Baseball Capsules: MLB attendance drops for second straight season

NEW YORK — Rich Aurilia noticed all the empty seats as he made his way around the major leagues during the second half of this season.

"You have to," the San Francisco Giants infielder said. "I think you do in the places where the teams are totally out of it."

Attendance has dropped 6.9 percent across the majors to its lowest level since 2003, an average of 30,276. That follows a 0.8 percent slide last year from the record average of 32,785 set in 2007.

Given the recession and the decrease in capacity in two new ballparks that opened in New York this year, baseball officials are pleased.

"Obviously, I’ve stated how well we’ve done," commissioner Bud Selig said this week. "I’ll have plenty to say after I’ve seen the final numbers."

Even before the end of this season, some teams are slashing ticket prices for 2010. In the past, many teams waited until November to announce how much they will cost. Not any more.

Washington is reducing the cost of more than 3,300 seats, and said prices won’t go up on any non-premium tickets. Oakland is lowering prices by an average of 10 percent, and San Diego is cutting the cost of 60 percent of individual tickets.

"Getting out early, so that they can make accurate assessment of season ticket renewals for budgeting purposes given the economy, is prudent," said Bob DuPuy, baseball’s chief operating officer. "Clubs are sensitive to fans’ budgeting needs and are trying to be responsive."

With hardly any pennant races, the attendance slide has been more pronounced during the second half.

Twenty-two of the 30 teams have seen decreases, and three of the teams with increases are up less than 1 percent. Nearly 30 percent of the overall drop came in New York, where the Yankees cut capacity by about 7,000 and the Mets by approximately 16,000.

The Mets, headed to their worst record since 2003, have experienced the biggest drop at 24 percent. Other teams with big decreases are Washington, headed to its second straight 100-loss season (22 percent); Toronto (22 percent); San Diego (21 percent) and Detroit (20 percent). The Yankees went down 13 percent.

"The way the economy’s going, a family of four comes to the ballpark and how much is a hot dog, a Coke, a drink for the parents?" Giants pitcher Brad Penny said. "That adds up."

For some teams, decreases have been caused by the economy. For others, poor on-field performance is to blame.

"I think it’s more dependent on won-loss record, but clearly the economics have a role to play," said Nationals president Stan Kasten. "I’m a believer we get the attendance we deserve."

On the plus side, Texas is up 14 percent, and Kansas City (its first season at renovated Kauffman Stadium) and Florida jumped 12 percent each. Philadelphia jumped 5 percent following its World Series title, and Tampa Bay increased 3 percent after its AL pennant.

Even minor league baseball, which was hovering close to even in June, saw a second-half dropoff and finished with an average of 4,055. That was down 2.9 percent from last year.

Teams are bracing for a soft economy next season, even if the recession ends.

"It would be hard for me to imagine that based upon the current economic conditions we would jump back to the 2008 attendance figure," Detroit Tigers president Dave Dombrowski said.

It’s not just baseball that’s paying close attention to the turnstile counts. The NHL’s season-ticket renewal rate for full packages is 84 percent, spokeswoman Bernadette Mansur said.

"It’s still too early to know what our final sales numbers will be," said NBA spokesman Michael Bass, "but we’re pacing slightly ahead of last year on sales of new season tickets. September was a surprisingly strong month and we expect that momentum to continue."

With 81 home games for each team and larger venues, baseball has far more tickets to sell and a higher percentage of seats is available for individual games.

In New York, the price cuts for next year have been substantial.

At new Yankee Stadium, the best field-level seats will go down from $325 to $250 or $235 as part of season plans, and 3,400 field-level seats will have lower prices. The Mets are lowering prices 10 to 20 percent for their second season at Citi Field.

"The economy is still a challenge and we just wanted to be as aggressive as we could in reducing the pricing," Mets executive vice president Dave Howard said.

American League

Tigers’ Bonderman suspended for three games by MLB

DETROIT — Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski does not agree with Major League Baseball’s decision to suspend Detroit pitcher Jeremy Bonderman while only fining Twins pitcher Jose Mijares.

Bonderman was suspended for three games Friday for intentionally hitting Minnesota’s Delmon Young with a pitch, and Mijares was docked an undisclosed amount of money for intentionally throwing behind Detroit’s Adam Everett.

"I don’t think the ruling makes any sense," Dombrowski said Friday night, before Detroit opened a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox with a two-game lead in the AL Central over the Twins.

"I don’t know how the person who starts it doesn’t get some sort of penalty too," Dombrowski added. "I’ve expressed that to people in the commissioner’s office."

