More than two dozen players from the old Negro Leagues will receive pensions from a charitable fund to be established by Major League Baseball, a source told AP.
The 27 players all played part of at least four seasons after Jackie Robinson broke major league baseball's color barrier in 1947. A management source, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the agreement on Saturday. Details are expected to be announced on Monday.
The agreement was first reported by The Washington Post. Players will have the option of getting US$833.33 per month for four years -- a rate of US$10,000 per year -- or US$375 a month for life.
PHOTO: AP
"That's great. Good for them," said former Negro Leagues player Buck O'Neil, chairman of the Negro Leagues museum in Kansas City. "They deserved to get something."
In March, commissioner Bud Selig told Senator Bill Nelson that a proposal would be made to cover players left out of a Negro Leagues pension fund created in 1997. That agreement set up annual pensions of US$7,500 to US$10,000 for players who spent a total of four years in the majors or Negro Leagues, including at least one day in the big leagues, after 1947.
The players affected by the new agreement did not play in the majors. Nelson had said these players did not get a full chance to make it because, even after Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, not every team was integrated until the Boston Red Sox became the last club with a black player in 1959.
"Not every team thought it needed a black ballplayer right away," O'Neil said. "The New York Yankees didn't until they got Elston Howard. The Red Sox didn't, either."
Howard began playing for the Yankees in 1955. Pumpsie Green joined the Red Sox four years later.
"The older guys before Jackie, they never had a chance. Josh Gibson, myself, others. Baseball was segregated," O'Neil said.
American League
Dan Wilson hit a pair of three-run doubles and the Seattle Mariners overcame two homers by Alex Rodriguez to snap a six-game losing streak and beat the Yankees 13-7 in 13 innings on Saturday.
Scott Spiezio broke a 7-all tie with a two-run double. After blowing leads of 4-0 and 7-4, the Mariners put the game away by scoring six times in the 13th against Gabe White (0-1). Eddie Guardado (1-0) worked two scoreless innings.
Rodriguez had his first multihomer game for the Yankees. The Yankees hit a season-high five homers -- four off Jamie Moyer. Gary Sheffield, Hideki Matsui and Bernie Williams also connected for New York.
Red Sox 4, Blue Jays 0
In Toronto, Bronson Arroyo allowed three hits in eight scoreless innings, Kevin Youkilis homered for his first major league hit and the Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays.
Mark Bellhorn and David Ortiz also homered for the Red Sox.
Arroyo (2-1) allowed Eric Hinske's singles in the second and the fourth, and Chris Gomez's triple in the third. Pat Hentgen (2-3) took the loss.
Youkilis, recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket before the game, went 2-for-4 in his major league debut.
Twins 4, White Sox 1
In Chicago, Torii Hunter homered twice and had four hits to help Seth Greisinger get his first win in two years.
Hunter singled, doubled and hit solo homers in the sixth and ninth innings for the Twins. His first homer of the night was the 100th of his career.
Greisinger (1-2) earned his first win since May 19, 2002, for Detroit against Texas. The right-hander missed the 2000 and 2001 seasons after elbow ligament replacement surgery and spent last year in the minors. He allowed four hits, including Frank Thomas' seventh homer, in a season-best seven-inning outing.
Joe Nathan worked the ninth for his 12th save in 13 chances.
Minnesota sent Esteban Loaiza (4-3) to his third straight loss. Loaiza, a 21-game winner a year ago, gave up six hits and three runs in eight innings, yielding Hunter's first homer.
National Leauge
Chris Carpenter allowed four hits in 7 1-3 scoreless innings, and the St. Louis Cardinals used a three-run fourth to beat the Florida Marlins 4-0.
Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds and Edgar Renteria drove in a run apiece in the decisive inning against Darren Oliver (2-2), and Mike Matheny also had an RBI.
Carpenter (4-1) controlled the Marlins with a sinking fastball that resulted in only one flyball out, continuing his comeback after missing all of last season following shoulder surgery. He struck out five, walked two.
Mike Lowell flied out to the left-field wall with the bases loaded against Julian Tavarez for the last out of the eighth, the Marlins' best scoring opportunity. Tavarez then got the last three outs for his second save.
Phillies 16, Rockies 5
In Denver, Bobby Abreu homered and drove in a season-high five runs, and Jimmy Rollins had four of Philadelphia's season-high 18 hits.
The Phillies, who also had a season high for runs, improved to 7-1 on their 10-game road trip. They have won nine of their last 12 overall.
Rollins went 4-for-6, scored four times and drove in a run. Abreu was 3-for-3, including his 10th homer. Brett Myers (2-2) gave up four runs and five hits in six innings to win successive starts.
Scott Elarton (0-6) set a Colorado record by losing his sixth straight decision to start the season. He gave up seven runs and nine hits in four innings.
Cubs 7, Padres 5
In San Diego, Sammy Sosa hit his 549th home run to pass Mike Schmidt and take sole possession of ninth place on the career list, leading the Chicago Cubs over San Diego.
The two-run shot to left off Adam Eaton (1-4) with two outs in the fifth inning was estimated at 434 feet, the longest homer in 21 games at Petco Park.
Aramis Ramirez added a three-run shot in the fifth, the 100th of his career. Moises Alou had a solo homer among his four hits, and scored three times. He finished 4-for-5.
Sergio Mitre (2-2) lasted six innings, allowing three runs and six hits, striking out three and walking three.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB