Former Jays broadcaster Howarth a first-time nominee for prestigious Frick award

Basketball connections helped set Jerry Howarth on a path to the baseball big leagues, a journey that included a 36-year run as a radio broadcaster for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Howarth was recently rewarded for his broadcasting excellence with a nomination for the 2023 Ford Frick Award. The winner of the annual honour from the baseball Hall of Fame will be announced Wednesday.

"Winning is not important to me," Howarth said. "Just to be nominated is the honour in and of itself and (something) I'm so appreciative of."

Before he became a full-time voice with the Blue Jays alongside Tom Cheek in 1982, Howarth called minor-league games for the Tacoma Twins and Salt Lake City Gulls. He also served as a radio broadcaster for the Utah Pros of the Western Basketball Association.

Bonds, Clemens Hall of Fame bids now on even shakier ground

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were rejected by baseball writers in their bids for the Baseball Hall of Fame 10 times. On Sunday, the duo chased by steroid suspicions got another rebuke from a panel that included many of their peers.

The door hasn't formally shut on their Cooperstown chances. But the latest letdown means the pair — with eight MVPs and seven Cy Young Awards between them — may never be celebrated with the sport's greatest individual honor.

Fred McGriff was the only player elected Sunday to the Hall of Fame by a 16-member contemporary era committee, one of several groups credentialed to seal a player's enshrinement. McGriff was chosen unanimously, while neither Bonds or Clemens received more than three votes.

When it comes to the Baseball Hall of Fame, there are several potential avenues to induction, but it can be a very bumpy road for all but the most straightforward cases.

Former Blue Jay McGriff elected as Bonds, Clemens left out of Hall again

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Moments after former Toronto Blue Jay Fred McGriff was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, almost two decades after his final game, he got the question.

Asked if Barry Bonds belonged in Cooperstown, a smiling McGriff responded: “Honestly, right now, I'm going to just enjoy this evening.”

A Hall of Fame committee delivered its answer Sunday, passing over Bonds, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling while handing McGriff the biggest honor of his impressive big league career.

The lanky first baseman, nicknamed the “Crime Dog,” spent his first five seasons in Toronto, hitting 125 home runs and 305 RBIs. McGriff led the American League with 36 home runs in 1989, his fourth year with the Blue Jays.

AP source: Mariners close to acquiring Brewers’ Kolten Wong

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Mariners are close to completing a deal to acquire second baseman Kolten Wong from the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder Jesse Winker and Canadian infielder Abraham Toro, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The person confirmed to The Associated Press an agreement was reached Friday pending a medical review. The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the deal hadn’t been officially announced by either team.

The Athletic first reported the deal. ESPN reported the Brewers also would be sending the Mariners about $1.75 million.

The Brewers picked up the $10 million team option on Wong’s contract for the 2023 season last month.

Former Expos reporter Richard Milo honoured by Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

ST. MARYS, ONTARIO, CANADA - Longtime Canadian Press writer Richard Milo has been named the winner of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s 2022 Jack Graney Award.

The honour is given annually to a member of the media who has made significant contributions to baseball in Canada through their life’s work.

"I was speechless when I received the call. It is such a great honour," Milo said. "I was fortunate to cover two perfect games and now, this award.

"I fell in love with the game when I was young and ever since, it has been fun and rewarding."

Fieldhouse provides cutting-edge insights

A new facility has opened in Brandon for young baseball and softball players looking for a cutting-edge technological breakdown of their game.

Judge wins AL MVP in runaway; Goldschmidt takes NL prize

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees won the American League MVP award on Thursday night, and St. Louis Cardinals slugger Paul Goldschmidt took the NL prize.

After hitting 62 home runs this season to break the AL record, Judge easily beat out Los Angeles Angels two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani in an MVP race some thought might be close.

“It's tough to put in words,” Judge said in an interview on MLB Network, surrounded by his beaming wife, parents and agents. “It's an incredible moment. A lot of hard work to get to this.”

The 6-foot-7 outfielder received 28 of 30 first-place votes and two seconds for 410 points from a Baseball Writers’ Association of America panel. Ohtani, last year's winner, was picked first on two ballots and second on the other 28 for 280 points.