Thursday’s situation started with inside pitches — two at Detroit’s Marcus Thames and one at Minnesota’s Denard Span — and ended with Young screaming at teamamte Mijares after getting hit.

"This was nothing more than a great series until, for some unknown reason, a foolish pitch by a Minnesota pitcher," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "I’m so sad to see the Tigers paying for it more than the pitcher who threw the pitch."

After spending a moment on the ground in obvious pain, Young got up, slammed his helmet to the ground and had to be held back from going toward Minnesota’s dugout because he was upset with Mijares.

Mijares told reporters in Minneapolis his head was "not in the game" and that he planned to apologize to the team — and Young individually — for his action. Mijares said he realized following the game he made a mistake after teammate Orlando Cabrera confronted him.

Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said the conflict between Mijares and Young was resolved, but did not want to talk about the subject.

"We’ve got three big games here that we have to win," Gardenhire said Friday night before the Twins hosted Kansas City in their series opener. "Can we just talk baseball?"

Gardenhire said he wasn’t surprised Mijares, one of his key setup men, wasn’t suspended.

"I didn’t think they would, they didn’t throw him out of the game," Gardenhire said.

Both benches cleared after Bonderman hit Young, but the players only milled around once they realized that Young wasn’t about to charge the mound.

"Trust me, Delmon wasn’t at all upset with the Tigers," Span said Thursday. "He knew what was going to happen, and he was angry at our teammate. I probably would have felt the same way if I had been the first batter up in that inning."

Gardenhire and some of his players also were unhappy with Mijares after the series in Detroit ended.

"I want to make this perfectly clear — our pitcher lost his cool and threw a pitch behind one of their players, and you don’t do that," Gardenhire said. "We told them that we screwed up, and that we know they did what they needed to do, and that it is over. I talked to Mr. Leyland, and I told him that."

Leyland was ejected after a face-to-face argument with plate umpire Angel Hernandez that followed Mijares’ pitch behind Everett.

"I don’t think I’ve ever been as shocked in my baseball life as when he threw that pitch," said Leyland, who has been a part of professional baseball for nearly a half-century.

Bonderman, who also was fined, appealed the penalty assessed by MLB vice president Bob Watson, delaying the start of the suspension.

Tigers hitting coach Lloyd McClendon also was suspended for one game and fined because Bonderman acted intentionally following warnings to both teams during Minnesota’s 8-3 win Thursday. McClendon was acting manager following Leyland’s ejection.

"Lloyd McClendon got a $1,000 fine and a one-game suspension and didn’t even get kicked out of the game," Leyland said.

Leyland and catcher Gerald Laird were fined for arguing with Hernandez.

Bonderman and Tigers catcher Gerald Laird were immediately ejected after the pitch that hit Young.

"I knew I was going to get thrown out, that’s the rule," Bonderman said.

Laird said he’d never seen a player react the way Young did to being hit by a pitch.

It was a first for Twins catcher Mike Redmond, too.

"I’ve seen players get angry with their own pitcher in that situation before, but I’ve never seen it happen on the field," Redmond said. "I understand why he was angry, and I understand why Leyland was upset."

-- Larry Lage

Orioles manager Dave Trembley will return in 2010

BALTIMORE — Dave Trembley’s job as manager of the Baltimore Orioles isn’t complete: He will get the opportunity to see the team’s arduous rebuilding process through to its next stage.

Trembley will return to manage the Orioles next year after the club announced Friday that it will exercise the 2010 option on his contract. The decision came a day after the Orioles (61-98) broke a 13-game losing streak, third-longest in Baltimore history.

"We have been successful as an organization in introducing the kind of talent that I hope could one day lead to a ... postseason berth," Orioles president Andy MacPhail said. "It is on that basis that I think that Dave has earned the opportunity, deserves the opportunity to manage the club in 2010."

Trembley has compiled a 169-244 record since taking over for the fired Sam Perlozzo on June 18, 2007. Trembley joined the Orioles as bullpen coach for the 2007 season after managing for 20 seasons in the minor leagues.

"It has been difficult the last couple weeks for everybody. But take that last couple weeks aside (and) what we said we were going to do, we did," Trembley said. "I’m very appreciative and thankful for the opportunity ... to get to go forward."

Throughout his minor league career, Trembley was most comfortable as an evaluator and developer of talent. With the Orioles forced to expedite their top prospects’ ascension through the organization, Trembley used those skills to the fullest.

