BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE MAJOR LEAGUES : Hrbek Goes Home, Will Have Surgery

First baseman Kent Hrbek of the Minnesota Twins returned to Minneapolis and will undergo surgery on his right shoulder either Friday or Monday, the Twins said.

Hrbek, 32, missed all three games of the Twins’ series with the Oakland Athletics that concluded Wednesday. He hasn’t played since Sept. 6 because of shoulder inflammation caused by a slight tear in his rotator cuff.

The 10-year veteran batted .244 this season, driving in 58 runs. After the All-Star break, he slumped to .172 with 17 RBIs in 47 games.

“We missed Hrbek in this series,” Kirby Puckett said after the A’s swept the three games and virtually wrapped up the AL West title.

Last season, Hrbek batted .284 with 89 RBIs in 132 games and helped the Twins win the World Series.

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Roger Clemens and Wade Boggs cooled their simmering feud during a meeting with Boston Red Sox Manager Butch Hobson.

A day earlier, Clemens said he lost respect for his teammate for influencing an official scoring change that increased Clemens’ earned-run average.

The change didn’t help Clemens’ chances for a fourth Cy Young Award, perhaps the only major accomplishment remaining for the team.

“I’ve got Roger’s respect back,” Boggs said after the 25-minute session before Boston’s game against Milwaukee. “That’s all I need.”

Asked if two of the greatest players in club history apologized to each other, Hobson said that they shook hands at the end of the meeting.

All three said the controversy is behind them.

“When you get cards out on the table and talk about it, it’s over and done with,” Clemens said. “We’ll go on to try to finish up the season strong, look forward to next year. It’s been frustrating on everybody.”

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Edgar Martinez of the Seattle Mariners, leading hitter in the American League, is considering surgery on his ailing right shoulder that could end his season early.

He said he will make his decision by the end of the week.

“I haven’t decided what to do,” Martinez said. “I want to see how it feels.”

Martinez’s right shoulder has been hurting all season, forcing him to play several games as the designated hitter. At times, he has been only able to lob the ball from third base.

Martinez said he doesn’t want to sit out the rest of the season to protect his .343 batting average and assure himself of the batting title, but the shoulder has been getting worse. His 502 plate appearances are enough to qualify him for the title.