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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.

Texas Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez was named the 1999 American League Most Valuable Player by the Baseball Writers Association of America, it was announced today.
It marks the first time that a catcher has captured an MVP in either league since Thurman Munson of the New York Yankees in 1976. Rodriguez becomes the ninth catcher in major league history to win a Most Valuable Player Award. The others in the A.L. were Detroit’s Mickey Cochrane in 1934; New York’s Yogi Berra in 1951, 1954, and 1955; and New York’s Elston Howard in 1963. National League backstops to win were Chicago’s Gabby Hartnett in 1935; Cincinnati’s Ernie Lombardi in 1938; Brooklyn’s Roy Campanella in 1951, 1953, and 1955; and Cincinnati’s Johnny Bench in 1970 and 1972.
Rodriguez was named on all 28 ballots, with seven 1st place votes, six 2nd place votes, seven 3rd place votes, five 5th place votes, two 6th place votes, and a seventh place vote for 252 points. He defeated Boston’s Pedro Martinez, who was named on 26 of 28 ballots and had eight 1st place votes and 239 total points. The Cleveland tandem of Roberto Alomar and Manny Ramirez tied for third with 226 points each as each player had four 1st place votes. Ramirez was named on all 28 ballots with Alomar being selected on 27 of 28 ballots.
The Rangers’ Rafael Palmeiro was fifth with 193 points and four 1st place votes. He joined Rodriguez, Ramirez, and New York’s Derek Jeter, who was sixth with 177 points, as the only players to be named on all 28 ballots.
Six players received first place votes, led by Martinez’ eight, and only 26 points separated the first four finishers. It was just the fourth time in history that a player receiving the most first place votes did not win the MVP, the others being Detroit’s Hal Newhouser (7) over teammate Dizzy Trout (10) in 1944; New York’s Roger Maris (8) over teammate Mickey Mantle (10) in 1960; and Pittsburgh’s Roberto Clemente (8) over Los Angeles’ Sandy Koufax (9) in 1966.
Juan Gonzalez, who won in both 1996 and 1998, was 13th with ten total points, the fifth time that the Rangers have had at least three players receive MVP points, including each of the last three years. It is the fourth overall MVP for a Ranger as Jeff Burroughs was the 1974 recipient, and it marks the second time two Rangers have finished in the top five in the MVP voting, the other being 1974 (Burroughs, 1st; Ferguson Jenkins, 4th). It marks the first time that an A.L. team has won as many as three MVP’s in four years since the Yankees earned four straight from 1960-63.
The voting is conducted by a committee of two writers from each of the 14 American League cities. Balloting is tabulated on a basis of 14 points for first place, nine for second, eight for third, on down to one point for tenth place.
Rodriguez batted .332 with 35 homers and 113 rbi in 144 games in 1999. He established an American League record for home runs by a catcher and was the first backstop in league history with 30 homers, 100 rbi, and 100 runs scored. Rodriguez also had 25 stolen bases, tied for fifth most ever for a catcher, and was the first major league catcher ever with 20+ homers and 20+ steals. He was fifth in the American League in hits (199), and ranked seventh in average, runs (116-tied), and total bases (335). His .332 average was the highest for an American League catcher since New York’s Bill Dickey (.332) in 1937.
Behind the plate, Rodriguez won his eighth consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove Award, the second most in history behind Bench. He threw out 54.2% (39 of 72) of the runners attempting to steal, the fifth straight year he has led the majors in that department. It was the highest percentage since statistics were first kept in 1999. Rodriguez also led major league catchers with 141 starts and had ten pure pickoffs.
Rodriguez also captured his sixth consecutive A.L. Silver Slugger Award and was selected as the catcher on the Associated Press Major League All-Star Team.
The Rangers won their second straight and third A.L. West Division title in three years, winning a club record 95 games.
It is the sixth MVP for a native of Puerto Rico with the others being Clemente in 1966, St. Louis’ Orlando Cepeda in 1967, Detroit’s Willie Hernandez in 1984, and Gonzalez in 1996 and 1998.
(This is the Initial AP News Wire Story)
By RONALD BLUM
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Texas catcher Ivan Rodriguez won the American League’s Most Valuable Player award in an upset today, even though Boston pitcher Pedro Martinez had more first-place votes.
Rodriguez, who hit .332 with 35 homers and 113 RBIs, finished with seven first-place votes and 252 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Martinez, who won the AL Cy Young Award earlier this week after going 23-4 with a 2.07 ERA and 313 strikeouts, had eight first-place votes and 239 points.
It was the closest MVP vote since 1996, when Seattle’s Alex Rodriguez lost 290-287 to Juan Gonzalez.
Ivan Rodriguez became only the fourth MVP to win without getting the most first-place votes, joining Detroit’s Hal Newhouser, who beat Dizzy Trout 236-232 in 1944; the Yankees’ Roger Maris, who beat Mickey Mantle 225-222 in 1960; and Pittsburgh’s Roberto Clemente, who beat Sandy Koufax 218-205 in 1966.
Voters list their top 10, and Rodriguez won largely because he was listed on the ballots of all 28 voters while Martinez was not listed by two: George King of the New York Post and La Velle Neal of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
In 1947, Boston’s Ted Williams lost the MVP to the Yankees’ Joe DiMaggio 202-201 despite winning the Triple Crown because Boston Globe writer Mel Webb, who did not like the sometimes-snarly Red Sox star, left Williams off his ballot.
Rodriguez received six seconds, seven thirds, five fifths, two sixths and one seventh, while Martinez got six seconds, four thirds, one fourth, two fifths, two sixths and three sevenths.
Cleveland’s Manny Ramirez and Roberto Alomar tied for third with four first-place votes each and 226 points apiece.
Rangers designated hitter Rafael Palmeiro was fifth with four first-place votes and 193 points, and Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter was sixth with one-first place vote and 177 points. Boston shortstop Nomar Garciaparra was seventh with 137 points.
First-place votes are worth 14 points, seconds are worth 9, thirds worth 8 and so on.
Texas players have won the award in three of the last four years. Gonzalez, who was traded to Detroit earlier this month, won in 1996 and ’98. The Rangers’ only other winner was Jeff Burroughs in 1974.
Rodriguez’s batting average was the highest by an AL catcher since the Yankees’ Bill Dickey hit .362 in 1936. Rodriguez also became the first AL catcher to hit .300 and reach 100 in runs (116) and RBIs. He threw out 39 of 72 runners trying to steal (54 percent).
Martinez, a unanimous Cy Young winner, had hoped to join Denny McLain (1968), Vida Blue (1971), Rollie Fingers (1981), Willie Hernandez (1984), Clemens (1986) and Dennis Eckersley (1992) as the only AL pitchers to win the Cy Young Award and MVP in the same season.
Don Newcombe (1956), Koufax (1963) and Bob Gibson (1968) did it in the National League.
“It would mean a lot, probably more than this Cy Young alone,” Martinez said Tuesday. “I’ve already achieved that, so the MVP would be something different, especially to a pitcher.”
Ramirez’s 165 RBIs were the highest single-season total since Boston’s Jimmie Foxx drove in 175 in 1938.

