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Denied
Yankees have to go a player short for the first two games
Posted: Saturday October 23, 1999 08:42 PM
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Yankees owner George Steinbrenner must wait until Game 3 for Luis Sojo's return. AP |
ATLANTA (AP) -- Baseball commissioner Bud Selig wasn't bothered by Yankees owner George Steinbrenner's criticism of his refusal to let New York add an infielder to their roster for the first two games of the World Series.
Luis Sojo's father died Thursday, and the Yankees wanted to add a player because the backup infielder is missing at least the first two games of the Series to return to with his father's body to Venezuela. Steinbrenner was angry with Selig's refusal.
"He knows what the rules are," Selig said Saturday before the World Series opener.
While teams may replace injured players, they may not replace players in Sojo's situation.
New York wanted to add D'Angelo Jimenez, who wasn't on the Yankees' active roster or disabled list on Aug. 31, the deadline for postseason eligibility.
The Yankees used a loophole in baseball's rules to add Darryl Strawberry and Clay Bellinger to their postseason roster, putting catcher Vidal Candelaria and Casey Degroote on the 60-day disabled list on Aug. 1. Because the two were on the DL, baseball rules allowed the Yankees to substitute any two players from their organization, even if they weren't on the 40-man roster on Aug. 31.
The Yankees were told by the commissioner's office that they couldn't activate Jimenez unless they cut either Strawberry or Bellinger. New York then decided to leave Sojo on the roster for the World Series, going a player short for at least the first two games.
"This seems like a rather harsh ruling, as Luis will be accompanying the body of his father, Ambrosio, to bring him home to Venezuela," Steinbrenner said in a statement Friday. "We feel very strongly that this young man's place at this time is with his family."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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