Baseball Notes: Jeter, Teixeira top list of AL Gold Glove winners

Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter won his fourth Gold Glove yesterday, joining New York first baseman Mark Teixeira among the American League players rewarded for their fielding prowess.

Los Angeles Angels centerfielder Torii Hunter and Seattle rightfielder Ichiro Suzuki both won for the ninth straight time. Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria, Baltimore outfielder Adam Jones, and Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle were first-time winners, and Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer and Detroit second baseman Placido Polanco earned their second awards.

Managers and coaches vote on Gold Glove winners in their own leagues before the regular season ends, but they may not select members of their own teams.

The National League's winners will be announced today.

Hall of Fame hopefuls. Gene Mauch, Billy Martin, Whitey Herzog, and Danny Murtaugh are among the former managers who will be on the ballot when the Hall of Fame Veterans Committee votes next month.

Tom Kelly, Davey Johnson, Steve O'Neill and Charlie Grimm also are on the 10-man ballot for managers and umpires released yesterday. There's also a 10-man ballot for executives and pioneers.

Separate committees will gather at the baseball winter meetings in Indianapolis on Dec. 6, and vote totals will be announced the following day.

Scully to return. Vin Scully, 81, said he will continue in the broadcast booth for the Los Angeles Dodgers through the 2010 season, then decide whether he will walk away. He has been with the team for 60 years.

Sosa's skin tone. Seeking to end speculation that he is sick, former slugger Sammy Sosa said that the dramatic lightening of his skin is the result of his using a facial cosmetic cream.

"It's a cream that I have, that I use to soften [the skin] but has bleached me some," Sosa told the Univision TV network.

Photos of a strikingly pale Sosa at the Grammy Latino Awards ceremony last week in Las Vegas had caused a stir on the Internet.