Clark Announces Retirement

St. Louis Cardinal first baseman Will Clark announced his retirement, ending a 15-year career.

The announcement was a surprise, considering the way Clark played during the final two months of the season while subbing for Mark McGwire.

Clark, 36, hit .345 with 12 home runs and 42 runs batted in for the Cardinals, who acquired him July 31 from the Baltimore Orioles.

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The Dodgers have signed 12 players between the ages of 16 and 19 from Venezuela, Panama and Curacao. All will play for the Dodgers’ affiliate in the Venezuelan Summer League at the Dodgers’ training complex in San Joaquin, Venezuela. . . . New York Yankee third base coach Willie Randolph dropped out of consideration for Cincinnati’s managing job, leaving Reds’ third base coach Ron Oester as the top candidate. “The commitment that I was looking for wasn’t there at this time,” Randolph said. “That was basically it.”