AROUND THE MAJORS : Yankees’ Zimmer Released from Hospital

New York Yankee bench coach Don Zimmer was released from Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York on Saturday, two days after he was admitted when a heart ailment flared up.

Zimmer, 68, will rejoin the Yankees today. New York Manager Joe Torre said Zimmer wanted to go to the ballpark Saturday but doctors talked him out of it.

Zimmer, in his 51st season of professional baseball, had a minor cardiac abnormality, according to the Yankees.

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Pitcher Josh Beckett became the last of this summer’s first-round draft picks to sign a professional contract, getting a four-year, $7-million deal from the Florida Marlins. Beckett, picked No. 2 overall in June, will make his debut in the Fall Instructional League.

Beckett, who will be put on the Marlins’ 40-man roster, got a signing bonus of $3,625,000. His contract runs through the 2002 season.

The Marlins also recalled pitcher A.J. Burnett from double-A Portland and optioned pitcher Brent Billingsley to triple-A Calgary.

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The Milwaukee Brewers have interviewed Toronto assistant general manager Dave Stewart as part of a search to replace former general manager Sal Bando, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The paper also said the team will interview former Cleveland assistant general manager Dan O’Dowd on Monday.