MLB

03/26/2008, KANSAS CITY -- The Kansas City Royals traded first baseman/outfielder Justin Huber to the San Diego Padres in exchange for a player to be named.

Justin Huber, 25, has made brief appearances in the Majors with the Kansas City Royals the past three seasons after being acquired from the New York Mets on July 30, 2004.

Source: MLB

65 HD games slated on FSN Southwest KDFI, KDFW to broadcast HD games for first time ever

03/27/2008 -- Texas Rangers local television rightsholder FSN Southwest will produce a record 86 games in high-definition in 2008 that will be shown on a combination of FSN Southwest and Dallas-Fort Worth broadcast stations KDFI-My 27 and KDFW Fox 4 starting with the March 31 season opener against the Seattle Mariners on FSNSW.

FSN Southwest will carry 65 HD telecasts, nearly four times as many as the 17 HD Rangers games it offered in 2007. For the first time ever, Rangers games will be broadcast in high-definition on KDFI My 27 (20 games) and KDFW FOX 4 (one game). Seventy-two of the 81 home games will be produced in high-definition, while 14 road games will be in HD.    » read more »

03/26/2008, PEORIA, AZ -- Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager Bill Bavasi announced the following roster moves at the Mariners Major League spring camp on Wednesday:

Optioned to AAA Tacoma (1):
Left-handed pitcher (1): Ryan Feierabend

Today's roster move leaves the Seattle Mariners with 34 players in their Major League Camp, 29 roster players and five non-roster invitees.

Source: MLB

Wei Wang becomes first player from China to make a full-season Minor League club

03/27/2008, PEORIA, Ariz. - Seattle Mariners Director of Player Development Greg Hunter announced today that catcher Wei Wang has been assigned to the High Desert (A) Mavericks club in the California League.

Wei Wang, who was signed as a non-drafted free agent on June 20, 2007, will report to High Desert for the start of the season.

The Seattle Mariners have also already granted permission for Wang to re-join the Chinese National Team this year, when requested.

Wei Wang has 10 years of professional experience in China, and has been the starting catcher for the Chinese National Team since 2002.

Source: MLB

03/26/2008 -- The Baltimore Orioles have announced plans for the first game of their 55th season. The team will face the Tampa Bay Rays next Monday, March 31, at 3:05 p.m.

PRE-GAME FUN AROUND THE YARD
To allow fans the opportunity to experience the excitement of Opening Day, the entire ballpark will open at noon. Each fan will receive a 2008 Orioles magnet schedule at the gates, and roving musical groups will entertain fans on Eutaw Street and the main concourses.

PRE-GAME CEREMONIES
Fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 2:30 p.m., when pre-game ceremonies will begin. The new ballpark entertainment system will be unveiled as part of the festivities. The team will also pay tribute to members of the Orioles family who passed away during the last year.

PLAYER INTRODUCTIONS    » read more »

Good seats available for Tuesday and Wednesday games vs. Texas Rangers

03/27/2008 -- The Seattle Mariners 2008 Opening Day game is virtually sold out. If there are any returned tickets, they will immediately become available on mariners.com. Fans looking for Opening Day tickets are encouraged to check the website often.

There are plenty of good seats still available for the two other games in the three-game opening homestand, Tuesday, April 1, and Wednesday April 2. Both games start at 7:10pm.    » read more »

- Expansion of Spanish audio of home games
- Losmarineros.com presented by Safeco

03/27/2008 -- The Seattle Mariners and television partner FSN Northwest today announced two efforts designed to bring Mariners baseball closer to Spanish speaking fans locally, nationally and internationally.