"I always felt that Dave Trembley did exactly what this franchise asked him to do: He was charged with nurturing and developing young talent," MacPhail said.

This year, however, has been particularly challenging. Because the Orioles weren’t expecting to contend, they intended to give some of their best minor leaguers some additional seasoning. Instead, pitchers Brian Matusz, Brad Bergesen, David Hernandez, Jason Berken and Chris Tillman were rushed to the majors to reinforce a depleted rotation.

The contributions of other rookies, such as catcher Matt Wieters and left fielder Nolan Reimold, became more important after MacPhail traded away closer George Sherrill to the Los Angeles Dodgers in July and cleanup hitter Aubrey Huff to Detroit in August.

How Trembley handled a younger-than-expected roster while competing in the AL East, one of the toughest divisions in baseball, impressed MacPhail.

"It would be unreasonable ... to suggest that over the course of those two seasons, we could expect a record better than they had," MacPhail said.

Because Trembley managed some of the current Orioles in the minor leagues, he wants to see the rebuilding process through to completion.

"I understand very clearly what it’s all about," he said. "We have kind of graduated some players. We had a lot of first-year players — I kind of used the term, a lot of true freshmen here — and they got better. Guys improved. Now it’s our job to make sure we go to the next step."

That process, MacPhail said, will change the way in which Trembley will be graded — and determine his future past next season.

"You now change the criteria for evaluating managers (to) wins and losses," MacPhail said. "That may not always be fair. Things happen, but at this point, going forward, I like to think we’re out of that first phase of what we hoped to do."

Trembley intends to be the man to pull the Orioles out of their franchise-record run of 12 straight losing seasons.

"I am happy for the philosophy that’s existed since I came aboard: To do things right, be fair, understand that the big picture is not yourself and it’s the Baltimore Orioles," Trembley said.

Still, being summoned to MacPhail’s office at 3:30 p.m. Friday afternoon made Trembley nervous because his status had been widely debated.

"I felt like I was walking the green mile," Trembley joked.

-- Pete Kerzel

Blue Jays’ Gaston surprised at players’ criticism

BALTIMORE — Toronto Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston expressed surprise over stinging criticism from his own team, and insisted Friday he doesn’t feel the need to regain favor in his own clubhouse.

"If you’ve got two or three or four guys in there that have a problem, then you don’t have to win anything, do you?" Gaston said before Toronto began its final series of the season at Baltimore. "You might have to certainly deal with those guys, but you don’t have to win the clubhouse back."

The Blue Jays are 75-84 this year, though they carried a six-game winning streak into Friday night’s game against the Orioles.

Gaston, who guided Toronto to World Series championships in 1992 and 1993, took over a 35-39 team from the fired John Gibbons last year and guided the Blue Jays to a 51-37 mark over the remainder of the season.

"Over the course of eight months, you’re going to have issues arise. You’re going to have problems and complications. ... Things have gone on a downward spiral just throughout the whole year," outfielder Vernon Wells said.

Published and Internet reports, using information attributed to players who spoke anonymously, began circulating Friday detailing widespread problems that players want addressed, including the perception that the 65-year-old Gaston displayed a negative attitude and a passive managerial style. They also reportedly complained that Gaston isn’t effectively communicating with them about playing time, and that a split exists between the coaches Gaston inherited last year and those he hired when he began his second tour as Toronto’s manager in June 2008.

Wells said he met Friday with teammates Aaron Hill and Rod Barajas to discuss the problems but didn’t outline a plan for resolving the grievances.

"What course of action we’re going to take, we don’t know," Wells said. "It’s a family. You go through issues and you have to figure out a way to do this in a family manner. We’re not out to bash anyone. It’s a touchy situation. It’s something that most of us, all of us in this clubhouse, have not gone through."

Any meeting, however, will include a large portion of the team, Wells added.

"I’m sure there will be a meeting and I’m sure it will be a large group," he said. "We’re all in this together, good or bad."

Informed that Wells told reporters that at least 50 percent of Toronto’s players believed problems existed with the manager, and that players were planning a meeting with interim team president Paul Beeston, Gaston said there was no reason to hold a meeting to clear the air.

"What would I say to them? I think I’ve done everything that’s right here," Gaston said. "I think I’ve treated everybody the way I’d like to be treated. I’m not sure what I’d call a meeting about. If they want to call a meeting and talk to me, that’s fine. But I don’t know what to say to them."

Barajas said the Blue Jays’ problems weren’t unlike those faced by many teams, but that concerns needed to be confronted instead of being left to fester.

