Ex-Pirate Fred Green Dies

Fred Green, a left-handed relief pitcher and a member of the 1960 World Series champion Pittsburgh Pirates, died of a heart attack Sunday. He was 62.

Green entered the Pirates farm system during the 1950s. In his five-year major league career, he appeared in 88 games with a 9-7 record, and had four saves and a 3.48 ERA in 142-1/2 innings.

Mona Green said her husband’s greatest baseball memories were of playing on the same team as Roberto Clemente and pitching against the New York Yankees in the World Series.

In addition to his wife and mother, Green is survived by two sons, Greg, of Pittsburgh, and Gary, of Dallas, a former major league shortstop and now a coach for the minor league Toledo Mud Hens.

Former Spokane Indians infielder Luis Lopez avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to terms of a one-year contract with the San Diego Padres.

Lopez, 26, hit .180 with two home runs and 11 RBIs in 63 games last year. The switch-hitter made 20 starts at shortstop and 10 at second base. Lopez played for Spokane in 1988, hitting .304 in 70 games.

Lopez, who missed all of 1995 with a right-elbow injury, opened last season on a rehabilitation assignment before being activated April 18. He went back on the disabled list July 31 with a strained left shoulder and missed 28 games.

Free-agent pitcher Steve Avery said he doesn’t expect to decide on his future until the end of the week, adding that a report Monday on a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox was “a little off.”

“I still want to hear from a few other teams,” Avery said from his Michigan home. “I still want to get some more information.”

The left-hander is trying to decide whether to accept a one-year deal or a multi-year contract with an “out” clause after the 1997 season. Avery does not want a long-term deal without first knowing how he’ll adapt to a new city, new team, and, most likely, new league. The majority of serious bidders are American League teams.