The claims appeared on the company’s website from 2008 to 2010, and still appear on the packaging of the products and on the websites of its distributors, according to the lawsuit.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers avoided a salary arbitration hearing next week, agreeing to a $19 million, two-year contract.
Tuesday’s deal for the 23-year-old left-hander calls for a $500,000 signing bonus and salaries of $7.5 million this year and $11 million in 2013. It covers all but his final year of arbitration eligibility.
The agreement mirrors that of San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum, who in his first time eligible for arbitration two years ago agreed to a $23 million, two-year deal.
Kershaw was 21-5 with a 2.28 ERA and 248 strikeouts last year, winning the NL pitching triple crown. After making $500,000, he had asked for $10 million in arbitration and had been offered $6.5 million.
HAMILTON VISITS MLB DOCS AFTER ALCOHOL RELAPSE
FORT WORTH, Texas — Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton visited doctors for Major League Baseball and the players’ association this week in New York following his admitted relapse with alcohol.
General manager Jon Daniels said Tuesday night that Hamilton was accompanied by Shayne Kelley, the team’s newly hired major league staff assistant whose job includes being in a support role for Hamilton.
The meetings with doctors were Monday, a week after Hamilton said he had “three or four” drinks during dinner in Dallas and then had more drinks later that evening. The recovering drug addict publicly apologized Friday without taking questions about what happened, saying he had a “weak moment” that stemmed from “personal reasons” involving a family member.
Daniels said it was “unlikely” that the Rangers would discipline Hamilton, and that the team would defer to MLB’s handling of the situation. He said had had no indication of what would happen.
BILL HALL AGREES TO DEAL WITH YANKEES
NEW YORK — The Yankees have agreed to a minor league contract with utilityman Bill Hall and invited him to big league spring training.
Hall announced the deal on his Twitter account Tuesday, and New York confirmed the agreement.
If Hall is added to the Yankees’ 40-man roster, he would get a $600,000, one-year contract and have the chance to earn an additional $600,000 in performance bonuses.
The 32-year-old played with Houston and San Francisco last season before he was designated for assignment on July 28, batting a combined .211 with 14 RBIs and two homers. He finished the season at Triple-A Fresno.
In 10 big league seasons with five teams, Hall is hitting .248 with 124 homers and 439 RBIs. He hit 35 homers for Milwaukee in 2006.
A’S AGREE TO EXTEND GM BILLY BEANE THROUGH 2019
Billy Beane is planning to stay in the Bay Area for the long haul.
Oakland Athletics owner Lew Wolff said Tuesday that the team has agreed to extend the contracts of the general manager as well as team President Michael Crowley through the 2019 season. Wolff, confirming comments first made on Bloomberg Television, wrote in an email to The Associated Press that the deals are in the process of being finalized.
Wolff is counting on Beane’s leadership and innovation to lead the club in a new stadium in the San Jose area.
The franchise needs approval from Major League Baseball to move to the South Bay, where the San Francisco Giants hold territorial rights to the technology-rich region filled with fans and corporate dollars. The A’s are hoping for a resolution to the long-standing dispute soon.
Beane and Crowley hold small ownership stakes in the team. Crowley took over as team president at the end of the 1998 season.
LAWSUIT: GEORGE BRETT FALSELY ADVERTISES NECKLACES
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Lawyers are seeking class-action status for a lawsuit that claims Hall of Fame slugger George Brett has been falsely advertising necklaces and bracelets as being able to help improve health and sports performance.
A lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in Des Moines claims Spokane Valley, Wash.-based Brett Bros. Sports International Inc. has falsely claimed its Ionic Necklaces help customers relieve pain in the neck, shoulders and upper back, recover from sports fatigue and improve focus. The company has also falsely claimed its bracelets, which include two roller magnets, would relieve wrist, hand and elbow pain, the lawsuit said.
Brett, who was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1999 after a 21-year career with the Kansas City Royals, has been president of the company since 2001 and appears in its advertisements.
The claims appeared on the company’s website from 2008 to 2010, and still appear on the packaging of the products and on the websites of its distributors, according to the lawsuit.