HOF will hold party

The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is celebrating its diamond anniversary.

A ceremony marking the 75th anniversary will be held Thursday morning in Cooperstown, Ohio, on the front steps of the museum, with Hall of Famers Cal Ripken Jr. and Joe Morgan taking part.

Babe Ruth was the star of the first class elected to the Hall of Fame in 1936, and he attended the Hall of Fame’s official opening on June 12, 1939. Ruth was the last person to speak before Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis officially opened the museum.

To honor his contributions to the game, the Hall of Fame is opening a new Babe Ruth exhibit on Friday.

Thursday’s festivities include a discussion by three local residents who were present when the Hall of Fame opened in 1939.

All-Star assistant coaches named

Ron Gardenhire will be in the dugout with the A.L. All-Stars at his home stadium. The Minnesota manager was chosen along with Cleveland’s Terry Francona as coaches to join A.L. manager John Farrell of Boston in the July 15 All-Star game at Target Field. For the N.L., manager Mike Matheny of St. Louis chose Clint Hurdle of Pittsburgh and Fredi Gonzalez of Atlanta as his coaching staff. Francona has himself managed the A.L. team before – in 2005 and 2008. Gardenhire, who has managed the Twins since 2002, was an A.L. coach in 2003 and 2007.

Clearing the bases

Rangers reliever Tanner Scheppers is going back on the disabled list because of right elbow inflammation less than a week after a return from the same problem. … The Pirates placed left-handed starter Francisco Liriano on the DL because of a strained left oblique. … Yankees have reacquired left-hander David Huff from the Giants for cash considerations and activated right-handed reliever Shawn Kelley from the 15-day DL. Righty Matt Daley was optioned to Triple-A and left-hander Wade LeBlanc was designated for assignment. … The Nationals have placed catcher Wilson Ramos on the 15-day DL with a right hamstring injury and called up catcher Sandy Leon from Triple-A Syracuse. … The White Sox have signed Olympic speedskater Eddy Alvarez to a minor league deal as an infielder. The 24-year-old Alvarez was part of the relay team at the Sochi Olympics that won the silver medal in the 5,000-meter relay. … The Cardinals are optimistic that the discomfort in ace Adam Wainwright’s right elbow is not a serious problem. … The Red Sox have signed outfielder Andres Torres to a minor league contract.