THE BOTTOM HALF

OFF THE WALL

Looking back

The “Year of the Old” continued Saturday night when Jamie Moyer of the Philadelphia Phillies and David Wells of the San Diego Padres pitched against each other. With a combined age of 88 years 307 days, it was the second-oldest pitching matchup in history. Don Sutton and Phil Niekro were a combined 90 years 135 days when they squared off on June 8, 1987.

Looking ahead

Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame during induction ceremonies next Sunday. Ripken received a record 537 votes. Gwynn had 532, second only to Ripken. Organizers are expecting a crowd close to the record of more than 50,000 set in 1999 when Nolan Ryan, Robin Yount and George Brett were inducted. That crowd will include Tony Gwynn Jr., a Milwaukee Brewers outfielder who was granted a one-game leave to attend the ceremony, and Gwynn’s daughter, Anisha, who is scheduled to sing the national anthem. Rick Hummel, a longtime writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and Kansas City Royals broadcaster Denny Matthews will also be inducted.

It’s a fact

Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz has been sued by a sports memorabilia company, which claims Ortiz breached a contract by failing to autograph a required number of items and appear at “meet and greet” events. Steiner Sports Marketing Inc. of New Rochelle, N.Y., said the company signed Ortiz to a contract to autograph 13,000 items, appear at public signing events, and to do these things exclusively for Steiner until Jan. 31, 2008. “Ortiz has constantly remained substantially below the amount of memorabilia items required to be signed under the agreement,” according to the lawsuit filed in Manhattan’s state Supreme Court.

--

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Angels in the minors

GREG PORTER, OF

Salt Lake; triple A

A late bloomer as a hitter, Porter, 26, spent the last 2 1/2 seasons at double-A Arkansas before earning a promotion to Salt Lake this month. He was batting .294 with four home runs, 45 RBIs and a career-high 13 stolen bases in 73 games at Arkansas and has gone on a tear at triple A, batting .333 with six home runs and 20 RBIs in 19 games. He was the Angels’ minor league player of the month in June, when he batted .348 with three homers and 22 RBIs. Drafted out of Texas A&M; in 2001, Porter, 6 feet 4, 225 pounds, has played first and third base, but has settled back in the outfield. Last year he had 20 homers and 71 RBIs, both career highs.

AARON PULLIN

Arkansas; double A

Pullin, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound right-handed reliever, was named the Angels’ minor league pitcher of the month for June; in 12 appearances he did not yield an earned run, giving up only eight hits over 13 innings. For the season, he is 4-4 with a 3.89 earned-run average in 38 appearances. He has 32 strikeouts in 41.2 innings and has given up 35 hits and 21 walks. Last year he was 2-1 with a 4.40 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 50 innings. He gave up 73 hits and 38 walks in 73 2/3 innings. Signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Texas Arlington in 2003, Pullin is having his best season as a professional.