High & Inside: NL Notes
High & Inside: NL Notes
DENIS POROY / Associated Press
Happy Manny returns: Phil and Jessie Wojdak, attired for Manny Ramirez's first game back from drug suspension in San Diego.
Record number of votes are in
Voting for July 14's All-Star Game in St. Louis ended Thursday night, and a record 223.5 million votes from 17.8 million ballots were cast at MLB.com and the 30 club sites.The ease of online voting, where an individual could vote up to 25 times a day, boosted those unprecedented numbers. The game's players will be announced at 1 p.m. tomorrow on TBS.
Voting for the starters may be over, but the fans aren't done yet. They will be able to select the final player for each league's 33-man roster on MLB.com. Fans can also vote by text on Sprint phones.
Letters found?
Authorities are looking into whether a newly discovered trove of letters to one of baseball's founding fathers contains documents that disappeared long ago from the New York Public Library.The letters are 19th-century correspondence to Harry Wright, who formed the country's first professional baseball team in Cincinnati and went on to manage in several cities.
Hunt Auctions, a major auctioneer of sports memorabilia in Exton, was preparing to sell a batch of Wright's letters on July 14 at the All-Star Game's fan festival in St. Louis but has suspended bidding, at least temporarily.
Company president David Hunt said he hadn't seen any evidence that the letters were among those that vanished.
Hunt reportedly declined to identify the seller of the letters, other than to say the person who consigned them said they had belonged to his grandparents.
Noteworthy
Struggling Braves second baseman Kelly Johnson was placed on the 15-day disabled list with right-wrist tendinitis, and infielder Brooks Conrad of triple-A Gwinnett was promoted. . . . The Reds activated third baseman Edwin Encarnacion from the 60-day disabled list to replace infielder Danny Richar, who went on the 15-day disabled list with a torn labrum in his left shoulder. . . . Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit caught five innings of a Gulf Coast League game, the first time he has played since breaking his right wrist April 19. . . . The Cubs acquired infielder Jeff Baker from the Rockies for minor-league righthanded pitcher Al Alburquerque and designated infielder Ryan Freel for assignment. . . . Cubs lefthander Neal Cotts had Tommy John surgery Thursday night.
Contact staff writer Jorge Castillo at 215-854-2928
This article contains information from the Associated Press.
