Giants Extend Baker Contract Two More Years

The San Francisco Giants signed manager Dusty Baker to a two-year contract extension through 2000, the team said.

Baker, 49, is entering the final year of a two-year contract.

Baker piloted the Giants from a last-place finish in 1996 to the National League Western Division title in 1997 with a 90-72 record and was named the National League Manager of the Year for the second time.

“Dusty Baker has established himself as one of the premier managers in all of baseball,” said Giants general manager Brian Sabean. “His performance in the dugout over the past five years has been exemplary, and he’s richly deserving of this contract extension.”

Majors file to stop antitrust probe

Major League Baseball has sued Minnesota Attorney General Hubert Humphrey III, seeking to block his antitrust investigation into the possible move of the Minnesota Twins to North Carolina.

In a nine-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, the commissioner’s office, the National League and the group headed by North Carolina businessman Don Beaver asked for an injunction against the investigation and a declaration that investigative demands served on baseball by Humphrey are invalid and unenforceable.

“It is well established that state antitrust laws are inapplicable to professional baseball,” the court papers stated.

Retired players suing baseball

A group of 400 retired major leaguers will take baseball to court Tuesday in an effort to prove they haven’t received a fair portion of the profit from selling their likenesses.

Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Reggie Jackson, Ted Williams and 10 other Hall of Famers are among the plaintiffs in the class-action suit, which is scheduled to be heard in California Superior Court in Oakland.

The players’ suit says they are not receiving enough compensation from a pooled royalties program that baseball established in 1992. Baseball contends it was charitable to even set up the program and is giving the former players all revenue generated by them.

Mo apologizes in ad

A week after his arrest on drunken driving charges, Boston Red Sox first baseman Mo Vaughn took out ads in two Boston newspapers, expressing his regret over the incident and pledging to continue his community work.

The ads, purchased through the office of Vaughn’s adviser, represent the first public comments by the 30-year-old player since the Jan. 9 early morning accident on Interstate 95 in Norwood, Mass., in which Vaughn’s new pickup truck overturned after striking an abandoned car in the breakdown lane.

Contract signings

Houston Astros shortstop Tim Bogar agreed to a $725,000, one-year contract, nearly three times his $275,000 salary last season.

Dave Veres, acquired by Colorado from Montreal during the offseason, agreed to a $1 million, one-year contract with the Rockies.

Outfielder Cliff Floyd agreed to a $500,000, one-year contract with the Florida Marlins.