Path: utzoo!telly!ddsw1!mcdchg!rutgers!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!looking!clarinews From: clarinews@clarinet.com (United Press International) Newsgroups: clari.sports.baseball,biz.clarinet.sample Subject: Baseball Central Keywords: baseball, men's professional Message-ID: Date: 22 Sep 89 00:55:36 GMT Followup-To: biz.clarinet.sample Lines: 93 Approved: clarinews@clarinet.com ACategory: sports Slugword: bb-central Priority: regular Format: summary ANPA: Wc: 950; Id: s3181; Sel: ns--s; Adate: 9-21-850ped; Ver: sked Codes: ysbpmxx. NEW YORK (UPI) -- Three players were ejected in the first game of Thursday night's double-header between the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees following a benches-clearing brawl. The Brewers were leading 11-1 in the sixth inning when Milwaukee starter Mark Knudson hit designated hitter Luis Polonia in the chest with a fastball. Polonia immediately charged the mound and began throwing punches as both benches emptied. After peace had been restored, Mel Hall continued to instigate the incident and was ejected along with the principal participants. Polonia was convicted of a misdemeanor for having sex with an underage girl on the Yankees' last visit to Milwaukee. In the seventh inning, New York pitcher Kevin Mmahat hit Charlie O'Brien with a pitched ball, and was ejected by home plate umpire Dale Ford. ------ CHICAGO (UPI) -- White Sox first baseman and designated hitter Greg Walker underwent diagnostic arthroscopic surgery Thursday for a nagging injury to his right shoulder, a team official said. Vice President for Public Relations Chuck Adam said the surgery was successful and will help Walker's doctors decide what further treatment might be needed. Walker, 29, suffered the injury while playing high school football but Adam said it has ``troubled him more this year than in years past.'' ``The problem has been present most of his major-league career,'' Adams said. ``Based on the season he hasn't had -- he probably was injured more than he was able to play -- we thought it was time to at least take a look now at the shoulder.'' Adam said if Walker and his physicians decide on rehabilitation there is plenty of time during the off-season for Walker to improve the shoulder before next spring. ------ TORONTO (UPI) -- Toronto leftfielder George Bell will likely be relegated to playing designated hitter for the next few games after he left Wednesday's game against the Boston Red Sox with a sore throwing elbow. Bell, who leads the Blue Jays with 99 RBI, left after hitting a single in the fifth inning of the 10-3 loss. He was examined at a Toronto hospital Thursday morning and the injury was diagnosed as a slight nerve irritation, said a Blue Jays spokesman. Bell will be able to swing a bat but won't be able to throw, the Blue Jays said. ------ NEW YORK (UPI) -- The Chicago Cubs won a coin toss Thursday with the St. Louis Cardinals to determine the site of a possible playoff game between the teams. If the Cubs and Cardinals end the regular season deadlocked, the playoff will be held at Wrigley Field on Oct. 2. The Cubs entered Thursday three games ahead of St. Louis in the National League East. The coin toss was done by conference call at the office of NL President Bill White. The teams were represented by their general managers -- Jim Frey of Chicago and Dal Maxvill of St. Louis. Chicago made the call because it is in first place and won by choosing tails. ------ CHICAGO (UPI) -- Although Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Jerome Walton received some good news on his sore right hamstring, the Chicago Cubs' outfielder may not return to the lineup before the weekend. An examination revealed that the hamstring is pulled, and not re-torn, as had been feared. ``It's nothing to worry about,'' Walton said. ``It was a good report,'' Manager Don Zimmer said. ``He should be able to work out in another day or two.'' ------ CLEVELAND (UPI) -- Oakland left-fielder Rickey Henderson has started a game with a home run 40 times, a major league record, but interim Cleveland Manager John Hart says Henderson probably is a more effective offensive weapon when he keeps the ball in the park. Henderson homered to lead off Wednesday night's 8-6 win over the Indians, but later in the game walked twice, stole second and third both times, and scored on sacrifice flies. The first walk and pair of stolen bases ignited a five-run Oakland rally in the sixth. ``In Baltimore, we used to say if he hits it out of the ballpark, so what?'' Hart said. ``It might keep them out of a big inning. He's just in a class by himself.'' ------ MINNEAPOLIS (UPI) -- Kirby Puckett of the Minnesota Twins and Carney Lansford of the Oakland Athletics are meeting head-to-head in their battle for the AL batting title, but both downplay the contest. ``I've achieved it in the minor leagues before,'' Puckett said. ``In 1982 I hit .382 in rookie ball, so I won a batting title.'' Lansford sounds a similar note. ``It's not even im my mind,'' he said. ``My goal is to win the championship and get into the postseason. I've only got a couple of more years left. That's what's important.'' Under pressure, Puckett does admit that a batting championship would have more meaning than a minor league title. ``If I do it in the big leagues I can add it to my accomplishments in my almost six years,'' he said. ``I'll just go home and look at it (the trophy) and smile about it and put it in the trophy case with everything else.''