say if he's behind the microphone when it happens _ even though it's rehearsed, it's succinct.
``I'll just say, `Here we go again, folks.'''
ST. LOUIS — Willie McGee will be back with the St. Louis Cardinals for a 13th season after agreeing to a $1 million, one-year contract Monday.
The Cardinals also signed infielder Pat Kelly to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training. He would get a $550,000, one-year contract if he's added to the major league roster.
In addition, St. Louis offered salary arbitration to catcher Tom Lampkin, meaning they can continue to negotiate with him through Jan. 8.
McGee, 40, batted .253 with three home runs and 34 RBIs in 120 games last season.
Kelly, 31, batted .216 with four home runs and 14 RBIs in 53 games. Lampkin, 34, batted .231 with six home runs and 28 RBIs in 93 games.
The trade also sends reliever Jeff Brantley and starter Cliff Politte to the Phillies for Bottalico and right-hander Garrett Stephenson. As part of the deal, the Cardinals will pay in excess of $5 million to cover the $11 million Gant is owed during the remainder of his contract.
"Ronnie seemed to be genuinely excited about it," said Gant's agent, Bean Stringfellow.
Also on Thursday, the Cardinals signed left-handed relief pitcher Scott Radinsky to a three-year deal and outfielder Eric Davis to a two-year contract.
Gant, who will be 34 next season, is headed to his fourth team. He hit .240 with 26 homers and 67 RBI in 383 at-bats last year after a .229 season with 17 homers in 1997.
He was the premier right-handed power hitter in the lineup when the Atlanta Braves began a run of seven straight division titles and four NL pennants in the '90s.
The Braves released him in 1994 after Gant broke his leg in a dirt-bike accident -- one week after he signed a $5.5 million, one-year contract that wasn't guaranteed. He later signed with Cincinnati and then St. Louis, but never recaptured his 30-homer, 30-steal days with the Braves.
Gant's departure could mark the beginning of the Cardinals' revamped outfield. Free agent Brian Jordan has held talks with Atlanta, Baltimore, the New York Yankees and the New York Mets.
Bottalico, 29, finished strong last season as Philadelphia's closer after missing two months following elbow surgery. Bottalico, who had six saves after back-to-back seasons with 34, made $2.2 million last season and is eligible for salary arbitration.
With the trade, the Phillies will make the veteran Brantley their closer until Wayne Gomes is ready to assume the role. Brantley was 0-5 with a 4.44 ERA and 14 saves last season. He had 44 saves in 1996, but hurt his shoulder early in '97.
Politte began last season as the Cardinals' No. 2 starter after being voted the organization's minor-league player of the year in 1997. He pitched well in his debut in his hometown of St. Louis in the second game of the year, but finished 2-3 with a 6.32 ERA in eight starts.
Last week, the Phillies sent reliever Jerry Spradlin to Cleveland for right-handed starter Chad Ogea.
The Cardinals sent left fielder Ron Gant, reliever Jeff Brantley and minor league right-hander Cliff Politte to the Phillies for reliever Ricky Bottalico and right-hander Garrett Stephenson. The Cardinals agreed to pay in excess of $5 million of the $11 million Gant is owed in the next two seasons.
Davis, who hit .327 with 28 homers and 89 RBI for Baltimore last season, agreed to an $8 million, two-year contract and is expected to replace Gant in left field.
"Eric provided one of the most stimulating stories in baseball last season as he bounced back from one of life's greatest challenges with the type of perseverance and determination that were an inspiration to athletes everywhere," said Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty.
"Why not St. Louis? It's a small-market town without a lot of media and let's face it -- I'm 36 years old and I want a chance to win again," said Davis. "St. Louis is making a lot of moves to be a winner and I want to be a part of that."
The 36-year-old Davis was forced out of a game on May 24, 1997, due to stomach cramps and tests revealed colon cancer. He had a malignant mass and one-third of his colon removed and began chemotherapy treatments before making a triumphant return to the field on Sept. 15.
Davis, a two-time all-star, is a career .269 hitter with 267 homers and 842 RBI in 1,402 games with Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Detroit and Baltimore. He retired following the 1994 season due to a herniated disk but came back to hit .287 with 26 homers and 83 RBI with the Reds in 1996.
Ironically, Radinsky is also a cancer survivor, as he sat out the 1994 campaign with Hodgkin's disease. The left-handed reliever spent the last two years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, going 5-1 with a 2.89 ERA and three saves in 75 appearances last year.
Radinsky agreed to a two-year contract with a team option for a third year.
"Scott is an experienced quality left-handed reliever who will add depth and make an impact in our bullpen," said Jocketty.
Jocketty said the Cardinals are looking at other moves, either through trades or additional free agent signings. The team seels an additional starting pitcher and a middle infielder who would, ideally, bat leadoff.
