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ANAHEIM, Calif. — Completing a unique double, Rafael Palmeiro of the Texas Rangers became the first Gold Glove winner to win the American League’s outstanding designated hitter award in the same season.
Palmeiro, voted a Gold Glove by managers and coaches despite playing just 28 games at the position, received 78 of 84 first-place votes for the DH award, voted on by reporters, broadcasters and team public relations directors.
John Jaha of the Oakland Athletics was second, followed by Edgar Martinez of the Seattle Mariners.
Palmeiro hit 37 of his 47 homers as a designated hitter, the most ever by a DH, topping the 35 by Oakland’s Dave Kingman, both in 1984 and 1986.
In 128 games as a DH, Palmeiro hit .321 with 115 RBI. Overall, he batted .324 with 148 RBI.

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA (TICKER) — Chad Curtis, who hit the game-winning home run in Game Three of the 1999 World Series and caught the final out to conclude the New York Yankees’ four-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves, today was traded to the Texas Rangers.
In exchange for Curtis, the Yankees received minor league righthanders Sam Marsonek and Brandon Knight.
A platoon player with the Yankees, Curtis is expected to be used in a backup role in Texas behind Rusty Greer, Ruben Mateo and Gabe Kapler.
“This gives us versatility and depth in the outfield,” Rangers general manager Doug Melvin said. “It’s nice to bring in a person that has a few championship rings.”
Curtis has been with the Yankees since 1997 and hit .262 with five homers and 24 RBI in 96 games last season. In his first World Series start, he hit a pair of homers, including a 10th-inning blast off Mike Remlinger that gave New York a 6-5 victory. The following night, he capped a 4-1 win by catching a fly ball hit by Keith Lockhart.
The departure of Curtis reduces the crowded left field situation in New York that already includes Ricky Ledee and Shane Spencer. At one point last season he clashed with Derek Jeter, taking the star shortstop to task for engaging in a friendly conversation with Alex Rodriguez of Seattle during a brawl with the Mariners.
In trading Curtis, the Yankees obtain more flexibility on a payroll that reached $92 million last season. Curtis has two years remaining on a contract that will pay him $1.9 million next season. The Yankees recently bought out the contract of designated hitter Chili Davis for $800,000 and have not made an effort to re-sign free agents Joe Girardi and Luis Sojo.
Originally selected by California in the 1989 draft, Curtis is a career .265 hitter with with 90 homers and 403 RBI for the Angels, Detroit, Cleveland and the Yankees.
Melvin was interested in adding a veteran player to his lineup after losing outfielder Juan Gonzalez via trade and third baseman Todd Zeile to free agency.
“We came here (to the winter meetings) trying to get a third baseman and a fourth outfielder,” Melvin said.
The Rangers hoped to re-sign Zeile, but he signed with the New York Mets on Saturday.
Marsonek, 21, was 3-9 in 15 games for Charlotte of the Class-A Florida State League last season.
Knight, 24, was 9-8 with a 4.91 ERA in 27 games at Oklahoma of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.

