Pitchers Get A Bigger Strike Zone
Add another reason why pitchers might be ahead of the hitters this spring: A bigger strike zone.
Baseball finally gave pitchers a break Friday, making the strike zone a few inches bigger by dropping it to below the knee.
Starting with exhibition games next week, pitches across the hollow beneath the kneecap will be strikes. Previously, the lower limit of the zone was the top of the knees.
The change - officially a redefinition - was agreed to by the Official Playing Rules Committee of baseball and the players’ union. The move was made as part of the effort to speed up games.
The umpires union did not need to approve the move. The umpires, however, will have to start enforcing the new zone when spring training games begin Wednesday.
“Our pitchers need all the help they can get,” said Minnesota manager Tom Kelly, whose team’s 5.76 ERA was the worst in the majors, said earlier this week when the proposal was presented. “If they want to call a few more strikes, that’s great.”
Stadium funding legal
The state Legislature acted legally when it approved a $275 million public financing package to help build a $320 million stadium for the Seattle Mariners, a judge ruled.
A citizens group had sought to block the funding, saying it was an illegal transfer of public money for private use. The group, Citizens for Leaders With Ethics and Accountability Now, said it would appeal the ruling by Thurston County Superior Court Judge Thomas McPhee to the state Supreme Court.
McPhee also rejected a contention that the legislation, approved in special session in October, improperly denied citizens the right to seek a referendum vote to overturn the financing package.
Big opportunity for Rodriguez
Alex Rodriguez will be the Mariners’ starting shortstop this season - unless he shows Lou Piniella he can’t hold the job.
“We’re not handing him the job, but he would have to stumble awfully bad not to claim it,” the Mariners’ manager said.
“It’s time,” the 20-year-old Rodriguez said. “There is no doubt in my mind that I’m ready. None whatsoever.”
The Mariners had veteran Luis Sojo at shortstop at the end of last season and Sojo is still on their roster. But Rodriguez, who won’t be 21 until July 27, is starting out spring training with the job.
The Mariners like Rodriguez’s potential. The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder from Miami, Fla., was the first player chosen in the 1993 June draft.
The Mariners are hoping the slick-fielding, strong-armed Rodriguez will improve their infield defense. He has more range than Sojo or Felix Fermin, another journeyman shortstop on the Mariners’ roster.
Rodriguez spent last season on a shuttle between Seattle and Tacoma, the Mariners’ Triple-A farm club. He was promoted to the M’s five times and sent back to Tacoma four times.
In 48 games in Seattle, Rodriguez hit .232 with five home runs and 19 RBIs. In 54 games in Tacoma, he hit .360 with 15 homers and 45 RBIs.
The Mariners have signed Arquimedez Pozo, a promising 22-year-old infielder, to a contract for the 1996 season.
Justice, wife will divorce
Atlanta Braves star David Justice said that his planned divorce from actress Halle Berry has nothing to do with him being stopped by police in an area frequented by prostitutes and drug dealers.
Justice said the couple, who married three years ago, have been formally separated for several months. He conceded that the timing of the divorce announcement was sure to raise eyebrows.
The outfielder was stopped by police in Riviera Beach, Fla., near West Palm Beach, last weekend after officers said they saw him parked in a car along a road in a high-crime area. No charges were filed.