Verlander, Alcantara are unanimous Cy Young Award winners

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston's Justin Verlander in the American League and Miami’s Sandy Alcantara in the National League were both unanimous selections for the Cy Young Award on Wednesday night.

It's the second time the winners in both leagues were unanimous since the award began in 1956 and the first since Detroit's Denny McLain in the AL and St. Louis' Bob Gibson in the NL swept the voting in 1968.

The 39-year-old Verlander, who also won the award in 2019 after winning both MVP and the Cy Young in 2011, becomes the 11th player to win it three times. He also won unanimously in 2011.

Verlander led the majors with a 1.75 ERA — the lowest of his 17-year career — after missing almost all of the previous two seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery. He becomes the fourth AL pitcher with two unanimous victories, joining Roger Clemens (1986, 1998), Pedro Martinez (1999, 2000) and Johan Santana (2004, 2006).

Veteran skippers Francona, Showalter voted Managers of Year

Cleveland's Terry Francona and New York's Buck Showalter were voted Managers of the Year on Tuesday night, improving the already sparkling resumes of both veteran baseball leaders.

Showalter — who won the NL prize in a very tight race — is just the third person to win a fourth Manager of the Year award and the first to win with four different franchises. He won with the Yankees in 1994, Rangers in 2004, Orioles in 2014 and now the Mets.

The other four-time winners are Hall of Famers Bobby Cox and Tony La Russa.

“The game has changed,” Showalter said of his four awards in four decades. “But in a lot of ways it's stayed the same.”

Seattle’s Rodríguez, Atlanta’s Harris voted top rookies

NEW YORK (AP) — Seattle's Julio Rodríguez and Atlanta''s Michael Harris II, a pair of 21-year-old center fielders, were voted Rookies of the Year on Monday.

Rodriguez hit .284 with 28 homers, 75 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in helping the Mariners reach the postseason for the first time since 2001. He won the American League honor by receiving 29 of 30 first-place votes and one second for 148 points from a Baseball Writers’ Association of America panel.

Harris batted .297 with 19 homers, 64 RBIs and 20 steals after making his debut on May 28. He was voted the National League award, getting 22 firsts and eight seconds for 134 points from a different BBWAA panel.

Baltimore catcher Adley Rutschman was second in the AL with 68 points, getting the other first-place vote, 18 seconds and nine thirds.

Judge, deGrom among 14 with $19.65M qualifying offers

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge, Jacob deGrom and Xander Bogaerts were among 14 free agents who were given $19.65 million qualifying offers by their former teams on Thursday

Dansby Swanson, Trea Turner, Willson Contreras and Carlos Rodón also were given the offers, as were Chris Bassitt, Brandon Nimmo, Nathan Eovaldi, Anthony Rizzo, Joc Pederson, Martín Pérez and Tyler Anderson.

Players have until Nov. 20 to accept, and top players are expected to decline and pursue more lucrative long-term contracts on the free-agent market. Players can discuss financial offers with all teams starting Friday.

Qualifying offers began after the 2012 season, and only eight of 110 offers have been accepted. Among the 14 players given $18.4 million offers last year, only San Francisco first baseman Brandon Belt said yes.

Hacault surprised by baseball Hall of Fame call

Patti Hacault wasn’t expecting to be a member of the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame, especially since only one female — the late Evelyn Moroz — had been inducted into the individual category.

This year’s World Series is 2nd-least watched on TV

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Houston Astros' six-game victory over the Philadelphia Phillies finished as the second least-watched World Series on television.

The six games averaged 11,784,000 on Fox, down 1.3% from the 11,940,000 for the Atlanta Braves' six-game win over the Astros last year and ahead of only the 9,946,000 for the Los Angeles Dodgers' six-game victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in 2020.

Houston’s 3-1 win in Game 6 on Saturday night was seen by 12,549,000 viewers on Fox, down 11% from 14,140,000 Atlanta’s 7-0 victory over the Astros in last year’s finale, played on a Tuesday night. Including Fox Deportes and streaming, this year's Game 6 was viewed by 12,871,000.

Game 6 was played opposite several college football games, including Alabama-LSU on ESPN, Clemson-Notre Dame on NBC and Florida State-Miami on ABC.