Stargell Absent From Pirates’ Front Office

Hall of Famer Willie Stargell, in ill health for several years, was hospitalized again earlier this summer and the Pittsburgh Pirates are uncertain when he will return to their front office.

Stargell, a special assistant to General Manager Cam Bonifay, was hospitalized after spending several days in Pittsburgh in advance of the June amateur draft.

The hospital stay, believed to be about a month in length, followed a six-week hospitalization last fall after an infection in a cut finger spread through his body, threatening his organs.

The 60-year-old Stargell, the NL co-most valuable player on the Pirates’ last World Series championship team in 1979, has undergone dialysis for failing kidneys several times a week for nearly five years.

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The Seattle Mariners signed Shin-Soo Choo, a Korean outfielder and pitcher, for the 2001 season.

Choo, 18, is expected to join the Mariners’ fall instructional league team before heading to spring training camp.

The left-hander batted .610 with five home runs this season for his high school team. He graduates in February.

Choo is a member of the Korean Junior National Team, and will compete in the Junior AAA Championships, Aug. 2-14 at Edmonton, Canada.

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The Chicago Cubs optioned pitcher Phil Norton to triple-A Iowa and will recall pitcher Jamie Arnold today. Arnold, a right-hander who is 2-1 with a 4.58 earned-run average in three games at Iowa, is scheduled to start Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals. He’ll take the place of Kerry Wood, who is still on the disabled list because of a strained rib-cage muscle. Arnold was acquired from the Dodgers as part of the trade for pitcher Ismael Valdes. He was 0-0 with a 4.05 ERA in two relief appearances for the Dodgers. Norton, a left-hander, was 0-1 with a 9.35 ERA in two games for the Cubs. . . . The San Diego Padres put catcher Ben Davis on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained abdominal muscle and recalled catcher George Williams from triple-A Las Vegas. Davis, 23, hurt his left oblique muscle while swinging during batting practice before Saturday’s 2-1 victory at Florida.

The St. Louis Cardinals put infielder Eduardo Perez on the 15-day disabled list because of a sprained right knee and called up reliever Gene Stechschulte from triple-A Memphis. Perez was batting .303 with three home runs and 18 RBIs in 25 games. His playing time decreased when St. Louis acquired Will Clark from Baltimore on July 31. . . . Kansas City second baseman Carlos Febles bruised his right ankle sliding into second base against Baltimore and could be lost for at least a week.