Reds’ Larkin Potentially a $21-Million Man

Shortstop Barry Larkin, the National League’s most valuable player, decided to remain with the Cincinnati Reds and agreed Tuesday to a $16.5-million, three-year extension through 1999 with a club option for 2000 that could make the deal worth $21.2 million.

“I didn’t want to have to test the free-agent market,” said Larkin, a Cincinnati native. “I’m happy here. I’ve been treated well here. The Reds have been good to me.”

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Former Dodger catcher Joe Ferguson was named manager of the High Desert Mavericks, a Class-A California League affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles in Adelanto. Ferguson, 49, played 14 years in the major leagues, mostly with the Dodgers. He also was a coach for 10 years, most recently the Dodgers’ first base coach in 1994.

Other Baltimore transactions included the hiring of former Milwaukee and Chicago Cub manager Tom Trebelhorn as minor league coordinator of instruction, and Ross Grimsley, who pitched five seasons for the Orioles, as pitching coach at Triple-A Rochester.

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Free-agent first baseman Eddie Williams and the Detroit Tigers agreed to a $325,000, one-year contract that gives him the chance to earn $150,000 more in performance bonuses. Williams, 31, who was hampered by a hamstring injury the last two months of last season and played in only 97 games for the San Diego Padres, hit .260 with 12 home runs and 47 runs batted in.

Jurisprudence

Heavyweight Jo-el Scott pleaded not guilty to a charge of punching a female acquaintance in the face on New Year’s Day in Albany, N.Y. Scott, 24, was arraigned in City Court on one count of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, and was released, according to the court clerk. Scott had posted $500 bail Monday after his arrest.

The woman suffered cuts to her nose but did not require hospital attention.

Scott recently was named in a civil lawsuit involving a hit-and-run accident last January in which a young boy was struck and dragged 100 feet by a four-wheel-drive vehicle. No criminal charges were filed against Scott in that incident. Scott has denied involvement.

Scott has a 13-0 record, having won all his fights by knockout.

Tennis

Boris Becker defeated Stefan Edberg, 6-2, 7-5, in the Qatar Open, ending the Swede’s hopes of launching his final year on the tour with a victory. Clay-court specialist Thomas Muster of Austria advanced, beating Spain’s Javier Sanchez, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6).

South Africa’s Wayne Ferreira, ranked ninth in the world, is hampered by a broken bone in his right hand as he prepares for the Australian Open, but he said it was not painful enough for him to consider withdrawing.

Anke Huber won her singles and doubles matches in leading defending champion Germany to a 2-1 victory over the Netherlands in the Hopman Cup team championships in Perth, Australia.

Huber defeated Brenda Schultz-McCarthy in singles, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6). Richard Krajicek tied the best-of-three series, 1-1, defeating Martin Sinner, 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), in men’s singles, before Huber paired with Sinner for a 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory in the mixed doubles.

Julie Halard-Decugis of France defeated top-seeded Irina Spirlea of Romania, 7-5, 6-2, in one of four upsets in the first round of the Amway Classic in Auckland, New Zealand.

Austrian Judith Wiesner, seeded third, lost, 6-3, 6-4, to Japan’s Ai Sugiyama, and three qualifiers--German Andrea Glass, American Sandra Cacic and Li Fang of China--made their presence felt.

Glass, 19, playing in the main draw of a WTA Tour event for the first time, defeated fifth-seeded Mexican Angelica Gavaldon, 6-3, 6-3. Cacic upset sixth-seeded Kyoko Nagatsuka of Japan, 6-1, 6-2, and Li ousted Israel’s Anna Smashnova, 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1.

Soccer

The New York/New Jersey MetroStars of Major League Soccer will announce the signing of star Italian midfielder Roberto Donadoni and will name Eddie Firmani as coach.

FIFA is considering enlarging soccer goal-mouths, according to a report in the German Stern magazine. General secretary Sepp Blatter was quoted as saying that soccer’s governing body was agreeable to “widening the goal the equivalent of two balls, about 50 centimeters [19.7 inches] and one ball high.”

The German soccer federation immediately argued against the idea. “We see no chance to realistically do this,” spokesman Wolfsgang Niersbach said. “Alone in Germany there are about 100,000 soccer fields and each goal costs 1,000 marks [$700]. There is a question of who finances this.”