Gooden Is Charged With Battery

Dwight Gooden was arrested early Sunday for allegedly punching his ex-wife in the face, police in Tampa, Fla., said.

The former All-Star pitcher was charged with domestic violence battery and was being held Sunday without bond at Hillsborough County Jail. It wasn’t immediately known if he had an attorney.

Jail officials said Gooden, a special assistant for the New York Yankees, was to make his first court appearance today.

Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said the dispute occurred at the home of Monique Moore, Gooden’s ex-wife.

“She threw a handset from a telephone at him and he punched her in the face,” McElroy said. “She called 911. We responded. There was a bruise forming on her face and he was arrested.”

McElroy said Moore declined medical attention, and the 40-year-old Gooden was cooperative with police.

The Yankees had no comment.

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New York Yankee Manager Joe Torre has been so impressed by Jason Giambi this spring that he no longer has any concerns about the slugger’s being in the regular-season lineup.

“With three weeks to go, he’s farther along than I thought he’d be,” Torre said. “To me it’s evident by his baseball work. He’s great as far as his at-bats.”

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The Washington Nationals sold more than 50,000 tickets during the first six hours of individual game sales. The Nationals have sold about 20,000 season tickets.