MLB’s ‘Ghost runner’ in extras here to stay

Starting extra innings with a runner on second base during the regular season was made a permanent rules change by Major League Baseball on Monday after three seasons of use during the coronavirus pandemic.

Known by some as the “Ghost Runner” and by others as the “Manfred Man” after baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, the rule was unanimously adopted by the sport’s 11-person competition committee.

The rule was adopted as a pandemic measure for the 2020 season.

The joint competition committee, established in the lockout settlement last March, includes six management officials, four union representatives and one umpire.

College basketball: Former Michigan State player Keith Damon Appling pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and a firearm charge in the fatal shooting of a Detroit man. Appling, 31, pleaded guilty to one count each of second-degree murder and felony firearm in the killing of 66-year-old Clyde Edmonds. Prosecutors say Appling fatally shot Edmonds in May 2021 after the men argued over a handgun. His plea agreement calls for 18 to 40 years in prison on the second-degree murder charge and two years to be served consecutively on the firearm charge . ... Alabama rose to No. 1 in The AP men’s poll for the first time in 20 years.

Golf: Former world No. 1 Stacy Lewis was named U.S. captain for the 2024 Solheim Cup in Gainesville, Va. Lewis, 37, is already on track to captain the 2023 U.S. team that will face Europe at the Sept. 22-24 Solheim Cup in Andalucia, Spain.

NFL: Eagles All-Pro RT Lane Johnson will have surgery for a torn adductor that he played through this postseason . ... Threetime Pro Bowl G Conrad Dobler died at the age of 72. Dobler played for the St. Louis Cardinals (197277), Saints (1978-79) and Bills (1980-81).