BASEBALL
Bud Harrelson, the scrappy and sure-handed shortstop who fought Pete Rose on the field during a playoff game and helped the New York Mets win an astonishing championship, died early Thursday morning. He was 79.
The Mets said Thursday that Harrelson died at a hospice house in East Northport, New York, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. He was diagnosed in 2016 and publicly shared his struggle two years later, hoping he and his family could help others afflicted.
Throughout his health ordeal, Harrelson stayed involved with his professional pride and joy. He was part-owner of the Long Island Ducks, an independent minor league team located minutes from his home. He called his decades of work with the club — which he was instrumental in starting and running — his greatest achievement in baseball.
The team said Harrelson’s family was planning a celebration of his life for a later date.
During a major league career that lasted from 1965-80, the light-hitting Harrelson was selected to two All-Star Games and won a Gold Glove. Known to family and teammates as Buddy, he spent his first 13 seasons with New York and was the only man in a Mets uniform for both their World Series titles.
The first came as the infield anchor of the 1969 Miracle Mets, the other as the club’s third base coach in 1986.
In Game 3 of the 1973 NL Championship Series between the Mets and Cincinnati Reds, Rose slid hard into Harrelson at second base on a double play. The two ended up toe-to-toe and then wrestling in the infield dirt at Shea Stadium, triggering a wild, bench-clearing brawl that spilled into the outfield.
• Juan Soto and the New York Yankees agreed to a $31 million, one-year contract, breaking Shohei Ohtani’s record for an arbitration-eligible player, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
• Marcus Stroman and the New York Yankees agreed on a $37 million, two-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The right-hander grew up on Long Island, about 55 miles from Yankee Stadium, and spent 2019 and 2021 across town with the New York Mets — he opted out of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Stroman joins a Yankees rotation headed by AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole that likely will include Clarke Schmidt. Carlos Rodón and Nestor Cortes are coming off injury-plagued seasons.
• Pete Alonso and the New York Mets avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a $20.5 million, one-year contract, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.
• Pitcher Dylan Cease and the Chicago White Sox avoided arbitration, agreeing to an $8 million, one-year deal.
• Shane Bieber and the Cleveland Guardians avoided salary arbitration by agreeing to a $13,125,000 contract for next season, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
• The Chicago Cubs acquired power-hitting third baseman Michael Busch and reliever Yency Almonte from the Los Angeles Dodgers for two minor league prospects.
The Dodgers received pitcher Jackson Ferris and center fielder Zyhir Hope.
• The Atlanta Braves have agreements with their last arbitration-eligible players by striking deals with left-hander Max Fried and A.J. Minter.
The Braves announced signing one-year deals with Fried for $15 million and Minter for $6.22 million.
• The St. Louis Cardinals and outfielder Dylan Carlson agreed to a $2.35 million contract to avoid arbitration, though the club could not reach a deal with versatile Tommy Edman and will exchange salary figures with him.
• The Royals and right-hander Brady Singer agreed to a $4.85 million, one-year contract, and fellow pitchers Nick Anderson, Carlos Hernández and Kyle Wright also agreed to deals that kept Kansas City from going to arbitration this year..
• The Pittsburgh Pirates avoided arbitration with All-Star closer David Bednar and All-Star pitcher Mitch Keller by agreeing to one-year deals ahead of the exchange of proposed salaries.
Bednar, an All-Star in each of the last two seasons, will get $4.51 million. He went 3-3 with 39 saves and a 2.00 ERA last season.
Keller, an All-Star in 2023 while going 13-9 with a 4.21 ERA, will earn $5.442,500.
• Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Willy Adames agreed to a $12.25 million, one-year contract and avoided going to salary arbitration.
• The Arizona Diamondbacks and Gold Glove first baseman Christian Walker agreed to a $10.9 million, one-year contract, avoiding salary arbitration.
• Slugging outfielder Randy Arozarena and injured ace Shane McClanahan were among eight players who agreed to contracts with the Tampa Bay Rays and avoided arbitration.
FIGURE SKATING
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: Loena Hendrickx took the lead in the women’s short program as fellow Belgian skater Nina Pinzarrone followed close behind at Kaunas, Lithuania.
Hendrickx led with 74.66 points after landing a triple flip, double axel and a triple lutz-triple toeloop combination. The 17-year-old Pinzarrone is second on 69.70 and last year’s winner Anastasiia Gubanova of Georgia is third on 68.96.
In Saturday’s free skate, Hendrickx will be aiming for her first major championship title after finishing second to Gubanova at last year’s European championships and winning silver and bronze world championship medals.
GOLF
EUROPEAN TOUR: Rory McIlroy is playing the Dubai Invitational as a favor to a friend and to get in some early-year practice in pleasant weather conditions.
The way he has started, McIlroy might end up taking home the trophy.
The No. 2-ranked Northern Irishman marked his first competitive round of 2024 by making nine birdies in a bogey-free, 9-under 62 to take a two-shot lead after the first round at Dubai, United Arab Emirate.
Yannik Paul (64) was alone in second place at Dubai Creek Resort, with Thriston Lawrence (65) a further stroke back and Tommy Fleetwood and Thorbjorn Olesen tied for fourth place after 66s.
• Keith Pelley is leaving as chief executive of the tour to lead Canada’s largest sports and entertainment group, at a time when his circuit is negotiating with the PGA Tour and the Saudi backers of LIV Golf on a deal that could reshape the golf landscape.
Pelley, a Canadian broadcast executive when he took over the European tour in 2015, will leave April 2 to become president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, whose holdings including the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL and the Toronto Raptors of the NBA.
HOCKEY
NHL: Buffalo Sabres leading scorer Jeff Skinner is out indefinitely with an upper body injury, the team announced.
The Sabres provided no details on the injury or when Skinner was hurt except to list him as week to week. Skinner scored his 17th goal and added an assist in playing 24 shifts in a 5-2 loss to Seattle on Tuesday.
• Anaheim Ducks center Trevor Zegras is expected to be sidelined six to eight weeks after breaking his left ankle Tuesday night at Nashville.
The Ducks revealed the injury, saying Zegras will have surgery. He hit the boards feet-first after Nashville forward Juuso Parssinen’s stick caught in his skates.
SOCCER
AWARDS: Defender Naomi Girma was named U.S. Soccer’s Female Player of the Year for 2023, becoming just the second Black player to win in the award’s 39-year history.
Olivia Moultrie was named the federation’s Young Female Player of the Year.
Grima, 23, was on a U.S. defense that allowed just one goal at the Women’s World Cup last summer. But the United States was knocked out of the tournament in the round of 16 on penalty kicks after a scoreless draw with Sweden. It was the earliest exit ever for the Americans.
Girma, who also plays for the San Diego Wave in the National Women’s Soccer League, was named the NWSL Defender of the Year. She is the sixth player to win both a Young Player of the Year award, which she won in 2020, and the Player of the Year award.
Girma played every minute of the team’s World Cup run. Overall, she started in 16 games for the United States last year.
Moultrie, 18, made two appearances last year for the senior U.S. national team. She played in all 22 games this season with her NWSL team, the Portland Thorns, starting in 12. She had two goals and three assists in the regular season.
SKIING
MEN’S WORLD CUP: Marco Odermatt finally won a World Cup downhill in his 36th attempt, after eight previous second-place finishes.
The Swiss star, who has 29 World Cup wins in giant slalom and super-G, was close to flawless in ideal racing conditions on his home nation’s signature downhill track at Wengen, Switzerland, to be 0.58 seconds faster than Cyprien Sarrazin. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde was third, trailing 0.81 behind his longtime rival.
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