Torre Getting Another Chance With Cardinals

Manager Joe Torre survived a front-office shake-up with the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, getting another season to prove himself under new General Manager Walt Jocketty.

Jocketty, however, resisted giving Torre a contract extension. Torre’s contract runs only through next season.

Two of Torre’s coaches weren’t so lucky. The contracts of pitching coach Joe Coleman, whose staff had a 5.14 ERA, and third-base coach Bucky Dent were not renewed.

Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson will be the bullpen coach and Torre’s assistant, and Mark Riggins, the pitching coach at Triple-A Louisville, will be the designated pitching coach.

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The NCAA and baseball players union have approved two benefit exhibitions pitting major and minor league players against Southern California area college players Saturday and Sunday at Blair Field in Long Beach.

Dave Hansen of the Dodgers, Sean Berry of the Montreal Expos and Chris Gomez of the Detroit Tigers are among the major league players expected to participate in the 1:15 p.m. games. Pitcher Ila Borders of Southern California College will be among the college players. Proceeds will go to Children of Promise, which provides volunteer mentors for fatherless boys.

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Houston Astro first baseman Jeff Bagwell is The Sporting News’ player of the year. Montreal’s Felipe Alou is its NL manager of the year; Buck Showalter of the Yankees is the top AL manager; and Cleveland General Manager John Hart is executive of the year. . . . Mediator W.J. Usery’s meeting with baseball players was postponed from Tuesday until today. . . . The Texas Rangers will not renew the contracts of pitching coach Claude Osteen and first base coach Mickey Hatcher.

Golf

Freshman Tiger Woods finished with a 25-foot birdie putt up a steep incline for a three-round, 10-under winning total of 206 as Stanford won the National Intercollegiate tournament at Shoal Creek in Birmingham, Ala.

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A new PGA Seniors tournament, the Toshiba Senior Classic, will be held next year at Mesa Verde Country Club in Costa Mesa. The 54-hole event on March 17-19 will feature a field of 78 Senior Tour players competing for $800,000.

Pro Basketball

Portland Trail Blazer guard Terry Porter will undergo surgery on his right ankle for the second time in five months today and will be sidelined at least four weeks. The two-time all-star underwent surgery May 31 to remove bone spurs, but the soreness that had bothered him all last season persisted through training camp. Meanwhile, teammate Clifford Robinson ended his 11-day holdout.

Miscellany

Larry Baca, who coached the Northridge Little League team to the national championship, was hired to coach Chaminade High’s freshman baseball team.

Ed O’Bannon of UCLA was listed among preseason candidates for the men’s Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year award.

Rob Ramaker, voted to the Big West All-Freshman basketball team last season, has left UC Santa Barbara to transfer to Santa Barbara City College.

Defending champion Natalia Medvedeva of Ukraine upset Wimbledon champion and top-seeded Conchita Martinez, 7-5, 6-4, in the first round of the Nokia Grand Prix in Essen, Germany. Swiss prodigy Martina Hingis, 14, needed only 49 minutes to beat Caroline Vis of the Netherlands, 6-1, 6-0.

A sacrifice fly by Masahiro Kawai in the top of the 10th inning delivered the winning run as the Yomiuri Giants beat the Seibu Lions, 2-1, in the first night game in the 30-year history of the Japan Series. The Giants lead the best-of-seven series, 2-1.