Major League Baseball
Notebook: Foulke packs away flag hat

By Seattle Times news services

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NEW YORK — The flag flap is over for Keith Foulke.

After a personal letter from commissioner Bud Selig, plus talks between the players' union and baseball management as the Fourth of July approached, Foulke reluctantly packed away his Boston cap that featured a patch of the American flag.

"I still think I should be able to wear it," the Red Sox reliever said. "But I don't want to do anything that would cost the team."

Foulke was the only player in the majors with his own such hat. The son of a U.S. Air Force man, he wore it most of the season to show his support for the American troops in Iraq.

"It's not like I was trying to call attention to myself," he said. "I'm a patriotic person, and it's just a personal thing I wanted to do. It was only about an inch square, on the left side, and a lot of people didn't even notice it."

But the commissioner's office saw it. Soon after, Foulke said, he began getting letters from Bob Watson, vice president of on-field operations, saying the cap violated baseball's standard uniform code.

According to the sport's labor agreement, players cannot make individual changes to hats, jerseys and anything else they wear. The issue came up during the 2002 National League playoffs when San Francisco pitcher Jason Christiansen was told he could not continue writing Darryl Kile's number "57" on his cap in tribute to his late former teammate.

"It's the definition of a uniform that we're going after," said Watson's assistant, Matt McKendry.

While baseball told Foulke that he could be fined or suspended, it did not threaten him with an immediate penalty or ever impose one.

The options baseball presented to Foulke:
 
• Pay a $1,000 fine for every game he wore the hat, donating the money to a charity of his choosing, most likely one related to the military.

• Stop wearing the hat after July 4.

• Agree to avoid criticizing baseball's position on the issue.

"That didn't sound very good to me," Foulke said. "It was only going to be for another eight or nine games, and then I couldn't even talk about it."

Angels' new owner seriously considering name change

Arturo Moreno invaded Los Angeles last winter, selling the Anaheim Angels as "L.A.'s Team" on television commercials and as "The A Team" on billboards and buses along Wilshire Boulevard and Ventura Boulevard. The Dodgers offered no resistance, all but paralyzed by a protracted ownership transition.

Now, as Frank McCourt and his new Dodgers management team prepare for their first winter marketing campaign, the Angels' owner might fire another shot at the Dodgers. After stripping "Anaheim" from the team's uniforms, schedules, tickets and Web site last fall, Moreno might reclaim the original franchise name: Los Angeles Angels.

Moreno has discussed the possible change with Selig, according to a baseball official. Moreno declined to comment, as did Selig. If Moreno decides to proceed, McCourt is powerless to stop him.

Notes

• Chicago Cubs OF Todd Hollandsworth, a graduate of Newport High in Bellevue, was put on the 15-day disabled list with a bruised right shin.

• New York Yankees RHP Kevin Brown, recovering from back spasms and intestinal parasites, won't pitch until at least next weekend.

• Chicago Cubs 3B Aramis Ramirez will miss three to five days after straining his groin during a slide Friday.