Zimmerman earns Gold Glove

NEW YORK - That travel team back in Virginia a decade ago must have played great defense on the left side of the infield.

Washington's Ryan Zimmerman succeeded boyhood friend David Wright, a New York Mets star, as the National League's Gold Glove third baseman yesterday. In high school, when Zimmerman was a shortstop, the two played together on an AAU team in Chesapeake.

"Hopefully, if we're lucky enough to continue doing what we're doing, this will be a yearly thing," Zimmerman said. "It's fun for us."

A college teammate from the University of Virginia, Arizona's Mark Reynolds, is competing with Zimmerman for a Silver Slugger award, to be announced today.

"We all push each other to work harder," said Zimmerman, who had 33 homers and 106 RBI.

Zimmerman led major-league third basemen with 325 assists and became only the second Washington player to win the award, joining catcher Earl Battey of the Senators in 1960. He also became the second infielder to win a Gold Glove from a team with the worst fielding percentage in the majors, following Texas shortstop Michael Young last year.

The Nationals led the major leagues with 143 errors.

"Our team as a whole needs to realize that if we want to win we've got to play defense," Zimmerman said. "We need to take more responsibility on the defensive side of the ball and realize that if we want to start winning that, you know, that's just as much a part of winning as hitting and scoring runs."

Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins earned his third consecutive Gold Glove and Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino won for the second straight time.

Rollins became the Phillies' fifth three-time winner, joining Mike Schmidt (10), Garry Maddox (eight), Manny Trillo and Scott Rolen (three each).

St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina and San Diego first baseman Adrian Gonzalez also were second-time winners.

Adam Wainwright became the first Cardinals pitcher to win since Joaquin Andujar in 1984 and succeeded Greg Maddux, who won his record 18th Gold Glove last year. Wainwright also is a favorite for the NL Cy Young Award after going 19-8 with a 2.63 ERA.

Dodgers second baseman Orlando Hudson overcame a broken left wrist sustained in August 2008 and won for the fourth time, taking over from Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips even though Hudson lost playing time by September to teammate Ronnie Belliard.

Houston's Michael Bourn and the Dodgers' Matt Kemp also were first-time winners - and gave the NL three center fielders in the Gold Glove outfield.

Riggleman's interim tag to be removed

WASHINGTON - The Washington Nationals are sticking with Jim Riggleman, dropping his interim tag and making him their manager for 2010, two sources familiar with the team's plans told The Associated Press.

The team planned a news conference for today.

Riggleman was promoted from bench coach to interim manager in July, replacing the fired Manny Acta. The Nationals were 26-61 at the time and went 33-42 under Riggleman, finishing with a major league-worst record of 59-103.

From the outset of Washington's managerial search, General Manager Mike Rizzo made clear that Riggleman had a strong shot at the permanent job, calling him a "legitimate candidate" in late September.

"He put us on pace to really focus in and bear down on the fundamentals of the game, to play cleaner, more efficient ball. He's got the guys playing at a high level of attention," Rizzo said then.

Riggleman found himself in a similar situation a year ago with the Seattle Mariners, who fired their manager during the season and gave Riggleman the position on an interim basis. He was a candidate to stay on there, too, but didn't get the job.

In addition to his brief stint in Seattle, Riggleman managed in the majors with the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs.

He has a losing record in his career and only one finish as high as second place. His best season came with the 1998 Cubs, who went 90-73 to make the playoffs as a wild card.

But Chicago went 67-95 to finish last in 1999, Riggleman's final year there.

Griffey stays with Mariners for 2010

SEATTLE - Ken Griffey Jr. and the Seattle Mariners agreed to another one-year contract that will keep the popular player in town for what could be his final season.

Griffey, who turns 40 on Nov. 21, was guaranteed $2 million when he signed to return to Seattle for the 2009 season and had the chance to earn more in bonuses.

He is likely to again be a part-time designated hitter in his 22nd major-league season since he broke in as a Mariners teenager.

A 10-time all-star and the 1997 AL MVP for the Mariners, Griffey hit .214 last season with 19 homers as a part-time DH. He was limited by a swollen left knee that required a second operation in as many offseasons last month.

Griffey is No. 5 on the career home run list with 630.

Elsewhere

• Catcher Jason Varitek exercised his $3 million option to stay with the Boston Red Sox, choosing to remain with the team as a backup to Victor Martinez rather than become a free agent. Boston declined to exercise its $5 million club option on Monday, and Varitek then had two days to decide whether to exercise his player option at the lower price.

Varitek, 37, was Boston's starting catcher for nine of 10 seasons through 2008, except in 2001 when he was limited to 51 games because of injury. He was the regular last season until Boston obtained Martinez from the Cleveland Indians in a trade on July 31.

• Former Arizona slugger Matt Williams is joining the Diamondbacks as first base coach. A five-time all-star third baseman, Williams, 43, will make his big-league coaching debut. He played for the club during 1998-2003 and recently completed his fifth season as a team broadcaster.

• Sammy Sosa said a cosmetic cream he uses to soften his skin is the reason for his lighter skin tone. The former Chicago Cubs slugger was photographed at the Latin Grammy awards in Las Vegas last week with a noticeably whiter face. Sosa said he has been using the cream for a long time, and combined with bright TV lights, it made his face look whiter than it really is. Sosa says he is not trying to look like late pop star Michael Jackson and is not suffering from any skin illness.