Baseball Notes

A lawsuit claiming Chicago White Sox slugger Albert Belle chased a youngster in his truck on Halloween has been settled in principle. No details of the agreement were released. . . . Officials with the San Francisco Giants planned to break ground on their new ballpark before Thanksgiving, having received the final city approval needed to start construction. . . . Atlanta Brave first baseman Greg Colbrunn became a free agent instead of accepting an assignment to triple-A Richmond. . . . Houston Astro second baseman Craig Biggio was named winner of the sixth annual Branch Rickey Award for outstanding community service. . . . Takahiro Ikeyama singled home two runs and drove in another run with a sacrifice fly as the Yakult Swallows defeated the Seibu Lions, 3-0, and won the Japan Series, 4-1.