The Associated Press

The baseball Hall of Fame president insisted Friday he was not politically motivated when he canceled a Bull Durham celebration because of anti-war criticism by co-stars Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, and said he had only one regret.

"I wish that the reasoning had been better articulated so it could have been better understood," Dale Petroskey, a former official in the Reagan administration, said from his office at Cooperstown, N.Y.

"What we were trying to do was take politics out of this," he said. "We didn't want people to espouse their views in a very public place, one way or another. The Hall isn't the place for that."

Petroskey acknowledged that given a chance to do it again, he might've called Robbins and Sarandon in advance to discuss the situation.

Petroskey said the cancellation was a management decision. He also said he was surprised at how his political background had been mentioned in the debate.

The Hall's stance resulted in another cancellation. Author Roger Kahn, whose Boys of Summer is considered among the best baseball books ever, has called off his August appearance to speak at the Hall in protest.

PIRATES: Pittsburghleft fielder Brian Giles had an MRI exam on his right knee a day after twisting it in a game against Milwaukee. Results were unavailable Friday.

PADRES: San Diego transferred closer Trevor Hoffman to the 60-day disabled list after purchasing the contract of RH Matt Herges. Hoffman, 33, has yet to play this season since undergoing surgery on his right shoulder on Feb. 28.