Walker Agrees to Contract Extension

Larry Walker, the reigning National League batting champion and 1997 MVP, agreed to a $75-million, six-year contract extension with the Colorado Rockies that ties him for the sixth-highest average salary in baseball.

Walker, 32, will make $5,075,000 this season as he finishes a five-year contract. The new deal calls for a $1-million signing bonus, $12 million in 2000 and 2001, and $12.5 million annually from 2002-05.

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Baltimore second baseman Delino DeShields suffered a broken left thumb in an intrasquad game and it is unknown if he will be ready for opening day. . . . John Rosengren, an Arizona Diamondback minor league pitcher, was driving drunk when his vehicle overturned Sunday, resulting in the death of teammate Ken Robinson, police said. Rosengren had a blood-alcohol level of 0.162--above Arizona’s legal limit of 0.10. . . . David Wells will be back on the field today after four days of treatment for back spasms. . . . Commissioner Bud Selig canceled an owners’ meeting scheduled for March 16-18, delaying consideration of the proposed $75-million sale of the Kansas City Royals until at least June.