Complete 1999 AL MVP Vote List
Voting for the 1999 American League Most Valuable Player Award based on a 14-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis
Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Total
Ivan Rodriguez	Rangers	7	6	7	–	5	2	1	–	–	–	252
Pedro Martinez	Red Sox	8	6	4	1	2	2	3	–	–	–	239
Roberto Alomar	Indians	4	7	6	4	4	–	1	1	–	–	226
Manny Ramirez	Indians	4	4	5	9	1	5	–	–	–	–	226
Rafael Palmeiro	Rangers	4	1	2	4	8	4	3	1	–	1	193
Derek Jeter	Yankees	1	2	2	9	3	7	2	1	1	–	177
Nomar Garciaparra	Red Sox	–	2	2	–	5	5	10	2	1	–	137
Jason Giambi	A’s	–	–	–	–	1	1	2	6	3	5	49
Shawn Green	Blue Jays	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	4	10	7	44
Ken Griffey, Jr.	Mariners	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	6	6	4	42
Bernie Williams	Yankees	–	–	–	–	–	1	1	2	2	2	21
Carlos Delgado	Blue Jays	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	1	1	3	16
Juan Gonzalez	Rangers	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	1	1	1	10
Mariano Rivera	Yankees	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2	1	1	9
Alex Rodriguez	Mariners	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	2	4
Omar Visquel	Indians	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	–	3
Matt Stairs	A’s	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	–	2
John Jaha	A’s	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	1
B.J. Surhoff	Orioles	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1	1

