Burkett’s Injury Opens Spot for Ecstatic Banks

In one corner of the Boston Red Sox clubhouse at Fort Myers, Fla., pitcher John Burkett was talking about disappointment over an injury than will sideline him for the start of the season.

A few lockers down, pitcher Willie Banks was thankful to be getting a second chance because of that injury.

Manager Grady Little told Banks on Tuesday he had made the team. Banks probably would have been the last pitcher released if Burkett hadn’t gotten hurt.

“My hands are shaking right now,” Banks said with a smile after meeting with Little.

“I’ve been sent down [to the minor leagues] the last day a couple times,” he said. “For him to tell me I made the team, I don’t know what’s better, graduation day, winning the championship or making this club right now. I worked hard and it all paid off.”

Banks, a first-round draft pick in 1987, sat out the 1996 season because of nerve damage in his right shoulder that caused the muscle to deteriorate.

He had brief stops with the New York Yankees in 1997 and 1998 before going to the minor leagues and Japan. He caught on with Boston at the end of last season.

Banks, 33, has a 4.20 earned-run average in 15 innings this spring.

“I woke up this morning and I was just praying to God, man,” Banks said. “My knees are all bent down and dirty right now.”

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Former Dodger Scott Radinsky, hoping to make Cleveland’s opening day roster as its second left-handed reliever, was waived by the Indians.

Radinsky, 34, had a 14.29 ERA in eight appearances this spring.

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An exam showed no ligament damage to Texas pitcher Ismael Valdes’ right elbow, but the Rangers put closer Jeff Zimmerman on the 15-day disabled list because of tendinitis in his right elbow.

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The New York Mets traded infielder Lou Collier to Montreal for minor leaguers Jimmy Serrano, a pitcher, and Jason Bay, an outfielder.

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Mace Brown, who pitched for three major league teams in the 1930s and 1940s, died Sunday in his home at Greensboro, N.C. He was 92.

As a rookie with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Brown saw Babe Ruth, then with the Boston Braves, hit his last three homers on May 25, 1935.

Instead of heading to the Braves’ dugout after his third homer, Ruth headed for the showers. He had to pass through the Pirates’ dugout to reach the clubhouse and, spotting an open seat, sat next to Brown.

“I’ll never forget it,” Brown recalled in a 1998 interview with The News and Record of Greensboro. “He sat down on our bench right beside me. ‘Boys,’ he says, ‘that last one felt good.’”

Ruth played his final game May 30, 1935.

Brown had a career record of 76-57 and a 3.46 ERA. He pitched the final three innings of the 1938 All-Star game.