It Might Be End of Some Close Friendships

A regular season that saw the Dodgers finish as the worst team in baseball came to an end Sunday, and with it the possible conclusion of some long-term relationships between veteran stars and their teams.

Kirby Puckett of the Minnesota Twins, Wade Boggs of the Boston Red Sox, Ozzie Smith of the St. Louis Cardinals and Andre Dawson of the Chicago Cubs, all might be wearing different uniforms at the start of spring training.

Puckett, who is eligible for free agency after completing a $9-million, three-year contract, singled in a run during the fourth inning of the Twins’ 6-0 victory over the Royals at Kansas City. Puckett finished with 210 hits, most in the American League. He finished second in batting at .329, 14 points behind Seattle’s Edgar Martinez, who underwent shoulder surgery Sept. 19.

Boggs, whose contract ends this season, singled in his only at-bat during the Red Sox’s 8-2 victory over the New York Yankees at Boston. A five-time batting champion over 11 years, Boggs finished at .259--the first time he has been below .300 in the majors and only the second time in his 16 professional seasons. “I don’t think they want me, to tell you the truth,” said Boggs, who has 2,098 hits and a .337 career average.

Boggs rejected a two-year, $9-million offer during spring training.

“I wasn’t going for the moon and trying to break the bank, like $7 or $8 million,” he said. “If they can’t pay fair market value, then they’re in trouble. They are in big trouble.”

Smith received five standing ovations at St. Louis, where he had two hits, drove in a run and stole a base during the Cardinals’ 6-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. The 37-year-old shortstop led the team with a .295 average and 43 stolen bases. He is eligible for free agency, and the Cardinals haven’t indicated they intend to sign him.

“I’ve done all I can do,” Smith said. “As a ballplayer, the only things you can control are the things on the field.”

Dawson, a potential free agent, hit his 399th homer, a three-run shot, that lifted the Cubs to a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Expos at Chicago. The homer tied Dawson with Al Kaline for 25th all-time. Dawson is second in homers among active players behind Dave Winfield, who has 406.

“I’m looking forward to coming back next year,” said Dawson, who has been with Chicago since 1987 and hopes to finish his career with the Cubs. “I’m optimistic something can be worked out.”

Pittsburgh outfielder Barry Bonds, who will become a free agent after the postseason, hit his personal-best 34th homer to help the Pirates beat the New York Mets, 2-0, at New York.

Bonds finished with a .311 batting average, 103 runs batted in and a league-high 109 runs scored. Bonds’ .624 slugging percentage was the second-best in the National League since Hank Aaron’s .669 in 1971. Bonds also led the league in on-base percentage at .459.

San Francisco’ 6-2 victory over Cincinnati Sunday might have meant the end of two other relationships. The Giants might move to St. Petersburg, Fla., after completing their 35th season in San Francisco. Meanwhile, Red owner Marge Schott has given no indication whether she wants Lou Piniella back as manager. The loss Sunday left him with a three-year record of 255-231, including two 90-victory seasons and a World Series title in 1990.

Martinez, whose season ended after surgery to remove bone spurs from his right shoulder, batted .343 to become the first Seattle Mariner to win an American League batting title.

Gary Sheffield of the San Diego Padres won the NL batting title, finishing at .330, six points ahead of Pittsburgh’s Andy Van Slyke. Sheffield sat out the end of the season after suffering a broken right index finger Tuesday night.

Fred McGriff of the Padres won the NL home run title with 35, the lowest total for an NL leader in a complete season since Ralph Kiner hit 23 for Pittsburgh in 1946. McGriff reached 30 homers for the fifth consecutive season.

Juan Gonzalez of the Texas Rangers won the major league home run title by hitting his 43rd Sunday during the Rangers’ victory over the Angels. Oakland’s Mark McGwire had 42.

“My mother is sick all year and I wanted to do this for her,” said Gonzalez, 22. “After I hit it, I came right in and called her. She was very happy I hit the home run.”

Cecil Fielder of Detroit did not drive in a run during the Tigers’ 7-4 loss at Toronto, but still became only the second player to lead the majors in RBIs for three consecutive years. He finished with 124, and joined Babe Ruth, who led from 1919-21.

Darren Daulton of the Philadelphia Phillies led the National League with 109 RBIs. Van Slyke and Terry Pendleton of Atlanta tied for the lead in hits with 199 each.

Roger Clemens had the lowest earned-run average in the American League for the third consecutive season. Clemens, who had a 2.41 ERA, is the first AL pitcher to lead in ERA for three consecutive seasons since Lefty Grove of the Philadelphia Athletics from 1929-32. Bill Swift of the Giants won the NL ERA title at 2.08.

Tony Phillips of Detroit topped the AL in runs with 114, the first Tiger to win that category since Ron LeFlore had 126 in 1978.

Jack Morris of the Blue Jays and Kevin Brown of the Rangers tied for the AL lead in victories with 21. Chicago’s Jack McDowell missed a chance for 21 when the White Sox lost to Seattle, 4-3.

Tom Glavine of Atlanta and Greg Maddux of Chicago tied for the NL victory lead at 20. Glavine started Sunday against San Diego, but did not figure in the 4-3 Padre victory.