Singer will try cleats again; raises $1.8 million for kids

Singer Garth Brooks may still be searching for his Field of Dreams, but he says he's found a niche helping underprivileged kids.

Brooks said Saturday he'd like to try out again this spring with a major league baseball team, as he did with the San Diego Padres the past two years. He mentioned the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees as possibilities, depending on who might be interested in him.

He disclosed his plans while in Las Vegas to promote his Touch'em All Foundation, which he co-founded last year. Brooks said the foundation raised $1.8 million in its first year, thanks to donations from 67 Major League Baseball players, including Kevin Brown, Tony Gwynn, Robin Ventura, Larry Walker and Andy Ashby.

And he said he was still planning to retire at the end of 2000 - sort of.

"At the end of the year we plan to announce our retirement," Brooks told a news conference at the Venetian hotel-casino. "So right now we're just taking the year to make sure of that."

Brooks said in December he planned to retire at the end of 2000 to spend more time with his three children.

And he's still chasing a childhood dream of making it in the big leagues.

Brooks, 37, spent six weeks with the Padres last year, after first working out with them in 1998. He left in April on a high note, getting his first RBI in 22 spring training at-bats.

The country music star used his love of the game and his association with baseball stars to launch his Touch 'em All Foundation in 1999. The money is contributed by players based on the home runs they hit, the bases they steal or the strikeouts they pitch.

The foundation's name comes from a term used to describe what a baseball player does after hitting a home run - touch all the bases.

Brooks said he dreams of the day when every major league baseball player who signs a contract agrees to participate in the Denver-based foundation.

Money contributed by the players is tripled by corporate sponsors and outside foundations. Funds go to children's charities focusing on health, education and inner-city needs.

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