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Kuhn In, Miller Out For Hall Of Fame

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The Associated Press

Published: December 4, 2007

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - At last, Bowie Kuhn beat Marvin Miller at something.

The late commissioner was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Monday while Miller was rejected by a revamped Veterans Committee stacked with those he regularly opposed - and beat - in arbitration and bargaining sessions that altered the history of the game.

"Bowie was a close friend and a respected leader who served as commissioner during an important period in history, amid a time of change," commissioner Bud Selig said, adding: "I was surprised that Marvin Miller did not receive the required support given his important impact on the game."

Former Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, managers Dick Williams and Billy Southworth and ex-Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss also were elected.

Manager Whitey Herzog and umpire Doug Harvey each missed induction by a single vote.

Dreyfuss helped bring peace between the American and National Leagues by arranging the first World Series in 1903. O'Malley opened up the West to baseball when he moved the Dodgers to Los Angeles after the 1957 season. Southworth and Williams won World Series titles.

Kuhn presided over the introduction of night games to the World Series and baseball's first, tentative steps into national marketing. But the game also changed in ways he fiercely resisted: Free agency, salary arbitration and dozens of other benefits that Miller won for the players as the head of their union.

"I think it was rigged, but not to keep me out. It was rigged to bring some of these people in. It's not a pretty picture," Miller said by telephone after being informed of the results by The Associated Press. "It's demeaning, the whole thing, and I don't mean just to me. It's demeaning to the Hall and demeaning to the people in it."

The five elected this time will be inducted into the Hall on July 27 in Cooperstown, N.Y.. They will be joined by any players elected in traditional voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America to be announced Jan. 8.

RED SOX: Reliever Mike Timlin reached a preliminary agreement on a one-year contract worth $3 million.

The deal, which is pending the results of a physical, was confirmed Monday by a person with knowledge of the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not yet been announced.

The 41-year-old Timlin went 2-1 with a 3.42 ERA in 50 games for Boston this

WHITE SOX-D'BACKS TRADE: The Chicago White Sox added depth to their inexperienced outfield Monday, acquiring Carlos Quentin from the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor league first baseman Chris Carter.

Once considered a top prospect, Quentin batted .214 with five home runs and 31 RBIs in 81 games for the NL West champions this season. He lost his starting job in right field and was demoted to the minors in July, then recalled a few weeks later. But he missed most of August with a strained right hamstring and was left off the playoff roster.

Carter, 20, showed power at Class-A Kannapolis this season, batting .291 with 25 homers and 93 RBIs in 126 games.

Pettitte Returning To Yanks For Another Year

Andy Pettitte decided to pitch for the New York Yankees in 2008 and put off retirement.

Pettitte's agent, Randy Hendricks, said that the 35-year-old left-hander had started telling teammates on Sunday. Hendricks then informed Yankees general manager Brian Cashman of the news.

Hendricks said Yankees captain Derek Jeter and catcher Jorge Posada had lobbied Pettitte to return, and the pitcher consulted his wife.

"Players such as Jeter and Posada told him how much they needed him back, as did Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi," Hendricks said. "Andy decided this weekend that he didn't want to keep the Yankees on hold as they sought to determine their team for next year."

The Yankees also finalized their two-year, $4 million deal with catcher Jose Molina and designated infielder Andy Phillips for assignment.

The Yankees also announced plans to play an exhibition game at Virginia Tech on March 18.

"Since the tragedy of last April 16, the Virginia Tech family has shown great strength and resilience and have committed themselves to the healing process while looking ahead to their future," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said.

"We bring the New York Yankees to Blacksburg this spring to celebrate the start of a new year for the Virginia Tech family and ours."

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