Hirschbeck Is New Union Head

John Hirschbeck was elected Sunday as president of the World Umpires Association, the new union formed to represent major league baseball’s umpires.

Hirschbeck, an AL umpire for 17 years, was picked in Phoenix at the first meeting of the union, certified Thursday by the National Labor Relations Board. The certification meant the end of the old union and its chief, Richie Phillips, who tried to organize a mass resignation last season that led to 22 umpires losing jobs.

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A Dominican shortstop has asked a Florida court to void his contract with Atlanta after the Braves were fined for signing him as an underage prospect.

Wilson Betemit, now 18, filed a lawsuit against the Braves in Palm Beach County, where the contract was signed in 1996. The suit comes afterCommissioner Bud Selig ruled Friday to fine the Braves $100,000 for signing an underage player. The Braves also were banned from scouting and signing players in the Dominican Republic for six months.

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Darryl Strawberry’s failed cocaine test has created a problem for a St. Petersburg, Fla., charity: Should it still invite him to a fund-raiser for, among other things, drug prevention programs? Strawberry, 37, was to host a fund-raiser for the Boys & Girls Club of the Suncoast. The event , dubbed “An Evening of Jazz with Darryl and Friends,” is set for March 25 but the group hasn’t decided what to do. . . . Toronto catcher Darrin Fletcher will have arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and miss two weeks of spring training after a slight tear was discovered in a routine exam Saturday. . . . Sammy Sosa reported to the Chicago Cubs’ spring training complex in Mesa, Ariz., more than a week later than most of his teammates.