Baseball notes: Reds’ Billy Hamilton breaks minor-league steals record
Cincinnati Reds minor leaguer Billy Hamilton has set a record by stealing his 146th base of the season.
Hamilton, 21, stole three bases for Double-A Pensacola, Fla., in the first game of a doubleheader Tuesday night against Montgomery in the Southern League. Boltin’ Billy swiped 104 bases in the first half of the season with Class A Bakersfield, then was promoted.
Hamilton broke the record for steals by minor league teams affiliated with big league organizations set by Vince Coleman in 1983 with 145 for Macon in the Class A South Atlantic League.
The modern major league record was set by Rickey Henderson with 130 in 1982.
Astros scout Clemens
The Houston Astros sent a scout to check out Roger Clemens.
General manager Jeff Luhnow said that the Astros also scouted lefty Scott Kazmir, now Clemens’ teammate on the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League. Clemens is to make his first start on Saturday.
Promotion goes on
Here’s an instant collector’s item: a Hunter Pence bobblehead in a Philadelphia Phillies uniform.
Despite having traded the two-time All-Star right fielder to San Francisco on July 31, the Phillies gave out the Pence dolls to fans attending Tuesday night’s game against Cincinnati.
The bobbleheads were manufactured before the season, so the team is sticking with the promotion rather than waste them.
Clearing the bases
Yankees ace CC Sabathia threw 38 pitches in a bullpen session and said he expects to return to the rotation Friday against the Indians. … The Red Sox honored Johnny Pesky by wearing his No. 6 on the back of all their uniforms Tuesday night. The former Red Sox player and manager died Aug. 13 at age 92. … The Cardinals’ Carlos Beltran, the National League’s RBIs leader, missed his second start in three games because of a right hand injury. … The White Sox placed outfielder and leadoff hitter Alejandro De Aza on the 15-day disabled list with bruised left ribs. … Baseball players’ union head Michael Weiner is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. The union said treatments are expected to last about one month and it anticipates he will continue to work from its New York office on a daily basis. …. Indians right-hander Josh Tomlin will have Tommy John surgery today, ending his season and likely leaving him sidelined for most of 2013. … The Red Sox have placed Carl Crawford on the disabled list with a left elbow injury, and he is scheduled to have elbow-reconstruction surgery Thursday. … Tigers right-hander Doug Fister has been experiencing tightness in his right groin and is not sure if he’ll make his next start. Fister is 7-8 with a 3.67 ERA.