The Cardinals' bullpen struggled last season, but Jocketty said the addition of Bottalico and Radinsky, along with the emergence of closer Juan Acevedo, gives the team one of baseball's best bullpens entering the 1999 season.
"Based on his close at the end of the season, we feel Juan Acevedo is one of the top five closers in the National League," said Jocketty. "We feel very comfortable with him in that role."
The Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting the Cardinals will trade Gant, veteran reliever Jeff Brantley and a minor-league prospect in exchange for Bottalico and a "marginal major-league prospect." A spokeswoman from the Phillies said the "trade has not been done but that rumors were going around."
According to the Inquirer, the deal is contingent upon Cardinals owner William DeWitt picking up a portion of Gant's and Brantley's salaries. Gant will make $11 million over the next two years, while Brantley will make $2.8 million next season.
Gant, in his third season with the Cardinals, batted just .240 with 26 homers and 67 RBI this past season. After hitting 30 homers for St. Louis in 1996, Gant, 33, fell off to 17 in 1997 while batting .229. Should Gant be traded, he would be able to demand to be a free agent after the 1999 season as a veteran in the middle of a multi-year contract.
The addition of Gant to the Phillies' lineup would help protect third baseman Scott Rolen, who followed up his 1997 Rookie of the Year season by hitting .290 with 31 homers and 110 RBI. Rico Brogna was the only other Phillie with 20 or more homers.
With the lack of quality free-agent closers available this offseason, the acquisition of Bottalico would help the St. Louis bullpen, which was led by Juan Acevedo's 15 saves. Brantley converted just 14 of 22 save chances this past season and went 0-5 with a 4.44 earned-run average in 48 games.
Bottalico, 29, went only 1-5 with six saves and a 6.44 ERA in 39 games this season. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow on April 27 and missed over two months. An All-Star in 1996, Bottalico recorded 34 saves in both the 1996 and 1997 seasons after taking over the closer's role.
Brantley would be the closer until Wayne Gomes is ready to take the position. As a set-up man for both Bottalico and Mark Leiter, Gomes went 9-6 with one save and a 4.24 ERA in 71 appearances.
ST. LOUIS -- It took just one swing from Mark McGwire to make Tim Forneris a potential millionaire.
But it took less than a second for Forneris, a St. Louis Cardinals groundskeeper, to decide to give it away and become a hero.
"I knew right away I wasn't going to keep that ball," Forneris said Thursday. "I love baseball. I don't think I would have been able to sleep at night knowing that I kept it."
It's been almost two months since McGwire broke Roger Maris' single-season record by hitting his 62nd home run. Forneris was working in left field and wasted no time scooping up the ball. But, instead of keeping it and cashing in on the $1 million prize several bidders were offering for it, Forneris turned it over to McGwire and was instantly pronounced a hero in St. Louis and around the country.
He made the rounds of the national television shows.
Disney paid his way to its Florida theme park twice. On his first visit, he even had a chance to talk baseball with President Clinton, who was in Florida on an unrelated visit.
And on Thursday, St. Louis Chrysler plant officials celebrating the 15th anniversary of the minivan gave him a Cardinal red 1999 Town and Country Limited minivan.
"I plan to visit every major league ball park in the country," Forneris said. "Now I can go in style."
Forneris, of Collinsville, Ill., graduated with a business degree from St. Louis University in May. He now is an analyst at Anderson Consulting and can't fathom how his life would have changed if he had kept the ball.
"I don't think he can imagine what a million dollars is," said Forneris' mother, Rita. "What you don't have, you don't miss. He'll make his millions some time, probably not all at one time though."
Those who criticized Forneris for giving the ball back claimed he wouldn't have had to wait for that day if he had kept the ball.
"What is Mark McGwire going to do for this groundskeeper next year?" Mark Lewis, who had offered $1 million for the ball, asked the day after McGwire broke the record. "A million dollars is mind-boggeling. For a guy to give that up when you're not going to be Mark McGwire's friend six months from now, it's incredible."
Forneris said he hasn't talked to McGwire since the historic night.
"I avoided him after that," Forneris said. "He was under enormous pressure. If I had a chance to meet him, it would be a great honor. If not, I have a great picture with him."
The Cardinals have not honored Forneris either but spokesman Brian Bartow said the organization is trying to plan something Forneris and McGwire can do on opening day next season.
Either way, Forneris said he doesn't care. He's become a local hero and even appears in an advertisement for the United Way of Greater St. Louis.
"These type of things never happened to me before," Forneris said. "If it wasn't for McGwire hitting the ball to me, I wouldn't have all these things. For me to be a part of it, it's pretty amazing."