Balls Inspected, No Juice Found

A day after a record six grand slams and 56 home runs were hit in the majors, a van full of baseball executives showed up at the Rawlings factory in Turrialba, Costa Rica, Monday for a long-scheduled look at how big league baseballs are made.

Their conclusion: It’s not the balls’ fault.

“We came away very impressed with the operations here,� Sandy Alderson, the majors’ executive vice president for operations, said after a 2 1/2-hour tour of the plant in Costa Rica’s coffee-growing region where all major and minor league baseballs are made. “We weren’t looking for surprises, it was an educational process.�

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Woody Williams rejoined the San Diego Padres, 2 1/2 weeks after having surgery to repair an aneurysm in his right armpit, and said he’d like to be pitching again sometime around the All-Star break. Both Williams and trainer Todd Hutcheson said mid-July is a realistic goal because the aneurysm was repaired without needing an arterial graft. . . . Steve Avery, who has had a slow recovery from off-season shoulder surgery, reported to the Atlanta Braves’ Class-A affiliate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., after a dismal outing Saturday night for double-A Greenville, S.C. . . . Left-hander Andrew Lorraine, designated for assignment by the Chicago Cubs earlier this month, has cleared waivers and opted to become a free agent. He was subsequently signed to a minor league contract by the Cleveland Indians. . . . Cuban pitcher Danys Baez, signed this winter to a $14-million contract by the Indians, was promoted to double-A Akron, Ohio. . . . The baseball that Pete Rose hit for a double off Philadelphia pitcher Jerry Koosman for his 4,000th base hit on April 13, 1984, was sold for an auction price of $39,422 in Oak Brook, Ill. . . . Progress has been made in negotiations for a new labor contract for baseball umpires, the union said.