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PITTSBURGH, July 11, 2006 – Oakland A's All-Star pitcher Barry Zito, founder of "Strikeouts for Troops," will donate $500 for each strikeout thrown during the Major League Baseball All-Star Game here this evening. Strikeouts for Troops assists wounded troops by providing comforts of home during their recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, in Washington, D.C.; the National Naval Medical Center, in Bethesda, Md.; and other military hospitals. Since the program's inception in April 2005, more than $190,000 has been raised through Zito's own contributions of $200 a strikeout and those of 35 players from the A's and other...

Nevada freshman pitcher dies after hospitalization Associated Press RENO, Nev. -- A freshman pitcher for the Nevada Wolf Pack died Tuesday at a Reno hospital after being rushed there the night before with undisclosed injuries, school officials said. Steve Masten, 18, who starred at Spanish Springs High School in Sparks, was reported in critical condition at Washoe Medical Center earlier Tuesday before he died there later in the day, school officials said. Nevada coach Gary Powers on Monday said the hospitalization was the result of an "unfortunate incident within the program.'' But school officials refused to discuss the nature of...

Righthander Jeff Reardon, who was instrumental in the Minnesosta Twins' 1980 World Series championship and also pitched for the Red Sox from 1990-92, was arrested in Florida yesterday on suspicion of committing armed robbery. According to a release from the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department, Reardon, 50, entered a jewelry store in a shopping mall and handed a clerk a note demanding money. The clerk, believing he had a gun, filled a bag with an undisclosed amount of cash. Reardon fled with the cash and was followed by the store manager and arrested outside a restaurant, police said .

Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico made a claim that he was almost drafted for pro-baseball back when he was younger. After much hubaloo from the press that pressured the governor to change his mind saying he wasn't sure. Numerous media press captured his moment of trite humility in confessing that he wasn't drafted by the A's: "After being notified of the situation and after researching the matter ... I came to the conclusion that I was not drafted by the A's," he said. Now, Bill Richard was a young man back then where his father probably had to deal...

ST. LOUIS -- When it mattered most, Chris Carpenter was at his best.

Pitcher Ugueth Urbina has been arrested on a charge of attempted murder in his home country of Venezuela. Caracas, Venezuela -- Police said Ugueth Urbina and a group of men allegedly attacked several employees at his family home using machetes and tried to set them on fire. Urbina's lawyer has said the pitcher was sleeping at the time and was not involved. Urbina has insisted he had nothing to do with the violence that broke out at his home last month. Police said five workers were injured in the incident, and one of them suffered burns on the back and...

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 18, 2005 – San Diego Padres pitcher Trevor Hoffman signed autographs and met with more than 100 Sailors and their families at Naval Base Coronado Aug. 12. The signing was one of three such opportunities for Sailors to meet with players this year, which Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR) organized with the Padres ball club, according to Jack Ensch, Padres’ director of military marketing. “We are always working to support our military. The players volunteer their time. We set up the base signings with MWR, then the guys sign up. They really enjoy themselves here,” said Ensch....

John Rocker signed with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League on Thursday. The left-handed reliever became the center of controversy while with the Atlanta Braves in 1999 when he made derogatory comments in a Sports Illustrated article about gays and minorities. He agreed to a one-year deal with the Ducks. "John Rocker wants to pitch on Long Island," Ducks pitching coach and former big leaguer Dave LaPoint said. "He had opportunities to pitch elsewhere and he chose to pitch here."

To fully appreciate how much Bert Blyleven cherishes his place in the history of the game of baseball, you have to see the balls. There are about 330 of them, regulation horsehide, individually mounted on little stands and arrayed in tiered rows in a huge glass display case along the wall behind the television and the trophies.

Breaking news from reliable Venezuelan media, no full story in English yet. Developing....

He's a pitcher, part yogi and part recluse. Impressively liberated from our opulent life-style, Sidd's deciding about yoga -- and his future in baseball The secret cannot be kept much longer. Questions are being asked, and sooner rather than later the New York Mets management will have to produce a statement. It may have started unraveling in St. Petersburg, Fla. two weeks ago, on March 14, to be exact, when Mel Stottlemyre, the Met pitching coach, walked over to the 40-odd Met players doing their morning calisthenics at the Payson Field Complex not far from the Gulf of Mexico, a...