BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE MAJOR LEAGUES

Former New York Yankee manager Stump Merrill told representatives of Commissioner Fay Vincent Thursday that he had no contact with George Steinbrenner and was not aware of any club officials who may have dealt with the owner after he relinquished control of the team in August 1990.

Vincent did not attend the meeting with Merrill, who was fired late last season as manager but remains in the organization as a scout in the minor league system. Merrill, 48, met for an hour in the commissioner’s office with general counsel Thomas Ostertag and executive director of security Kevin Hallinan.

Said Merrill: “They asked me several different ways, but it came down to one thing. Did I talk to Mr. Steinbrenner? And my answer was and is ‘no.’ ”

Steinbrenner essentially was banned from baseball in 1990 for paying $40,000 to gambler Howard Spira. As part of the agreement, the owner was forbidden to discuss baseball matters with club employees.

Vincent was prepared to announce June 15 a modification of the agreement in which Steinbrenner would be reinstated by next season. But Vincent delayed the decision that day when allegations surfaced concerning Steinbrenner’s behavior based on a published report that quoted unidentified middle- and high-level Yankees employees, both current and former.