"I’ve been on teams where the relationship between manager and players isn’t always the best and that makes for an unhappy clubhouse," Barajas said. "Usually, you’re not going to have much success on the field. But it happens — and it happens to a lot more teams than people think."

First baseman Lyle Overbay is one of those who wants Gaston to improve his communication. Overbay, who had expected to be a full-time player, found himself platooned with Kevin Millar as the season wore on.

"More than anything, I want to try to figure out what to expect for next year. It kind of caught me off-guard a little bit when I wasn’t playing. ... (Gaston) never really said a lot. As we were winning, he was kind of sitting on the back burner, watching us play good," Overbay said.

Overbay said talk about meeting with management began a couple of weeks ago.

"We’ve got to figure it out. We’re not going to be a very good team if this goes on," he said.

Gaston isn’t convinced there’s widespread sentiment in the clubhouse that he needs to change.

"I think you have to go around to all those players and ask them that. I don’t think that you can ... rely (on a few) players to find out," the manager said. "I think you need to talk to all of them. If it comes up to 50 percent, then, hey, maybe we’ve got a problem. I’d like to know what the problem is because I can’t be any fairer than I’ve been."

Yankees increase capacity for postseason

NEW YORK — The Yankees are adding capacity for the playoffs.

The team said Friday it will install 60 cafe seats on the field level and sell 200 standing room places on the field and main levels during the postseason. The cafe seats will cost $81 for the division series and $131 for the league championship series, and standing places will go for $30 and $25 in the first round and $64 and $48 in the second round.

New York will put a limited amount of regular seats plus the new areas on sale Monday on its Web site. Buyers are limited to two tickets for one game of one series, and they must print their own tickets for the first two division series games.

The Yankees generally did not sell these areas during the season, although they experimented during a game against Boston.

Rays’ B.J. Upton hits for cycle against Yankees

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — B.J. Upton has become the first player in Tampa Bay Rays history to hit for the cycle.

Friday night against the Yankees, Upton hit a three-run triple in the first inning off CC Sabathia, then doubled off the Yankees ace in the third. After hitting a two-run homer off Jonathan Albaladejo in the fourth, he completed the cycle with a run-scoring single off David Robertson in the fifth.

Upton’s career-best six RBIs helped the Rays to a 12-1 lead.

National League

Mets’ Manuel wonders about Wright’s power numbers

NEW YORK — Mets manager Jerry Manuel knows all the reasons for New York’s lack of power this season. There were the injuries to sluggers Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado, and the dimensions at their spacious new ballpark — just a difficult year in general for the club.

The one thing Manuel is still trying to figure out is All-Star third baseman David Wright, who has only 10 homers with two games left in the season.

"I think that the question is, the real question is, will David Wright come back and be the home run hitter he is?" Manuel said. "I mean that’s the only one we had to really be able to evaluate in this particular park and say ‘Hey, could’ve had this amount of home runs. We didn’t. ... How did that affect him in going forward or was there some mechanical or fundamental things that he could’ve done to even hit more home runs on the road, or what have you."’

Wright hit 33 homers last season and 30 in 2007. His career low is 14, when he played in 69 games as a rookie in 2004.

The rest of Wright’s numbers appear to be pretty similar to past seasons, considering he missed a couple weeks with a concussion and has enjoyed little protection around him. Injured leadoff hitter Jose Reyes’ absence also has hurt his RBI numbers.

Wright had three hits, including his 39th double, in New York’s 7-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Friday night. He is batting .308 with 71 RBIs this season after hitting .302 with 42 doubles and 124 RBIs last year.

"I’ve never gone out there with the expectation of hitting a certain amount of home runs every year," Wright said. "With that being said, it’s always good team-wise — you hit a home run, it’s kind of a shot in the arm and a jump start. Home runs are nice but I’m not going to judge a season or live and die by a home run."

Wright isn’t the only player on the team who struggled to go deep this year. New York is last in the majors with 95 homers. Daniel Murphy’s 12 homers would equal the lowest total for a team leader in club history.

The opening of Citi Field, with its expansive power alleys and 15-foot-plus walls in some stretches, has contributed to the power drought. Wright has five of New York’s 49 homers at its new field, compared to 21 of 95 during its final season at Shea Stadium.

"Right now I can’t say it’s one thing or the other, whether it’s mechanics or the ballpark," hitting coach Howard Johnson said. "It’s a little bit of everything. It’s one of those years where it’s been a down year for everybody involved and we’re just trying to turn the page.

