Major League Baseball officials are not afraid of getting their feet wet for a good cause.
Rising to a challenge from the Giants, Commissioner-elect Rob Manfred, Hall of Famer Joe Torre and more than 160 baseball employees poured ice water over their heads outside the league’s Manhattan headquarters Wednesday to raise money for ALS.
For every employee involved in the Ice Bucket Challenge, an altruistic stunt gone viral, the league is donating $100 to the ALS Association. So far, that’s more than $16,000.
The Giants challenged the league office to participate and Manfred challenged other departments within the organization. Torre was challenged by wife Ali and sports columnist Mike Lupica. He told fellow 2014 Hall of Fame classmates they’re next.
New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig died from the disease at age 37 in 1941.
‘Babe” for a number: St. Louis Cardinals newcomer John Lackey really wanted to keep his old number, so he gave a teammate, former A’s pitcher Pat Neshek, quite a reward for switching jerseys.
After Neshek gave up his No. 41 uniform, Lackey gave him a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth that’s worth thousands of dollars. Neshek switched to No. 37 after Lackey was acquired from Boston last month at the trade deadline. Neshek announced the payoff Wednesday on Twitter, along with a photo of the ball and a letter of authenticity.
Manager Mike Matheny remembers giving up No. 22 when the Cardinals traded for Will Clark in 2000 and said it was no big deal, just a number. Clark gave Matheny a compound bow that the manager has passed on to his children.
Briefly: Justin Verlander, who missed his last start because of a sore shoulder, could rejoin the Tigers‘ rotation Saturday. … Masahiro Tanaka threw 35 pitches in his second bullpen session as he tries to return to the New York Yankees this season. Tanaka went on the disabled list July 9 with a partial ligament tear in his right elbow. … Former A’s outfielder Nick Swisher underwent surgery on both knees Wednesday.