Padres’ President Will Retire Oct. 31

Larry Lucchino, who put palm trees beyond the outfield fences and had the San Diego Padres play in Mexico and Hawaii, will step down as the team’s president Oct. 31.

But Lucchino said Friday that he’ll remain active with the club, including leading efforts to get its new downtown ballpark finished and representing the Padres at ownership meetings.

Lucchino, 55, the team’s president and CEO since December 1994, said he’ll retain his ownership stake of about 10%.

He’ll be replaced by Bob Vizas, 54, the team’s executive vice president for legal and business affairs the last two years. Lucchino and Vizas were law school classmates at Yale.

Lucchino said it’s time to slow down after seven years as the Padres’ CEO and 22 years in baseball management. He was with the Baltimore Orioles from 1979-1993, the last six years as president. During that time, he was a key force behind the building of Camden Yards, which started a boom in cities building old-fashioned ballparks.

He added that his decision had nothing to do with two bouts with cancer, the most recent being surgery for prostate cancer in October 1999. He underwent surgery for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1985.

The Chicago Cubs acquired outfielder Michael Tucker from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for minor league right-handers Chris Booker and Ben Shaffar.

Tucker is the second outfielder traded by the Reds in two days. They sent Alex Ochoa to the Colorado Rockies on Thursday for second baseman Todd Walker and a minor leaguer.

The Cubs have one of the National League’s top pitching staffs but need to upgrade their offense. They worked out a trade with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for first baseman Fred McGriff, but he blocked it by invoking a no-trade clause in his contract.

Cleveland Indian starter Bartolo Colon was suspended for seven games and fined an undisclosed amount for intentionally throwing at Scott Servais of the Houston Astros.

Colon filed an appeal of the decision by Frank Robinson, baseball’s vice president of on-field operations. The appeal means that the suspension is on hold until a hearing and that Colon, the Indians’ No. 1 pitcher, can take his regular turn Sunday against the Detroit Tigers.

An off-duty police officer at a Detroit Tiger game dropped his gun on the field of Comerica Park after losing his balance while trying to catch a foul ball.

Video from Wednesday’s doubleheader against the New York Yankees shows a man dropping a Glock pistol as he attempted to grab a ball hit down the third-base line. The gun fell during the eighth inning of the second game.

The man retrieved the gun, and players alerted officials. The videotape shows a uniformed Detroit police officer on the field approaching the man, who was holding a beer, and then recognizing him as a fellow officer.

Texas Ranger pitcher Kenny Rogers will undergo season-ending surgery on his left shoulder to clear a blockage that has caused a circulation problem. . . . Andy Benes’ stay in the St. Louis Cardinals’ bullpen was short and uneventful. The struggling right-hander, bumped from the rotation since the All-Star break, will make his next start July 28 against the Cubs at Chicago.