"David went through a lot this year. When everybody was getting hurt, he was the last guy standing. I think that put a lot of pressure on him, and he hung in there pretty good."

-- Jay Cohen

Glaus gets second straight start

ST. LOUIS — Finally gearing up a bit after nearly a full season of rehab, Troy Glaus got his second straight start at third base on Friday night for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Manager Tony La Russa believes Glaus can help the Cardinals in the postseason, even though he entered the final weekend batting .208 with two RBIs in 24 at-bats. Glaus had two hits and his first two RBIs in a 13-0 rout of the Reds on Thursday.

"The reality is he’s had an interrupted season," La Russa said. "I think it’s impressive he’s gotten to where he’s got a chance to help us. I think that’s a big statement right there."

La Russa said he’d try to give Glaus some work the final weekend, but mostly planned on playing the games straight as the NL Central champions prepared for the playoffs. La Russa said Mark DeRosa would start at third base on Saturday.

DeRosa, acquired from the Indians in June, took over at third after the Cardinals tired of waiting for Glaus to return from January shoulder surgery. Glaus had a handful of setbacks from that injury, and not long after he was activated at the start of September he was sidelined again after pulling a side muscle on a checked swing.

"Obviously it was very frustrating," Glaus said. "But the last week or so has been good and I’ll just take this opportunity to go out there and get as many reps as possible."

Glaus, who hit 27 homers and 99 RBIs last year, believes he’s ready to help the team in October.

"Anytime you go onto the field and you’re in the lineup you’re confident, and hopefully everybody else is confident you can get the job done," Glaus said. "I’ve been able to do all my work and get as physically prepared to play as I can, and now it’s time to go out there and try to help, and try to produce."

The 33-year-old Glaus is due for free agency after the season.

"I haven’t even thought that far ahead," he said. "It sounds very cliche, but it’s very much day to day."

-- R.B. Fallstrom

Reds reliever Rhodes to miss rest of season

CINCINNATI — Reds reliever Arthur Rhodes will miss the last three games of the season because of a broken left big toe.

Manager Dusty Baker said Friday that Rhodes broke the toe after jumping to catch a ball during batting practice Sept. 4 in Atlanta. The 39-year-old reliever made eight appearances since being hurt, but hasn’t pitched in the Reds’ last eight games.

Baker said the team shut Rhodes down because it didn’t "want to take a chance on him hurting his mechanics."

Rhodes was 1-1 with a 2.53 ERA in 66 games after signing a two-year contract with the Reds last December. Cincinnati is the seventh team for which he’s pitched.

Reds fire pitching coach Dick Pole

CINCINNATI — Pitching coach Dick Pole has been fired by the Cincinnati Reds.

Pole was finishing his third season with the team, which began Friday seventh in the National League with a 4.52 ERA.

The rest of manager Dusty Baker’s coaching staff will return for next season.

Church away from team to be with expectant wife

ATLANTA — Atlanta Braves outfielder Ryan Church is with his wife, Tina, in Viera, Fla., as the couple await the birth of their second child.

Church left Atlanta on Friday morning.

With Church away from the team, Omar Infante was the fill-in starter in right field Friday night against the Washington Nationals. Matt Diaz was scratched with a jammed right thumb.

Zito hit by line drive, forced to leave

SAN DIEGO — San Francisco starter Barry Zito was forced to leave Friday night’s game at San Diego when he was hit near his left elbow by a line drive by Adrian Gonzalez in the sixth inning.

Zito grimaced and didn’t go after the ball, which landed between the mound and third base. He was checked by a trainer and immediately left the game.

Minor League

Two minor leaguers suspended for positive drug tests

NEW YORK — Washington Nationals infielder Stephen King and Chicago Cubs catcher Wilson Contreras have been suspended for 50 games each under baseball’s minor league program for positive drug tests.

King, who was with Class A Potomac of the Carolina League, tested positive for Ritalinic acid. Contreras, who was with the Cubs’ Dominican Summer League team, tested positive for metabolites of Nandrolone.

The suspensions will be effective next season.

Elsewhere

Book alleges mistreatment of Williams’ body

PHOENIX — A new book by a former employee of Alcor, the company that froze Ted Williams’ remains, alleges the baseball Hall of Famer’s body was mistreated by the company.

Larry Johnson says in the book "Frozen: My Journey Into the World of Cryonics, Deception and Death" that he watched an Alcor official swing a monkey wrench at Williams’ frozen severed head to try to remove a tuna can stuck to it. The first swing accidentally struck the head, Johnson contends, and the second knocked the tuna can loose.

