Reds’ Morris Quietly Calls It a Career

First baseman Hal Morris retired, leaving the Cincinnati Reds’ clubhouse for the final time after his teammates had cleared out.

Those who knew him weren’t surprised by the quiet exit.

“Yesterday, I saw him hanging out in the clubhouse and nobody said anything,” shortstop Barry Larkin said Friday at the club’s spring training facility in Sarasota, Fla. “I have yet to talk to him. I know he’s going through some things.”

Morris, 35, a mainstay on the Reds’ teams in the 1990s, told General Manager Jim Bowden late Thursday that he was giving up his comeback attempt. Morris hit .304 in 14 seasons.

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Chuck Knoblauch made his spring debut in left field for the New York Yankees, catching a sacrifice fly by Alex Rodriguez in a 6-5 loss to the Texas Rangers. . . . Texas and Kansas City reached an agreement with city officials to move their spring training facilities to Surprise, Ariz. in 2003. . . . Seattle’s Jay Buhner will miss the first month of the season because of his strained left arch. . . . Detroit third baseman Dean Palmer could miss opening day because of soreness in his right shoulder.