The following lists MLB team news by market:
A'S: Any fan purchasing a full season-ticket plan for
the Athletics will receive Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco
autographed baseballs (Athletics).
BLUE JAYS: A Dunedin, FL, city official said it could
cost the Blue Jays at least $2.7M to break their lease with
the city if they go ahead with plans to move their spring
training home to Sarasota. The team's lease, which runs
through '99, has no "out clause," and Dunedin "would expect
to be compensated for lost revenue." The $2.7M includes the
$700,000 the city would make in each of the next two years
from stadium revenues, as well as $1.3M as part of a '90
stadium renovation (TORONTO SUN, 2/26). Team GM Gord Ash:
"We won't move at any cost. If they ask for something
ridiculous like $5-million (U.S.), we're staying" (Toronto
GLOBE & MAIL, 2/26).
ORIOLES: Under the dateline "STATE OF FLUX, Fla.," the
SUN's Ken Rosenthal examines the lack of a permanent spring
training home for the Orioles, who had negotiated with
Disney last year for the facility that the Braves will now
use. Orioles Vice Chair/Business & Finance Joe Foss: "The
proposal Disney made, we weren't comfortable with the
financial aspect of it. ... We didn't think it made good
business sense for the Baltimore Orioles." Braves President
Stan Kasten: "It's not a killer economic deal. ... But we've
got no worries about expenses, no worries about
construction, no worries about design" (Baltimore SUN,
2/26). The "building boom" of spring training sites is
examined by BASEBALL AMERICA's Will Lingo, who ranks the 28
MLB spring training homes, rating the Dodgers' Vero Beach,
FL, site No. 1 (BASEBALL AMERICA, 2/14).
PADRES: Padres Owners John and Becky Moores have
donated nearly $4M to the soon-to-be-completed Tony Gwynn
Stadium at San Diego State Univ., which will seat 3,500-
4,000 and "rank as one of the top collegiate facilities in
the country" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 2/25).
RED SOX: The Red Sox will have three different hats
this season, the traditional blue lid getting the most wear,
with the others -- one red and one white based cap -- worn
at random. Dir of Communications Kevin Shea: "There will
be no rhyme nor reason why we wear the caps. ... If we wear
the red cap one day and win, we might wear it while the
winning streak continues. We also might wear a different
cap in the first game of a series, or a team's first visit
in, things like that" (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/26).
ROCKIES: Interleague games against the Mariners and A's
are among 31 dates at Coors Field that already are sellouts
or "close" to sellouts. August games against the Mariners
and the A's are among 29 Rockies home games with 1,000 or
fewer tickets available (DENVER POST, 2/26).
