New rules won't be used in WBC

Major League Baseball’s new pitch clock, limits on shifts and larger bases will not be used during the World Baseball Classic.

The three innovations will be debuted during the spring training exhibition season that starts Feb. 24. The 20-team national team tournament runs from March 8-21, and players will return to their clubs for more exhibition games with the new rules ahead of Opening Day on March 30.

“There’s going to be an adjustment and learning curve to those, so for the actual quality of baseball in the WBC, it’s probably better that they didn’t spring that on us in important games,” St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt said Tuesday.

This will be the fifth edition of the WBC following victories by Japan in 2006 and 2009, the Dominican Republic in 2013 and the U.S. in 2017. A scheduled 2021 tournament was called off because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Pitch limits again will be used. A pitcher is limited to 65 pitches during a firstround game, 80 in a quarterfinal and 95 in the championship round, though a limit can be exceeded to finish a plate appearance. A pitcher may not pitch in games on three consecutive days. There must be one day off after throwing 30 or more pitches and two days off after throwing 50 or more pitches.

DHs, the three-batter minimum and video review will be used, but the limit on mound visits will not.

Thirty-man rosters were due from teams Tuesday and will be announced Thursday. Each team must include at least 14 pitchers and two catchers, including 10 pitchers eligible to pitch in consecutive rounds.

• Amanda Kamekona, a former star softball player at UCLA, has been hired as a hitting instructor for the Cleveland Guardians. She’s the first on-field coach in team history.

Kamekona will be based at the team’s year-round complex in Goodyear, Arizona, where she’ll work with the team’s developmental players.

The 36-year-old’s hiring continues a trend throughout MLB of teams adding female coaches to their staffs. The Guardians have had women coach mental skills, but have never previously had a female instructor working with players on the field.

Kamekona played at Cal State Fullerton before transferring to UCLA in 2008. She was twice named a thirdteam All-American selection while helping the Bruins post a 96-20 record in two seasons. She still holds the school record with eight RBIs in one game.

Wrexham falls short

For Wrexham’s Hollywood owners, the sequel proved to be a heartbreaker.

The Welsh soccer club owned by celebrities Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney lost its FA Cup replay with Sheffield United 3-1, conceding two goals deep into stoppage time.

A win for Wrexham, the lowest-ranked team remaining in the famous old competition, would have set up a match in the fifth round — or the last 16 — with Tottenham of the English Premier League.

Instead, it was despair for the team from the fifth tier of English soccer which has hit the headlines over the last two years after it was bought by Reynolds and McElhenney for $2.5 million in November 2020.

Sheffield United forced a replay by scoring an equalizer in the fifth minute of stoppage time in the first game between the teams, which ended 3-3 at Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground.

Kyle Busch busted

Kyle Busch was detained at a Mexican airport late last month when a handgun and ammunition were discovered in his luggage, the NASCAR star acknowledged this week, apologizing for the incident and calling it “a mistake.”

A two-time NASCAR champion and the winningest active driver in the Cup Series, Busch was sentenced this month to 3 1/2 years in prison and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine for having a gun and ammunition, a punishment handed down by a judge in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, home to beach destinations Cancun and Tulum.

The federal Attorney General’s Office said the judge decided to allow a conditional punishment and let Busch leave Mexico after he paid a bond. The office did not say how much he paid.

• IndyCar driver Conor Daly will attempt to qualify for the Daytona 500 with the NASCAR team owned by Floyd Mayweather.

The Money Team Racing raced its way into the Daytona 500 last year with driver Kaz Grala; Daly made his Cup Series debut for the team in October on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“The Money Team Racing shocked the world by making the Daytona 500 last year and I believe in this team and know we will prepare a great car for this year’s race,” Mayweather said. “Conor is like a hungry fighter and my kind of guy. I sure wouldn’t bet against him.”

Daly will be among six drivers vying for four open spots in the 40-car field. Among those also trying to qualify for an open spot in the Feb. 19 season opener is seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and action sports star Travis Pastrana.

Sparks sign Clarendon

The Sparks signed former All-Star guard Layshia Clarendon to a training camp contract. Clarendon, who prepped at Cajon High in San Bernardino, has averaged 7.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists during a nine-year career and was an All-Star with Atlanta in 2017.

• Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said there should be no Russian delegation allowed at the Paris Olympics next year if Moscow continues its war against Ukraine. She previously said Russian competitors could take part under a neutral flag but has since backpedaled, acknowledging that a final decision belongs to the IOC.