The Hall call arrives for Gwynn, Ripken  —  First ballot players to be inducted into Hall of Fame on July 29  —  NEW YORK — As anticipated, the dynamic duo of eight-time National League batting champion Tony Gwynn and Iron Man Cal Ripken Jr. earned election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday …

Edmonds has surgery on foot, shoulder  —  The club confirmed center fielder Jim Edmonds had surgery on his left foot last Friday.  Edmonds, who signed a two-year extension with the club in November, is also recovering from arthroscopic shoulder surgery that team medical supervisor …

Cardinals await Mulder's decision  —  The Cardinals could learn as early as today whether free agent lefthander Mark Mulder will accept their modified two-year proposal potentially worth about $18 million.  —  General manager Walt Jocketty met with Mulder and agent Gregg Clifton in Scottsdale …

Giants sign free-agent pitcher Russ Ortiz  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Adding a veteran arm in the form of a familiar face, the San Francisco Giants have signed free-agent right-handed pitcher Russ Ortiz to a one-year contract for the 2007 season, club Senior Vice President and General Manager Brian Sabean announced today.

Maine gets a head start  —  In previous winters, John Maine would have agonized over the Mets' pursuit of various big-name pitchers.  Would the possibility of a new star coming to Shea mean Maine would be bumped out of a place in the rotation?  —  By his own admission, Maine has a track record of fretting over such things.

Former All-Star catcher Lopez, Rockies agree to deal  —  DENVER — Former All-Star catcher Javy Lopez drew interest from other teams in the offseason to be a designated hitter, maybe even play an occasional first base.  —  But Lopez was insistent on catching, and the Colorado Rockies believe he still can.

D-backs introduce familiar face  —  Johnson happy to be back in Arizona, chasing 300 wins  —  PHOENIX — The uniform colors may have changed, but Randy Johnson slipped comfortably back into his No. 51 jersey on Tuesday afternoon as the D-backs' trade with the Yankees became official.

Sun interview with Cal Ripken Jr. … Cal Ripken Jr. recently visited The Sun for a wide-ranging question-and-answer session to discuss the Hall of Fame and other matters related to his career.  He was interviewed by Sun staff members Dan Connolly, John Eisenberg, Peter Schmuck and Childs Walker.

Cubs invite 11 more to big league camp  —  The Chicago Cubs today announced that 11 additional players have been invited to Big League camp with the club.  Pitchers Sean Gallagher, Adam Harben, Ryan O'Malley, Carmen Pignatiello and Randy Wells will report to Fitch Park in Mesa, Ariz. …

Blue Jays agree to deals with Thomson, Frasor  —  TORONTO — Right-handers Jason Frasor and John Thomson agreed to one-year contracts with the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.  —  Frasor was 3-2 with a 4.32 ERA in 51 relief appearances last season, splitting time between Toronto and Triple-A Syracuse.

Young stepping up offseason workouts  —  All-Star shortstop in Texas working with hitting coach Jaramillo  —  ARLINGTON — Spring Training is still over a month away, but on a cold January morning, the hands and wrists were still as quick as ever, and Michael Young was smacking the baseball all over the Rangers' indoor batting cage.

Herrera's next journey daunting, too  —  Cuban defector takes aim at Pirates' rotation  —  Right-handed pitcher Yoslan Herrera, 25, defected from Cuba June 13, 2005.  —  There was no raft in tatters, no shark snapping its jaws, no crashing waves or any dramatic chase from a U.S. Coast Guard patrol.