TORONTO -- Cito Gaston signed a two-year contract extension with the Toronto Blue Jays before Thursday's home finale against the New York Yankees.
Toronto has a 48-36 record since Gaston replaced John Gibbons on June 20. Toronto is 83-75 overall, fourth in the AL East.
"It's something that, from day one, J.P. and I talked about," Gaston said, referring to general manager J.P. Ricciardi. "We talked about coming back for one year but two years is great. Hopefully we can turn things around next year."
Gaston, 64, managed the Blue Jays from 1989-1997 and led the team to four playoff appearances and two World Series titles. He also served as the club's hitting coach from 1982-1989 and again in 2000 and 2001.
Gaston was a special assistant to president Paul Godfrey before returning as manager, and worked with Toronto's hitters during spring training. Full story
All-Star, two-time AL batting champ Vernon dies
PHILADELPHIA -- Mickey Vernon, a two-time American League batting champion with the Washington Senators and seven-time All-Star first baseman during a 20-year career in the major leagues, has died. He was 90.
Vernon died Wednesday at Riddle Memorial Hospital in Media, hospital spokeswoman Jackie Woolfall said. He had a stroke last week, according to Jim Vankoski, Vernon's friend of 25 years.
Vernon played from 1939-43 and 1946-60 with Washington, Cleveland, the Boston Red Sox, the Milwaukee Braves and Pittsburgh, winning batting titles in 1946 and 1953. He went on to become the first manager of the expansion Senators in 1961, after the original team moved to Minnesota and became the Twins.
He was career .286 hitter and finished with 2,495 hits in 2,409 games, including 490 doubles and 120 triples. He had 172 homers and 1,311 RBI.
Giants owner ready to step back
SAN FRANCISCO -- Peter Magowan recently made his rounds through the dugout and several fans stopped him to offer their best wishes and thanks for what he's done during nearly two decades running the San Francisco Giants.
Come next Wednesday, Magowan will walk away from his role as primary owner and managing partner of the franchise after 16 years. He will head into a retirement filled with fishing trips, travel and time with his grandchildren. He already has a vacation to Italy planned for one of his first getaways.
"I'm ready. The difficult part was making the decision in the first place," Magowan said. "But once I made it, I don't look back, and that's typical of me. When I make a decision, whether it's the right one or the wrong one, that's it and move on to the next decision. I'm comfortable. I wish we could have had a better year this year than we did. I really felt we'd be an improvement over last year's team."
The recent losing seasons aside, Magowan's legacy surely will be as the man who kept Major League Baseball in San Francisco, brought home run king Barry Bonds to town and ultimately also let him go, and the one who built a new ballpark.
Phanatic's hot dogs trigger bomb scare in Philly
PHILADELPHIA -- After a bomb scare at the Philadelphia Phillies' ballpark, authorities pointed the finger at a fuzzy green suspect -- The Phillie Phanatic.
Hours before the Phillies-Atlanta Braves' game on Wednesday night, a film crew shot a commercial of the mascot shooting heavily wrapped hot dogs from a launcher.
But someone inadvertently left three of the duct taped hot dogs outside the ballpark, sparking security fears. Stadium employees were evacuated and the bomb squad was called in.
Only after the packages were blown up did authorities realize they'd just exploded some sausages.