Catcher Ivan Rodriguez and first baseman Rafael Palmeiro have been selected as 1999 recipients of Rawlings Gold Gloves in the American League, it was announced today by the Rawlings Sporting Goods Company.
Rodriguez won his eighth consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove, the second most ever for a catcher behind the ten received by Cincinnati’s Johnny Bench from 1968-77. Rodriguez, who has won each year since 1992, had been tied for second at seven Gold Gloves with Bob Boone.
Despite appearing in just 28 games at first base in 1999, Palmeiro was selected for the third consecutive season, the first time in history that a Rangers’ first baseman has received that honor.
It is just the fifth time in team history that Texas has had two Rawlings Gold Glove winners in the same season, joining 1977 (Jim Sundberg, c; Juan Beniquez, of) and 1979, 1980, and 1981 (Sundberg, c; Buddy Bell, 3b).
Rodriguez led major league catchers in starts (141) and ranked second among American League backstops in putouts (850), assists (83), total chances (940), and double plays (13). He had just one passed ball, fewest among all qualifying major league catchers, and fielded .993 (7 errors). Rodriguez threw out 39 of 72 runners attempting to steal, a 54.2% success rate that led the majors for the fifth straight year and was the highest figure since statistics were first kept in 1989. He also had ten pickoffs and has thrown out 46.9% (332 of 722) of runners trying to steal in his career.
Offensively, Rodriguez set an American League record for a catcher with 35 homers while establishing career highs with a .332 average and 113 rbi. He also had 25 stolen bases to become the first catcher in major league history with both 20 home runs and steals in one season.
Palmeiro had a .996 (1 e/275 tc) in his 28 games/starts at first in 1999. Only three other A.L. first baseman had the same or a higher fielding percentage and started more games. Palmeiro, who led the A.L. with 159 games at first base in 1998, spent the majority of 1999 as a designated hitter while recovering from a pair of arthroscopic surgeries on his right knee in February and March.
In his first year back with the Rangers since 1993, Palmeiro batted .324 and ranked second in the American League with 47 home runs, 148 rbi, 356 total bases, and a .630 slugging percentage.

1999 AL Gold Glove Winners
Position	Player	Team	Awards	Years
1B	Rafael Palmeiro	Rangers	3	1997-1999
2B	Roberto Alomar	Indians	8	1991-96;1998-99
3B	Scott Brosius	Yankees	1	1999
SS	Omar Visquel	Indians	7	1993-1999
OF	Ken Griffey, Jr.	Mariners	10	1990-1999
OF	Bernie Williams	Yankees	3	1997-1999
OF	Shawn Green	Blue Jays	1	1999
C	Ivan Rodriguez	Rangers	8	1992-1999
P	Mike Mussina	Orioles	4	1996-1999

The Texas Rangers announced today that the team will not exercise its 2000 contract option on right handed pitcher John Burkett. As a result, Burkett is eligible to file for free agency.
Burkett, whose 2000 option called for a salary of $4,200,000.00, will receive a buyout of $450,000.00.
Burkett was 9-8 with a 5.62 earned run average in 30 games/25 starts with the Rangers in 1999. Acquired from Florida in August, 1996, he is 32-35 in 102 games/97 starts with the Rangers. His career major league record is 119-101 in 319 games/308 starts with the Giants, Marlins, and Rangers.