Sam Marsonek	Brandon Knight

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — After finding their new first baseman, the New York Mets kept trying to land some really big names.
“We have several larger deals that we’re still thinking about and contemplating,” Mets general manager Steve Phillips said Sunday, a day after agreeing to an $18 million, three-year contract with Todd Zeile. “For the most part, you know what it will be, but nobody’s got to the point where they have the courage to say, `Let’s do it.”’
Phillips said the Mets’ meeting with the Seattle Mariners regarding Ken Griffey Jr. had gone well Saturday.
“I think it was a positive meeting. Nothing’s imminent,” Phillips said. “What that means and where it goes is impossible to read right now.”
What he does know is that he has a first baseman who’s topped 90 RBIs in each of the last four seasons — and who has played just 76 games at first base in his entire major league career.
“In our view, that transition will not be a difficult one for him,” Phillips said. “He’s done it in the past.”
Zeile, one of baseball’s most durable players, appeared in 5,582 2-3 innings the past four years, the most in the majors. Houston’s Craig Biggio was second at 5,538 1-3.
Zeile has averaged 95 RBIs in that span, 18th in the majors, and also averaged 30 doubles and 25 homers. But — and it’s a big but — he’s played third base for the most part.
“This time, it’s a matter of choice,” he said. “I can play third base in a number of different cities, or I could weigh the chance to play in New York with a chance to win and voluntarily make the choice.”
After all, he played an entirely different position when he broke in.
“I caught from the time I was 8 years old until my second year in the big leagues,” he said.
Zeile, 34, had been offered $16 million for three years to return to the Texas Rangers and agonized over the decision. It was made easier when his option to purchase a house in Texas expired Nov. 15.
He even talked with Mets catcher Mike Piazza about where to play — the two were traded together to Florida by Los Angeles in 1998.
On Saturday evening, Zeile went with his wife, 1984 Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Julianne McNamara, and his agents to El Torito, a Mexican restaurant near the winter meetings hotel. While munching on chips, he made his choice.
“This was a very, very difficult decision for me to make,” Zeile said. “The Texas Rangers’ organization has been nothing but great to me in the time I was there. This was something that came rather late in the game for me as far as I was concerned.”
Zeile, according to agent Seth Levinson, examined the situations of the Mets and Rangers before making his pick. While the Rangers have been in the playoffs in three of the last four years, they’ve been eliminated in the first round by the New York Yankees all three times. The Mets advanced to the NL championship series last season before losing 4-2 to Atlanta.
“Todd said, `Let’s make this real simple. I have three years left in the game: Which team do I have a better chance of winning a World Series with?”’ Levinson said.
Earlier in the evening, Rangers general manager Doug Melvin thought he had an agreement with Zeile on a $16 million, three-year contract (roughly equivalent to the Mets’ deal because Texas doesn’t have state income tax). The Rangers even offered a no-trade clause.
“I thought we had him in the morning,” Melvin said. “It got down to where I gave everything they asked for. I guess we did it too late. He said he thought we took too long. I told him we had a lot of things going on. We were reluctant to go three years.”
Zeile, who hit .293 this year with 24 homers and 98 RBIs, originally asked for a four-year contract. Texas countered with two years and an option.
The agreement with New York calls for a $2.5 million signing bonus, $3.5 million next year and $6 million in each of the final two seasons. The Mets had not made much contact with his agents until Olerud signed a $20 million, three-year contract with Seattle last Monday. New York began an intense pursuit the following day.
“Earlier on in the offseason, I didn’t think the Mets were a realistic possibility,” Zeile said.
Zeile, who also has played for St. Louis, the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia and Baltimore, is 6-foot-1, four inches shorter than Olerud. But with Robin Ventura at third, Rey Ordonez at shortstop and Edgardo Alfonzo at second, the Mets made just 68 errors last season, a major league record.
“The infield I’m surrounded with,” Zeile said, “is the best in the game.”

TEXAS RANGERS ANNOUNCE UNIFORM CHANGES FOR 2000
FOR RELEASE: 3:00 p.m. (CST), Wednesday, December 8, 1999

The Texas Rangers introduced a series of uniform changes for the 2000 season this afternoon at The Ballpark in Arlington.

The road uniform has undergone significant change with a darker shade of gray and blue replacing red as the dominant trim color. The Rangers will also wear blue road caps in 2000.

In addition, the team will introduce an all-blue alternate jersey for next season that can be worn either home or away. The Rangers will also have an alternate blue cap for both home and road use.

The primary home uniforms with red trim and caps will remain the same. All three jerseys as well as the batting practice jersey will feature a State of Texas flag patch on the left shoulder and a 1999 A.L. West Division champs patch on the left shoulder. The Rangers will also switch from red to black shoes both home and road. The team also introduced a new batting practice jersey.

This marks the first time that Texas has made a uniform change since 1994, the first year the club played at The Ballpark in Arlington. It will be the sixth different home uniform and the eighth different road outfit that the club has won since 1972. It also marks the first time that the Rangers have ever had different color caps for home and road as well as the first alternate cap in club history.
Highlights and features of the new uniforms:

• Road Uniform: Jersey is gray with blue piping on sleeves. “TEXAS” in blue block lettering with red, white, and gray outline is on front of jersey. Player’s name and number in blue block lettering with red and white outline is on back of jersey. Jersey has button down front. Pants are gray with blue piping down each leg.
• Alternate Jersey: Jersey is navy blue with white piping on sleeves. “TEXAS” in white and gray beveled lettering with blue and red outline is on front of jersey. Player’s name and number in white block lettering with blue and red outline is on back of jersey. Jersey has button down front.
• Road Cap: Solid blue with white “T” outlined in blue and red on front. Red button on top. Alternate Cap: Solid blue with red “T” outlined in blue and white on front. Red button on top.
• Accessories: The Rangers will have blue stirrups, belts, sleeves, batting helmets, and catching equipment on the road with red accessories remaining for home.
• Shoes: Black both home and road.
• Home and Road Batting Practice Jersey: Jersey is navy blue with ‘RANGERS” in white and gray block lettering with blue and red outline is on front of jersey. Player’s number in white block lettering with blue and red outline is on back of jersey. Jersey has button down front.

Rangers’ players modeled the uniforms this afternoon. Pitcher Tim Crabtree wore the home uniform, first baseman Rafael Palmeiro modeled the road uniform, and outfielder Rusty Greer sported the alternate jersey and cap with the road pants.
The uniforms were designed in a joint effort by the Rangers and Major League Baseball. The new Rangers road and alternate caps as well as new replica jerseys will go on sale today at the Grand Slam Gift Shop at The Ballpark in Arlington. Authentic road and alternate jerseys are on order and expected to be available in the next week to ten days.