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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

MLB: ESPN’s Colin Cowherd fired after comments about Domincan baseball players

From Wire Servies

ESPN says radio host Colin Cowherd won’t be on the air again before leaving the network in the wake of his remarks about major league baseball players from the Dominican Republic.

The network said Friday that “Colin will no longer appear on ESPN.” The statement said Cowherd’s comments “do not reflect the values of ESPN or our employees.”

Cowherd, who attended Eastern Washington, said Thursday that he didn’t believe baseball was complex, saying a third of the sport was from the Dominican Republic, which had “not been known, in my lifetime, as having, you know, world-class academic abilities.”

ESPN said earlier this month that Cowherd was leaving the network amid reports he’s going to Fox Sports 1.

Cowherd said he didn’t intend to offend anyone with his remarks.

“I realize my choice of words was poor and not reflective of who I am. I am sorry,” he said.

Major League Baseball and its players’ union issued statements calling Cowherd’s comments “offensive.”

In a statement, baseball says it “condemns the remarks,” calling them “inappropriate, offensive and completely inconsistent with the values of our game.”

There were 83 Dominican players on opening-day rosters, representing about 10 percent of all players in the majors.

One of them, Blue Jays star Jose Bautista, asked Cowherd on Twitter on Thursday for an explanation.

MLB followed Friday, saying: “Mr. Cowherd owes our players of Dominican origin, and Dominican people generally, an apology.”

In a statement about Cowherd’s remarks, players’ union head Tony Clark said “to make an ignorant point by denigrating the intelligence of our Dominican members was not ‘clunky’ – it was offensive.”

Cardinals get Cishek from Marlins

The N.L. Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals bolstered their bullpen, getting Steve Cishek in a trade with the Miami Marlins.

The Cardinals sent Double-A pitcher Kyle Barraclough to Miami for the sidearming Cishek. The deal came a week before baseball’s trading deadline.

Cishek is 2-6 with three saves and a 4.50 ERA this year.

Mets acquire bats from Braves

The New York Mets acquired infielder Juan Uribe, outfielder Kelly Johnson and cash considerations from the Atlanta Braves for minor league pitchers John Gant and Rob Whalen. The Mets also transferred David Wright (spine) to the 60-day disabled list.

Clearing the bases

The Dodgers put All-Star RHP Zack Greinke on the paternity list after the birth of his first child. Greinke has a streak of 43 2/3 scoreless innings, and it hasn’t been determined when his next start will come. … Indians LHP Nick Hagadone has undergone surgery on his left elbow and is expected to miss six to nine months. Hagadone, a native of Sandpoint, also had Tommy John surgery in 2008.