Players vote Acuña as best of the year

Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. was voted player of the year and the National League’s outstanding player by fellow major leaguers in the annual Players Choice Awards of the Major League Baseball Players Association. Los Angeles Angels designated hitter and pitcher Shohei Ohtani was voted the American League’s outstanding player . . . The Braves brought back another key member of their bullpen, re-signing righthander Joe Jiménez to a $26 million, three-year contract.

Cruz, 43, says he will retire

Nelson Cruz said he is retiring at age 43 after hitting 464 home runs in 19 major league seasons. The seven-time All-Star hit 18 postseason homers and played in consecutive World Series with the Texas Rangers in 2010 and 2011. He made five appearances among the top 10 in Most Valuable Player voting. Cruz hit .274 with 1,325 RBIs for Milwaukee (2005), Texas (2006-13), Baltimore (2014), Seattle (2015-18), Minnesota (2019-21), Tampa Bay (2021), Washington (2022), and San Diego.

Muncy, Dodgers make deal

Third baseman Max Muncy and the Los Angeles Dodgers agreed to a $24 million, two-year contract that prevented him from becoming a free agent. Muncy had a $13 million, one-year deal this season and hit .212 with a career-high 105 RBIs to go with 36 home runs, tying his career high . . . Righthander Colin Rea stayed with the Milwaukee Brewers rather than explore the free agent market, agreeing to a $4.5 million, one-year contract that could be worth up to $10 million over two seasons . . . The Pittsburgh Pirates traded righthanded reliever Cody Bolton to Seattle in exchange for cash.

Record low for World Series

The World Series, which the Texas Rangers won in five games against the Arizona Diamondbacks, was the least-watched Fall Classic in recorded TV history, averaging 9.11 million viewers. It was a 23 percent decline from last year’s series, when the Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies in six games and averaged 11.78 million. Wednesday night’s game averaged 11.48 million on Fox, a jump of 3 million compared with Tuesday night’s audience. The total audience across Fox, Fox Deportes, and Fox streaming platforms was 11.64 million.

MEN’S COLLEGE HOCKEY

Notre Dame joins tourney

The Friendship Four, the midseason tournament played in Belfast, will have even more of an Irish flavor next season. Joining Boston University, Harvard, and Merrimack in the November 2024 tournament will be Notre Dame. It will mark the second tournament appearance for BU, which lost the championship game to Union in 2018. Harvard, Merrimack, and Notre Dame will be participating for the first time. The 2024 tournament will be held on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 29-30.

NBA

Ex-Suns star Davis dead

Walter Davis, a five-time NBA All-Star who had his No. 6 retired by the Phoenix Suns, died. He was 69. Davis was a star at the University of North Carolina, where he played for the late Dean Smith. Davis died Thursday morning of natural causes while visiting family in Charlotte, N.C. He was drafted fifth overall by Phoenix in 1977 and became the NBA rookie of the year after averaging 24.2 points a game. He played 11 of his 16 pro seasons with the Suns . . . The league’s In-Season Tournament starts Friday and runs through Dec. 9. Group play games will be held every Tuesday and Friday in November except for Election Day, when the NBA will take the night off. The semifinals are in Las Vegas on Dec. 7 and the title game is there two nights later.

SOCCER

Neymar has knee surgery

Brazil forward Neymar went through ACL and meniscus surgery at a hospital in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazilian media reported. Neymar, who is expected to be discharged on Saturday, injured his left knee in the first half of Brazil’s 2-0 loss to Uruguay on Oct. 17 in a World Cup qualifying match. The recovery is expected to take between six and 12 months. He is likely to miss the next Copa America, which will be played in the United States in June . . . Colombia’s government said the guerrilla group National Liberation Army, known as ELN, kidnapped the father of Liverpool and Colombian national soccer team striker Luis Díaz. The peace delegation of the government, which is currently in negotiations with ELN, said in a statement it was “officially aware” of the kidnapping. Díaz is one of the most talented players on Colombia’s national team and currently plays for Liverpool in the English Premier League, which he joined last year in a deal worth $67 million.

GOLF Percy leads by two at WTT

Cameron Percy of Australia had only one birdie over his last five holes and still matched his best score on the PGA Tour, a 10-under-par 62 that gave him a two-shot lead in the World Wide Technology Championship, Los Cabos, Mexico. El Cardonal at Diamante is the first course Tiger Woods designed that is used as a PGA Tour event . . . Akie Iwai of Japan shot a 9under 63 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the LPGA’s Toto Japan Classic.