SURGERY FOR HUNDLEY: New York Mets catcher Todd Hundley will have a ligament replaced in his right elbow and probably miss the first half of the 1998 season.
Hundley, 28, will have surgery Friday in New York. The operation, in which a tendon usually is taken from a wrist, is similar to the one pioneered by Dr. Frank Jobe with pitcher Tommy John.
ROCKIES PROSPECT DIES: Minor-league pitcher Doug Million, the Colorado Rockies' first pick of the 1994 amateur draft, died after an asthma attack in Mesa, Ariz.
The 21-year-old Million had been playing with Colorado's Instructional League team. He was drafted after being selected National High School Player of the Year in 1994, when he went 12-2 with a 1.21 ERA for Sarasota High.
LA RUSSA TO STAY: Tony La Russa exercised his option to manage the St. Louis Cardinals through 1999. After coming within a game of the World Series in 1996, the Cardinals are fourth in the NL Central at 71-87.
AVERY'S OPTION: Steve Avery, out of Boston's rotation since Aug. 31, is scheduled to make his 18th start Thursday in Detroit, giving him the option to return to the Red Sox for $3.9 million next season.