Garciaparra Sweeps Balloting For A.L. Rookie Of The Year

Nomar Garciaparra was the unanimous winner of the American League Rookie of the Year award Monday following one of the best seasons ever by a shortstop.

Garciaparra hit .306 for the Boston Red Sox with 30 homers, 98 RBIs, 122 runs and 22 steals. He set major league records for most RBIs by a leadoff hitter and most homers by a rookie shortstop.

The 24-year-old Garciaparra, the sixth unanimous winner of the A.L. Rookie award, received all 28 first-place votes and 140 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Other unanimous winners were Carlton Fisk (1972), Sandy Alomar Jr. (1990), Mark McGwire (1987) and Tim Salmon (1993).

Jose Cruz Jr., an outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays, was second with 61 points, followed by Anaheim pitcher Jason Dickson (27), Detroit shortstop Deivi Cruz (12), Cleveland pitcher Jaret Wright (7) and Chicago White Sox outfielder Mike Cameron (5).

The Seattle Mariners and KIRO-TV, Channel 7, have agreed on a three-year contract through the 2000 season, the ballclub announced. KIRO-TV and KSTW will air 62-65 Mariners games each season.

Former Boston Red Sox outfielder Wilfredo Cordero pleaded guilty in Cambridge, Mass., to charges of beating his wife and received a 90-day sentence, suspended for two years, from Judge Roanne Sragow.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays have cut their list of managerial candidates to five.

Florida pitching coach Larry Rothschild and bench coach Jerry Manuel along with Cleveland scout Ted Simmons, Baltimore hitting instructor Rick Down and Detroit bench coach Larry Parrish have been invited back for second interviews.

The Colorado Rockies will disclose today that they are giving manager Don Baylor a one-year contract extension through the 1999 season.

Boston Red Sox pitcher Steve Avery decided to pick up the option that will pay him $3.9 million next season.

Former Anaheim Angels outfielder Tony Phillips pleaded guilty in Fullerton, Calif., to misdemeanor cocaine possession and was ordered into a drug diversion program that could clear his record.

Sam Hairston, the first black to play for the Chicago White Sox, died Friday in Birmingham, Ala. He was 77.

Ora O’Neil, a retired teacher whose husband, Buck, became a local celebrity after years of playing Negro League baseball, has died of cancer in Kansas City, Mo.