Alcor Life Extension Foundation of Scottsdale, Ariz., issued a statement on its Web site denying the allegations and promising legal action.

"Alcor denies allegations reported in the press that there was mistreatment of the remains of Ted Williams at Alcor," the company said. "Alcor will be litigating this and any other false allegations to the maximum extent of the law."

Johnson says he worked for Alcor for eight months in 2003, first as clinical director then as chief operating officer. He included several photographs in the book, including one of an upside down severed head, not Williams’, that had what appeared to be a tuna can attached to it.

Johnson says Alcor used the cans, from a cat that lived on the premises, as pedestals for the heads.

Williams’ head was being transferred from one container to another when the monkey wrench incident took place, Johnson said in the book. When the head was removed from the first container, Johnson described it.

"The disembodied face set in that awful, frozen scream looked nothing like any picture of Ted Williams I’ve ever seen," he wrote.

Johnson said that an Alcor employee tried in vain to remove the tuna can.

"Then he grabbed a monkey wrench, heaved a mighty swing, missing the tuna can completely but hitting the head dead center,’ Johnson wrote. "Tiny pieces of frozen head sprayed around the room."

The next swing, Johnson wrote, knocked the can loose.

Johnson also contends that there was a significant crack in Williams’ head. He also repeated an allegation he had made earlier that samples of Williams’ DNA are missing from the facility.

Johnson, who says he wired himself surreptitiously the last few months of his employment, was the source for a story in Sports Illustrated in August, 2003, that said Williams’ head had been severed and damaged.

At that time, Alcor officials said there never was mistreatment of any of those frozen at the facility. The company said that severing heads is a common practice in its preservation, and that cracking has been noted as a problem in the procedure and is not the result of any mishandling.

Ted Williams died in July 2002. At the direction of his son, John Henry Williams, the baseball player’s remains were flown from Florida to Arizona.

Johnson had not yet gone to work for Alcor, but he recreated the scene based, he said, on "conversations with the Alcorians who were in the room and performed the procedures, the files I have read, and the discussions I’ve had with other people involved, including members of Ted’s family."

Johnson paints a macabre scene in a room packed with people, many of whom posed for pictures with Williams’ body, both before and after the head was cut off. The book contends the head was "hanging by a thread" when an official entered the room and shouted that it was supposed to be a full-body freezing.

Williams’ head and body were frozen separately, Johnson wrote.

The process, known as cryonics, is conducted with the hope that someday scientists will be able to bring the subjects back to life. The heads and bodies, along with those of cats, dogs and other pets, are stored in stainless steel containers at extremely cold temperatures.

John Henry Williams died of leukemia at age 35 in 2004 after a bitter court fight against Williams’ daughter, Bobby-Jo, who contended the wishes expressed in her father’s will should have been followed. In the will, Ted Williams said he wanted to be cremated and have his ashes scattered at sea.

She eventually abandoned the legal battle, citing lack of funds.

Johnson says in his book that he believes the small piece of paper used as evidence that Williams wanted to be frozen was fraudulent. The paper is signed by Ted Williams, John Henry and Williams’ other daughter, Claudia.

Scott Baldyga is the book’s co-author.

A phone message left at Ted Williams Family Enterprises in Florida was not returned. A Phone message for comment from Bobby-Jo Williams’ attorney also was not immediately returned.

-- Bob Baum

Dykstra’s 1986 WS ring auctioned for over $56,000

NEW YORK — Lenny Dykstra’s championship ring from the 1986 World Series has been auctioned off for more than $56,000.

Heritage Auctions in Dallas said Friday that a collector from Queens, N.Y., won with a bid of $56,762.50. Dykstra and the New York Mets wrapped up that title in Queens, at Shea Stadium.

There were 11 auction items related to Dykstra, and they sold for more than $162,000.

Dykstra filed for bankruptcy protection in July, saying he owed more than $31 million and had about $50,000 in assets.

Weiner moves step closer to succeeding Fehr

NEW YORK — Michael Weiner has moved a step closer to succeeding Donald Fehr as head of the baseball players’ union.

Players voted 1,055 to 4 to endorse the executive board’s recommendation in July that Weiner become the next executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association.

The final step is for the executive board to take formal vote during its annual meeting, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The 61-year-old Fehr has been head of the union since December 1983. Weiner became a union lawyer in September 1988 and has been its general counsel since February 2004