February 22, 200521 yr Karros hooks up with ESPN By Tom Hoffarth, Los Angeles Daily News Former Dodgers first baseman Eric Karros has an agreement with ESPN to work up to 40 games as an analyst for Major League Baseball this season, effectively ending his playing career. "I guess this makes me officially retired," said Karros, 37, who set the all-time Los Angeles Dodgers home run record with 270 over 12 seasons, from 1991 to 2002. "I'm looking forward to staying involved in the game, and this will provide an exciting forum." Karros, one of the Dodgers' most popular players, last played with the Oakland Athletics, getting into 40 games before he asked for his release in July. The Dodgers traded him in 2003 to the Chicago Cubs, for whom he played 114 games. A sixth-round draft pick in 1988 out of UCLA, Karros won the 1992 NL Rookie of the Year and finishes his 14-year career with a .268 average in 1,755 games, 284 home runs and 1,027 RBI. Karros, who did some TV game and studio work for Fox at the end of last season, was a candidate for the opening created by the Dodgers for a TV or radio analyst spot. He said he really wasn't holding out hope of playing again this season. "Asking for my release in Oakland and then turning down an offer to go to Baltimore immediately after that, my decision to finish playing was really done last year," he said. "I didn't want it to have an impact on my future broadcast opportunities. Maybe if the Cubs had called again about a big-league spot, I'd have considered it, but outside of that, nothing else would have made sense." ESPN plans to use Karros up to twice a week on Monday and/or Wednesday night games, plus holiday broadcasts.
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