Friday, June 07, 2002
Twins will play ball in 2003
Baseball notebook
The Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins will play next season as part of a deal approved Thursday that settles a lawsuit blocking baseball's contraction plan.
“This definitively removes the Twins from contraction for 2003,” said Bill Lester, executive director of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, which agreed to drop its lawsuit against the team and Major League Baseball.
A signed settlement will be delivered today to Hennepin County district judge Harry Seymour Crump, said Andrew Shea, a commission attorney. Crump mediated the settlement talks.
“Everybody who wants to keep major-league baseball in Minnesota should be happy with this deal,” said Joe Anthony, a Minneapolis-based attorney for MLB.
In a statement accompanying the settlement, commissioner Bud Selig said the deal signals a commitment “by all parties to seek to continue the long tradition of the Twins' ballclub.”
“Major league baseball looks forward to working with the Twin Cities and all of Minnesota and their efforts to build a new ballpark and create an operating climate for the Twins that will ensure the continuation of baseball in Minnesota,” Selig's statement read.
All claims against the Twins will be dismissed, but the stadium commission reserved the right to sue MLB if it tries again to eliminate the team.
The commission sued immediately after baseball owners voted Nov.6 to fold two unidentified teams. It won a temporary restraining order and later an injunction to force the Twins to play in the Metrodome in 2002, in agreement with their lease.
Selig announced in February that contraction wouldn't occur this season, but he wouldn't rule it out for future seasons. The Twins and Montreal Expos were targeted because of their low revenue and inability to get new stadiums built, management lawyers told the players' association.
The public board continued its lawsuit, claiming Baseball interfered with its ability to negotiate a new lease by raising the contraction threat.
Thursday's action buys the state another year to finalize a stadium finance package. The Legislature and Gov. Jesse Ventura already approved a framework for a $330 million ballpark, but it is contingent on the Twins and prospective host cities taking steps to raise the needed funds.
For next season, the Twins will exercise the final one-year option on a 1998 lease agreement. There are no firm arrangements beyond then. Even under an aggressive construction schedule, a new ballpark wouldn't be ready until the 2006 season.
Commission lawyers didn't know what would become of thousands of internal baseball memos and financial documents gathered in preparation for trial. Four media organizations filed court claims for access to those materials, and an attorney said Thursday that the settlement doesn't end the pursuit.
John Borger, who represents The Associated Press, KARE-TV and the Star Tribune of Minneapolis, said the commission shouldn't destroy or return the documents to the Twins and the league until Crump decides their fate.
In New York on Thursday, lawyers for players and owners spent eight hours making their final arguments in the union's case to block contraction. Arbitrator Shyam Das has told the sides he will try to make a decision in the case by July 15.
Players filed a grievance arguing the contraction vote violated their labor contract, which expired Nov. 7 and remains in effect through this World Series.
CARDINALS: Right-hander Garrett Stephenson underwent surgery to repair a damaged muscle in his left hamstring Thursday, and doctors don't expect him to return until after the July8-10 All-Star break. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday.
Stephenson is 1-4 with a 6.67 ERA in seven starts this season. He won 16 games in 2000 but missed last season because of reconstructive elbow surgery.
ATHLETICS: Oakland recalled infielder Mark Ellis from Triple-A Sacramento and sent infielder Esteban German to the River Cats.
Ellis appeared in four games with the A's earlier this season and was 1-for-4. German hit .200 in nine games in Oakland with no RBI.
ROCKIES: The team placed pitcher Kent Mercker on the 15-day disabled list after the left-hander had surgery to repair a severe cut on his throwing hand. He was injured Wednesday against Los Angeles ball struck him on the left hand.
Rockies officials said Mercker had a minimally displaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal. He is expected to be out at least four weeks.
Mercker is 1-0 with a 4.13 ERA in 32 games with the Rockies this year.
ROYALS: Outfielder Chuck Knoblauch was placed on the disabled list because of a strained left forearm, and outfielder Brandon Berger was recalled from Triple-A Omaha.
Knoblauch is hitless in his last 13 at-bats, and his average has fallen to .167. Grimsley is 2-2 with a 4.01 ERA in 24 appearances this season.
SUTTON SURGERY: Hall of Famer pitcher Don Sutton, a broadcaster for Atlanta, underwent surgery to remove his left kidney. A growth was discovered during routine tests last month, and doctors decided to remove the kidney and conduct a biopsy to determine if it's malignant.
Results of the biopsy won't be known until next week. Sutton, who was listed in fair condition, probably will be out of the broadcast booth three to six weeks.
NKU PLAYER DRAFTED: Northern Kentucky University senior right-hander Lenny Bays was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 48th round of the Major League Baseball amateur draft. Bays, a Bellevue High School graduate, was 9-4 with a 2.97 ERA this season and led the Norse with 81 strikeouts.
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Twins will play ball in 2003
