Orioles’ Ty Wigginton accepts suspension

Baltimore Orioles first baseman Ty Wigginton began serving his suspension Monday night after Major League Baseball agreed to shorten his ban from three games to two.

Wigginton was suspended for his actions in the seventh inning of the Orioles’ 5-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Thursday. The veteran got in the face of first base umpire Gary Darling, who ruled that Wigginton had missed a tag, allowing J.J. Hardy to get back to first safely and causing Wigginton to erupt. Darling acknowledged after the game that he missed the call.

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The New York Mets have put catcher Rod Barajas on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 25, because of a strain on his left side.

Barajas was injured in the sixth inning of Saturday’s game in Los Angeles. He had singled in a run to cut the Dodgers’ lead to 2-1 and was removed after advancing to second base on Jeff Francoeur’s fielder’s choice grounder.

Barajas is batting .228 with 12 home runs and 34 runs batted in over 73 games this season.

To take his place on the roster, the Mets have recalled veteran infielder Mike Hessman from triple-A Buffalo (N.Y.).

The baseball Hall of Fame has changed the way that managers, umpires, executives and long-retired players will be considered for election.

Candidates will be reviewed in three eras: Pre-Integration (1871-1946), Golden (1947-1972) and Expansion (starting in 1973).

One composite ballot will be considered in each era. The Expansion Era ballot will include 12 candidates, and the Golden and Pre-Integration era ballots each will have 10.

The first election in the Expansion category will be held in December during the winter meetings in Orlando, Fla. The Golden election will take place in 2011 and the Pre-Integration vote will be held in 2012.