Leyritz Joins Newark Bears

Jim Leyritz is the latest ex-major leaguer to join the Newark Bears.

Leyritz, 37, signed with the independent minor league team on Saturday, joining Jose Canseco, Lance Johnson and pitchers Jaime Navarro and Jack Armstrong.

“Jim will bring an added element of gamesmanship to our team,� said Bear owner Rick Cerone, himself a former catcher for the New York Yankees. “He gives it everything he’s got every time he’s out on the field, and that’s something you can’t teach to younger players.�

Leyritz, a career .264 hitter, was known in his major league career as a clutch player with a knack for dramatic postseason home runs.

He was released by the New York Mets in March.

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Robert Fick, a reserve catcher for the Detroit Tigers, confirmed that he got into a fight early Thursday morning at the Hockeytown Cafe, owned by Tiger owner Mike Ilitch. “There was an altercation,� Fick said. “There’s an investigation going on and it’s being handled internally to find out what really happened.� A Detroit television station quoted an unnamed witness as saying that Fick yelled a racial slur to initiate a fight with a bouncer. . . . Deion Sanders is expected to join the Cincinnati Reds when they begin a six-game homestand against the Dodgers on Tuesday. . . . Pitcher Kyle Farnsworth of the Chicago Cubs was restrained by his teammates Friday night at San Francisco after he tried to go after a fan who had thrown peanuts and was verbally abusive.