Braves’ Furcal Top NL Rookie

Shortstop Rafael Furcal of the Atlanta Braves was a runaway winner Tuesday in voting for the National League rookie of the year.

Furcal, who hit .295 with 40 steals in 54 chances, received 25 of 32 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Assn. of America.

The only player listed on all 32 ballots, Furcal got six seconds and one third for 144 points.

Rick Ankiel of the St. Louis Cardinals, who gained notoriety during the playoffs by becoming the first pitcher in 110 years to throw five wild pitches in one inning, was second with 87 points, getting six firsts, 17 seconds and six thirds.

Outfielder Jay Payton of the New York Mets was third with 37 points, followed by outfielder-first baseman Pat Burrell of the Philadelphia Phillies with 10 points and catcher Mitch Meluskey of the Houston Astros with seven.

Furcal, whose claimed age of 19 has been disputed, led National League rookies in runs (87), walks (73), steals and on-base percentage (.394). He had four homers--all in September--and 37 runs batted in.

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Ted Williams was in good condition in a Gainesville, Fla., hospital after doctors placed a pacemaker in the Hall of Famer’s chest to regulate his heartbeat.

Neither the family nor the hospital were releasing more information, although doctors who took part in the hour-long procedure Monday said Williams was doing well.

Hospital spokeswoman Jennifer Porter said doctors wouldn’t speculate on how much longer Williams, 82, would remain in the hospital.

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Atlanta right-hander Greg Maddux won his 11th consecutive Gold Glove, extending his record for National League pitchers. Only Jim Kaat, with 16, has won more.

Ken Griffey Jr. failed to win in his first season with the Cincinnati Reds after winning 10 in a row with the Seattle Mariners.

San Francisco Giant first baseman J.T. Snow won his sixth consecutive award, and Brave outfielder Andruw Jones won for the third time in a row.

Jim Edmonds of the St. Louis Cardinals and Steve Finley of the Arizona Diamondbacks joined Jones as outfield winners. It was Edmonds’ first National League Gold Glove after he won three in the American League with the Angels.

The American League winners included Angel outfielder Darin Erstad.

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Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants singled home the tying run in the eighth inning as a touring major league all-star team tied with Japan, 2-2, in nine innings before 38,000 at Fukuoka, Japan.

It was the first tie against two victories and one loss for the all-stars in the eight-game series.

Under series rules, the game was limited to nine innings.

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Baseball vowed to bring back the high strike next season.

Sandy Alderson, executive vice president of baseball operations in the commissioner’s office, hopes the return of the strike zone as defined in the rule book will help bring baseball back to the way it used to be played.

“It’s been the view of people for a long time that the strike zone in the rule book is being interpreted by individual umpires in a variety of different ways,” Alderson said at the general managers meetings at Amelia Island, Fla. “We’re looking to bring uniformity back, eliminate a lot of the interpretation and go back to the rule book.”

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The Cleveland Indians appear willing to let Manny Ramirez check out the free-agent market for himself.

But General Manager John Hart also has a warning for the slugger: There might not be any money left in Cleveland for him if he eventually decides he wants to come back to the Indians.

Owner Larry Dolan said last week after receiving Ramirez’s request for a $200-million, 10-year contract that the team would respond to agent Jeff Moorad by Tuesday.

Moorad still is awaiting a counterproposal, and Hart said there probably would be one before Saturday, the first day Ramirez can discuss money with other teams.

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Left-handed reliever Scott Eyre was traded from the Chicago White Sox to the Toronto Blue Jays for minor-league starter Gary Glover.

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National League Rookie of the Year

Voting for the NL rookie-of-the-year award, with first-, second- and third-place votes and total points on a 5-3-1 basis:

Player: 1st 2nd 3rd Tot

Rafael Furcal, Atlanta: 25 6 1 144

Rick Ankiel, St. Louis: 6 17 6 87

Jay Payton, New York: 1 7 11 37

Pat Burrell, Philadelphia: - 1 7 10

Mitch Meluskey, Houston: - 1 4 7

Lance Berkman, Houston: - - 1 1

Juan Pierre, Colorado: - - 1 1

Chuck Smith, Florida: - - 1 1

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National League Gold Glove

Pitcher: Greg Maddux, Atlanta

Catcher: Mike Matheny, St. Louis

First base: J.T. Snow, San Francisco

Second base: Pokey Reese, Cincinnati

Shortstop: Neifi Perez, Colorado

Third base: Scott Rolen, Philadelphia

Outfield: Jim Edmonds, St. Louis

Outfield: Steve Finley, Arizona

Outfield: Andruw Jones, Atlanta

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American League Gold Glove

Pitcher: Kenny Rogers, Texas

Catcher: Ivan Rodriguez, Texas

First base: John Olerud, Seattle

Second base: Roberto Alomar, Cleveland

Shortstop: Omar Vizquel, Cleveland

Third base: Travis Fryman, Cleveland

Outfield: Jermaine Dye, Kansas City

Outfield: Darin Erstad, Angels

Outfield: Bernie Williams, New York