BASEBALL NEWS & NOTES

     ESPN's Peter Gammons, on recent MLB free agent signings:
"Winter activity really helps the game.  People talk about it, it
gets on the front pages. ... Last winter, when all we saw was Don
Fehr and Bud Selig, it really hurt the game" ("SportsCenter,"
12/8)....In DC, Tom Boswell writes of Hot Stove action:  "The
game has its timing back" (WASHINGTON POST, 12/8)....In New York,
Bill Madden notes the owner's most recent labor proposal includes
requests that the union approve up to 30 interleague games and
the elimination of the DH when interleague play begins (N.Y.
DAILY NEWS, 12/10)....In Ft. Worth, Simon Gonzalez notes of the
32 free agents who have signed deals for '96, only 13 have
received raises.  Also, the 32 made $61.6M last season, but
signed for less than $49M for '96 based on averages of multiyear
deals (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 12/9).