Hotel isn’t one of their favorite haunts

For decades stories have circulated that the elegant Renaissance Vinoy Resort, where major league teams stay while in St. Petersburg, is populated by ghosts. Scott Akasaki, the Dodgers’ traveling secretary, doesn’t buy it.

“Those are just urban legends,” said Akasaki, who booked the team into the hotel for the weekend.

But at least two Dodgers aren’t so sure. After listening to teammates talk endlessly about the haunted hotel, young pitchers Chad Billingsley and Jonathan Broxton said they experienced weird occurrences in their rooms that couldn’t be explained. However, neither would discuss the episodes Sunday.

“It’s stupid,” said Billingsley, who reportedly heard his toilet flush numerous times while he was in another room. “It’s not worth talking about.”

Other major leaguers and former major leaguers who have been spooked at the Vinoy include Jim Fregosi, Cito Gaston, Billy Koch, Gerald Perry, Scott Williamson, Jay Gibbons and Brian Roberts. Some Pittsburgh players were so frightened that they checked out of the hotel and stayed with a teammate’s family when the Pirates were in town four years ago.

But the Vinoy isn’t the only big league hotel that is supposedly haunted. At the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco, the spirits of actors John Barrymore, Fatty Arbuckle and Al Jolson are said to roam the hallways. And similar stories have been told about the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee, where former Dodger Adrian Beltre once insisted on sleeping with a bat for protection after he had a brush with a ghost.

The Dodgers no longer stay at either place.

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Rafael Furcal continues to be bothered by the left ankle sprain he suffered in March, but the Dodgers shortstop is trying to make the best of it because he might have to play the rest of the season in pain.

“You’ve got time to rest after the season,” said Furcal, who hobbled noticeably while running the bases Sunday. “I can play with that. One day it’s going to be healthy.”

Furcal said the ankle can be especially troublesome on fielding plays up the middle and when he bats right-handed. And it has definitely affected his power. After matching a career high with 15 homers last season, Furcal has homered once in 64 games this season.

“It’s a long season, so I’m not worried about it,” said Furcal, who is batting .277. “I’ve got 400 at-bats to go.”

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Luis Gonzalez’s first-inning home run Sunday was noteworthy on two counts. Not only was it the first homer to land in the 10,000-gallon tank, home to 30 cow-nose rays, that the Devil Rays built beyond the right-center field wall last season, but it also moved Gonzalez past Ralph Kiner and into third place on the all-time list for homers by a left fielder with 335, behind Barry Bonds and Ted Williams.

“It will be hard to catch the other two guys,” Gonzalez said. “I’m kind of a historian of the game, and it’s kind of cool. I’m just one of those guys that’s thankful for what I have and keep grinding it out and going out there and playing and having fun.”

He also doubled, giving him 2,445 hits, good for 98th all-time.

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Nomar Garciaparra sat out his third consecutive game because of flu-like symptoms, but he was able to take batting practice after spending most of Saturday sleeping at the team hotel.

“That probably helped because I feel a lot better,” said Garciaparra, who also drank a lot of water and Gatorade. “I think it was something that had to work its way through me.”

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The Dodgers have signed Cal State Fullerton’s Matt Wallach, their 22nd-round pick in this month’s amateur draft. He is the son of former Titans All-American Tim Wallach, who also played and coached for the Dodgers.

kevin.baxter@latimes.com