Nothing Gets Past Marlins Catcher Johnson

A cluster of fans hang over the dugout roof during Florida Marlins batting practice, tossing caps, balls, photos and posters for catcher Charles Johnson to autograph. He deftly catches every item, signs it and lobs it back into the stands.

Then Johnson trots off, his record intact: He still hasn’t mishandled anything all year. He doesn’t have an error or a passed ball, which means he’s flirting with a perfect season at his position.

Through Wednesday, Johnson had 155 consecutive errorless games, four shy of Rick Cerone’s major league record. Johnson had handled more than 845 chances and perhaps 16,000 pitches without a bobble.

“Amazing,” said Andy Etchebarren, a coach for the Baltimore Orioles and a major league catcher for 15 seasons. “If he catches 120 to 130 games and doesn’t have a passed ball or an error, that’s hard to believe.”

Orioles survive dugout collapse

A portion of the wooden roof over the Baltimore Orioles’ dugout collapsed during Wednesday night’s game against the Marlins in Florida. No one was seriously hurt.

Two members of the Marlins’ Bleacher Brigade, which entertains fans between innings, were on the roof launching T-shirts to the crowd when it collapsed. A 30-foot chunk of the roof fell onto the dugout steps in one piece after the top of the third inning.

Play was briefly delayed while the grounds crew carried away the section of roof.

Tigers start stadium work

The Detroit Tigers began construction this week on a $260 million downtown stadium scheduled to open in 2000. Tigers president John McHale Jr. said groundbreaking could start today or Friday, with a ceremonial groundbreaking later this month.

Realignment debate continues

Baseball’s realigment committee said it plans to push for a plan with 16 teams in one league, 14 in the other and unbalanced schedules next season.

“The real goal isn’t to realign. The real goal is to come up with very efficient scheduling which would make the season more meaningful,” realignment committee chairman John Harrington said after meeting with the executive council.

Most recent plans have placed 16 teams in four N.L. divisions and 14 clubs in three A.L. divisions. Several clubs would have to change leagues to make for good geographic matchups.

Acting commissioner Bud Selig reiterated that with Tampa Bay and Arizona joining the major leagues as expansion teams next season, the time for change is now. Selig and Harrington favor radical geographic realignment in which 15 teams would switch leagues.

Larkin mending after foot surgery

Barry Larkin, out for the season with an ailing left heel, underwent surgery and the Reds shortstop is expected to be ready for next year.

The operation lasted two hours. The team said Larkin should be able to start running in eight to 12 weeks. He was placed on the 60-day disabled list Monday and is to stay in the hospital until today.

Shoeless Joe’s signature still safe

Shoeless Joe Jackson’s rare signature will stay in a vault in Columbia, S.C., rather than be auctioned off by the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association to make money for research.

Jackson died in 1951 in Greenville, still fighting allegations that he and seven Chicago White Sox teammates threw the 1919 World Series. The illiterate player with the career .356 batting average rarely signed anything, and as a result his signed will has been estimated to be worth more than $100,000.

The two charities claimed the document because Jackson’s wife, Katie, who died in 1959, named them as her beneficiaries. However, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that she never owned the will, and it will stay in a Greenville County vault.