, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Maddux, Kent file for free agency
NEW YORK, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Four-time Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux and former National League Most Valuable Player Jeff Kent were among 32 players who filed for free agency Tuesday.
Coming off a record-tying 15th consecutive 15-win season, Maddux followed the lead of lefthander Tom Glavine and became the eighth member of the Atlanta Braves to declare free agency since the filing period began Monday.
Maddux was 16-6 with a 2.62 ERA in 34 starts, joining Cy Young as the only pitchers in major league history to win 15 games in 15 straight seasons. The 36-year-old righthander has spent the last 10 seasons with the Braves, leading the team in ERA eight times.
Kent overcame a sluggish start and completed another productive season for the National League champion San Francisco Giants.
The 34-year-old second baseman hit .313 with 37 home runs and 108 RBI in 152 games but slumped in the postseason at .269 with three homers and eight RBI in 17 contests.
Seattle Mariners first baseman John Olerud, Arizona Diamondbacks center fielder Steve Finley and New York Yankees third baseman Robin Ventura were the bigger names among the other 30 players who filed Tuesday.
Three more new managers
By United Press International
Three more baseball managers were named Tuesday as Ned Yost, Eric Wedge and Ken Macha took over the helm at Milwaukee, Cleveland and Oakland, respectively.
The Brewers decided on Yost, a one-time backup catcher at Milwaukee and who has no managerial experience, to reverse the fortunes of a sagging franchise.
Yost, who succeeds Jerry Royster, reportedly signed a three-year deal worth about $1.5 million. He spent the past 12 seasons as a coach for the Atlanta Braves, including the last four as third base coach.
At Cleveland, Eric Wedge became the youngest manager in the major leagues Tuesday when the Indians signed him to a three-year contract.
Wedge, 34, managed Cleveland's Class AAA affiliate in Buffalo for the past two seasons. He will turn 35 on Jan. 27, youngest Indians skipper since Lou Boudreau was named manager in 1942 at the age of 24.
And, at Oakland, the A's promoted bench coach Ken Macha to be their next manager, replacing Art Howe, who was allowed to leave.
Howe signed a four-year, $9.4 million contract with the New York Mets on Monday.
Macha, 52, received a multi-year contract fro m the Athletics reportedly worth close to $1 million annually.
Disneyland Parade for World Series champs
ANAHEIM, Calif., Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Amid a sea of red ThunderStix and rally monkeys, the Anaheim Angels celebrated the first World Series title in their 42-year history with a parade that started at Disneyland and ended at Edison Field on Tuesday.
Jackie Autry, the widow of Gene Autry, who formed the expansion team in 1961 before selling it to the Walt Disney Co., rode alongside Mickey Mouse in the Disneyland parade.
The Angels had never won a postseason series before embarking on a magical postseason run in which they beat the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins in the American League playoffs before defeating the San Francisco Giants in a thrilling seven-game World Series.
Tens of thousands of fans clad in red hats and shirts cheered as Angels Manager Mike Scioscia raised the World Series Trophy aloft at Disneyland's theme park.
Giants' Hilliard out for season
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Oct. 29 (UPI) -- New York Giants wide receiver Ike Hilliard will miss the rest of the season with a dislocated right shoulder, the team announced Tuesday.
Hilliard was injured when he was hit by safety Brian Dawkins in a Monday night game against Philadelphia. An MRI Tuesday revealed that he had a tear in both his labrum and his pectoralis muscle. He will undergo
surgery in about a month. The normal rehabilitation period for the surgery is three months.
Hilliard is the Giants' second starter to suffer a season-ending injury in as many games, following defensive tackle Keith Hamilton, who ruptured his Achilles tendon on Oct. 13 against Atlanta.
The injury occurred on the opening drive of the second half. Trailing 9-3, the Giants had a 2nd-and-14 at the Eagles' 36-yard line when Kerry Collins threw incomplete to Hilliard outside the 20. The seven-year veteran took three more strides before he was leveled by Dawkins, who received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for the helmet-to-chest hit.
Charger safety loses suspension appeal
NEW YORK, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- The NFL Tuesday rejected the appeal of San Diego Chargers strong safety Rodney Harrison.
Harrison was seeking to have his one-game suspension for misuse of his helmet in an Oct. 20 against Oakland overturned. It was his third "serious" rules violation in the past 16 games.
Instead, the Chargers (6-1) will be without their leader in the secondary for this week's game against the New York Jets (2-5).
Gene Washington, the NFL director of football operations, issued the disciplinary action, citing two previous infractions, the second of which came with a warning that future penalties of this type could result in suspension.
Harrison has been guilty of illegal hits twice this season, beginning with the spearing of Kansas City Chiefs running back Priest Holmes on Oct. 13. That came with a $12,500 fine.
Broken hand sidelines Titans linebacker
NASHVILLE, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- The Tennessee Titans have learned that they may have lost linebacker Frank Chamberlin for some time.
Chamberlin suffered a fracture left hand in Sunday's come-from-behind 30-24 win over Cincinnati. He is being monitored closely in practice this week by Coach Jeff Fisher and his staff to see how effective he might be in a game while playing with one hand.
The hand has been placed in a cast.
Expos keep Colon for 2003
MONTREAL, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- The Montreal Expos on Tuesday exercised their $6 million club option on pitcher Bartolo Colon for the 2003 season.
Acquired from the Cleveland Indians before the trade deadline, Colon helped the Expos briefly contend in the National League East. In 17 starts with Montreal, he posted a 10-4 record with a 3.31 ERA.
The hard-throwing righthander became a 20-game winner for the first time in his career, combining to go 20-8 with a 2.93 ERA in 33 starts. Colon joined Hank Borowy (1945) as only the second pitcher in Major League history to win 10 games in each league in the same season.
Saints extend GM Loomis' contract
METAIRIE, La., Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Five months after taking over as the general manager of the New Orleans Saints, Mickey Loomis on Tuesday signed a four-year contract extension.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Loomis was promoted to general manager in May after the surprise firing of Randy Mueller, who conducted April's NFL draft. Prior to his promotion, Loomis was the Saints' director of football administration since 2000.
The move to sign Loomis to an extension is another move to stabilize the future of the franchise. Coach Jim Haslett, hired in 2000 by Mueller, and quarterback Aaron Brooks agreed to contract extensions earlier this year.