The Mariners official Spanish-language website, losmarineros.com, will go live on Opening Day, Monday, March 31, and FSN announced an enhanced distribution package for Spanish Audio feeds of Mariners home games. Spanish speaking fans will now have four options for receiving the game broadcasts:

* The Secondary Audio Program (SAP) feed on cable systems carrying the FSN telecasts in the Northwest
* Radio station ESPN Deportes 1230 in Portland
* XM Satellite Radio    » read more »

- Seattle's new ace Erik Bedard takes the mound On Opening Day vs.
- Erik Bedard, Felix Hernandez, Carlos Silva set to start opening series

SEATTLE, 03/27/2008 -- The level of excitement is rising as the Seattle Mariners open the 2008 season with a three-game homestand against division rival Texas Rangers, March 31-April 2. With two key additions to the starting rotation, the Mariners look to win their first Division Crown since the 2001 season.    » read more »

03/25/2008 -- The Cleveland Indians have surpassed the 1.4 million ticket mark, which wasn't achieved until May 14, 2007.

The following represents the latest update relative to 2008 ticket sales:

• Season Ticket Sales are up nearly 25%, eclipsing last year's total Season Ticket number in early January.
• Group Sales are up 50% compared to last year at this time.
• Single Game Sales are up 15% compared to 2007.    » read more »

03/27/2008, ST. PETERSBURG -- The Tampa Bay Rays' final game at Progress Energy Park, home of Al Lang Field, is sold out, except for scattered single seats and very limited berm seating. The Tampa Bay Rays will host the Cincinnati Reds tomorrow at 1 p.m. in the last game before the team moves its Spring Training operations to Charlotte County in 2009.

"The sellout crowd is another symbol of St. Petersburg's passion for Major League Baseball and its history. It will help provide a fitting tribute to Al Lang Field and its final spring game," said Rays President Matt Silverman.

The final game at Al Lang Field will be the Tampa Bay Rays' third sellout of the spring, matching their most ever.

Source: MLB

MLB players, managers and coaches pledge support for members of the baseball family

03/25/2008 -- For the sixth consecutive year, representatives from the Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.) embarked on a Spring Training tour to raise funds for members of the baseball family in need. The tour kicked off with visits from B.A.T. representatives to 12 Major League teams in the Cactus League in Arizona that resulted in approximately 350 players, managers and coaches making charitable contributions. Visits were then made to 18 Grapefruit League clubhouses in Florida where B.A.T. received additional support totaling $850,000.    » read more »

03/26/2008, TUCSON, Ariz -- The Colorado Rockies announced today that the club has traded right-handed pitcher Ramon Ramirez to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for a player to be named later.

Ramon Ramirez, 26, appeared in 22 games for the Colorado Rockies last season, posting a 2-2 record with an 8.31 ERA (17.1 ip, 16 er). The right-hander has pitched in 83 games for Colorado since his major league debut in 2006. As a rookie in 2006, he set the club record for strikeouts by a reliever with 61. Overall Ramirez is 6-5 with a 4.45 ERA (85 ip, 42 er) in parts of two major league seasons (83 games). He made nine appearances for the Rockies in Cactus League play this spring, going 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA (12.2 ip, 2 er).    » read more »

San Diego Padres providing free tickets to Friday's exhibition game to those who lost homes; Players and coaches will wear caps from first-response organizations

SAN DIEGO, 03/25/2008 -- The San Diego Padres today announced plans to recognize survivors and first responders from last fall's wildfires prior to their exhibition game Friday, March 28 (7:05 p.m. vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim).

The Padres are providing free tickets to individuals and families whose homes were lost or significantly damaged during the October 2007 devastation. Individuals from the approximately 1,500 households affected can still pick up Fire Recovery Night ticket vouchers from their local long-term assistance center.    » read more »

03/26/2008 -- The Washington Nationals will host the Atlanta Braves at 8:15 pm in the Inaugural Game at Nationals Park, their new home on South Capitol Street, SE in the Capitol Riverfront District. The Nationals open the 2008 Major League Baseball season with this true "home opener", which will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.    » read more »

Florida Marlins Announce Return of "Stars and Stripes" Ticket Program for the 2008 MLB Regular Season

MIAMI, 03/26/2008 -- The Florida Marlins are proud to announce the sixth season of its "Stars and Stripes" ticket program for the United States Military staff including: Active and Reserve personnel, National Guard, and their dependents, to attend Sunday Marlins regular season games at no cost. During the first five years of the complimentary ticket program, close to 26,000 tickets have been provided for members of the United States Military and their families during the first five years of the program.    » read more »