NEW YORK -- Home runs in the major leagues this year dropped to their lowest level in more than a decade.
An average of 2.04 homers per game were hit this season, the Elias Sports Bureau said Tuesday, a drop of 8.1 percent from last year's 2.22 average and the lowest figure in the majors since the 1995 average of 2.02.
Cold weather in April caused a 20 percent drop in the first month of the season, when the average was 1.84.
Scoring was down 1.3 percent, from 9.72 runs per game in 2006 to 9.59 this year. Hits per game dropped a tad, from 18.6 to 18.5, and the major league batting average fell from .269 to .268. The ERA dropped from 4.52 to 4.46.
The average time of a nine-inning game crept back up 3 minutes to 2:51.
Devil Rays to replace bench coach Evers
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Devil Rays will replace bench coach Bill Evers after two years.
The Devil Rays said they will not renew Evers' contract for next season. He was the manager at Triple-A Durham for eight years before joining Tampa Bay.
No decision has been made on pitching coach Jim Hickey, arrested Monday on a DUI charge.
Coaches Tom Foley (third base), Steve Henderson (hitting), George Hendrick (first base) and Bobby Ramos (bullpen) will return next year.
