Randolph apologizes for race comments

New York Mets manager Willie Randolph issued an apology Wednesday to team ownership, the club's TV network and his players "for the unnecessary distraction" he created by suggesting he was portrayed in a different manner than white managers.

Randolph, the Mets' first black manager, created a stir with comments he made that appeared Monday in The Record of Hackensack, N.J.

Randolph brought up race when he questioned the way he has been presented by SNY, the team's TV network.

"Is it racial?" Randolph was quoted in the story. "Huh? It smells a little bit. ... I don't know how to put my finger on it, but I think there's something there."

Before the Mets played the Braves on Wednesday, Randolph began by saying, "I just wrote down some notes I want to share with you guys."

"First of all, I want to apologize to the Mets ownership, SNY and my team for the unnecessary distraction that I created, that I caused the last couple days," he said. "I shouldn't have said what I said. It was a mistake. As simple as that. It was a mistake.

"And there is no excuse for that. No excuses."

Randolph said he wasn't asked by Mets management to issue the apology.

Trying to speed up games: With games seeming to run longer each year, Major League Baseball on Wednesday asked teams to help enforce speed-up rules already on the books.

A nine-inning game is averaging 2 hours, 51 minutes, 42 seconds this season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. That's only 29 seconds longer than last season, but 5½ minutes longer than five years ago.

In 1981, an average game took 2:33.

To help solve what is increasingly seen as a problem, baseball held a series of conference calls with each club's manager, general manager and in-game entertainment staff. All umpire crew chiefs were also involved.

Among the suggestions:

• Umpires should urge batters to approach home plate from the on-deck circle and enter the batter's box faster, and to enforce rules such as issuing an automatic strike to batters who linger outside the box.

• In bases-empty situations, pitchers should be warned if they don't pitch within a 12-second time limit. Pitchers will be called for a ball for each subsequent violation.

In addition to those existing rules, conferences on the pitcher's mound will be broken up more quickly, and teams will be asked to have a reserve player or coach ready to catch warmup pitches if a catcher isn't ready.

Teams will also be fined for repeated violations of league rules for in-game entertainment, public address announcements and music and video presentations, such as running too long.