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Karros Not Ready to Call It a Career

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Times Staff Writer

Just because Eric Karros made a guest appearance on the Dodger radio broadcast Wednesday doesn’t mean he’s ruling out baseball ... or anything else.

“I’m playing church league basketball,” Karros said. “I’m considering everything right now.”

Karros, the longtime Dodger first baseman released by the Oakland Athletics on July 29, said he would consider playing a 15th season if he could find the right fit.

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“I haven’t found a real void right now as far as me needing to play,” said Karros, the Dodgers’ all-time leader with 270 home runs in 12 seasons. “But I do miss this time of year, I miss the competition, so I don’t know.”

Karros said he checked with the Dodgers and Angels to see if they needed any help on the bench after hitting .194 with two homers and 11 runs batted in in 40 games this season with the A’s. Neither team was interested, but the Baltimore Orioles were.

“I thought I was going to go to Baltimore,” said Karros, who changed his mind during a phone conversation with Oriole General Manager Jim Beattie, deciding that he wasn’t sure that it would be the right move.

Karros said he was disappointed in his experience with the A’s, who had promised more playing time after signing him in February.

“I was told I would play against left-handers, against right-handers I did well against and that I would play first base and would not DH at all,” Karros said. “That lasted about a week.”

Karros asked for and received his release after being designated for assignment July 27.

“I was hoping there would be a better situation other than watching Oakland A baseball and playing once a week,” said Karros, who started 24 games. “It wasn’t something that made sense.”

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The Vero Beach Dodgers were forced to move their games for the first round of the Florida State League playoffs to another minor league facility after Hurricane Frances damaged Holman Stadium.

Winds from the storm blew over the scoreboard, destroyed lights and bent a backstop screen, said Trevor Gooby, general manager of the Dodgers’ Class-A affiliate. The storm also toppled trees throughout Dodgertown, the Dodgers’ spring training facility.

The Dodgers shifted Game 1 of their best-of-three series against the Daytona Cubs on Wednesday to a stadium in Clearwater that had not been damaged. The Dodgers, playing for the first time in a week, lost to the Cubs, 10-8.

Gooby said it was unlikely that repairs could be made to Holman Stadium in time for the best-of-five championship series. An insurance appraiser is scheduled to give the Dodgers a financial estimate of the damage in the next few days, Gooby said.

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