Lance Berkman has not enjoyed playing 177 games at Wrigley Field in his 14 MLB seasons. (Bob Levey/Getty Images)

Lance Berkman’s reputation as a straight-talking clubhouse presence was one of the reasons the Rangers lured him away from retirement during the offseason. Berkman’s positive experiences do not extend to Wrigley Field.

Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports some Rangers players to be excited about the team’s first trip to Wrigley since 2002, but Berkman made it perfectly clear he’s no fan of one of baseball’s cathedrals, and the oldest park in the National League.

“If they’re looking for a guy to push the button when they blow the place up, I’ll do it,” Berkman told the Star-Telegram and Dallas Morning News.

“It’s one of the worst places in baseball for, well, just about anything. I really don’t like it. I read where they got approval for some more upgrades. Count me in the group of people extremely happy to see that. I guess I’m just spoiled. “There is a tremendous history associated with it and there is something special about playing on the same field that guys like Babe Ruth did. But really, what kind of history is there? It’s not like there has been one championship after another. It’s mainly been a place for people to go and drink beer.”

Berkman has endured 355 plate appearances in 177 games at Wrigley during his 14 major league seasons. The combination of cold weather and lack of a designated hitter in the National League park will likely limit the 37-year-old Berkman to pinch-hitting opportunities in the three-game interleague series with the Cubs.

Free-agent Lance Berkman signed a one-year deal with the Texas Rangers. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Free-agent Lance Berkman and the Texas Rangers agreed to a one-year deal Saturday, reports MLB.com.

The deal also comes with a vesting option for 2014 and Berkman will receive a $10 million salary plus a $1 million buyout this season.

Berkman, 36, had two surgeries on his right knee last season, forcing him to play only 32 games with the St. Louis Cardinals. Berkman hit .259 in 81 at-bats with two homers and seven RBIs.

“In a way they have to buy me out of retirement, and I know that sounds crass — I wish it didn’t — but it’s a big commitment, it can put a strain on the family,” Berkman said last week. “If I’m going to play, I’m going to give my heart and soul to the team. But if the carrot’s not big enough, the mule isn’t going to want to go.”

The Rangers would likely put Berkman in the designated hitter spot.  In 13 MLB seasons, Berkman is a career .290 hitter with 360 home runs and 1,200 RBI.

Lance Berkman has begun the process of narrowing down offers from American League teams. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Lance Berkman has received two offers from a group of American League teams including the Orioles, Rangers and Rays, he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He declined to name which two teams had submitted offers.

Berkman, 36, said he’s in a “good spot” and not “overwrought” about selecting which team he’ll play for in 2013.

The six-time All-Star has been targeted as a designated hitter after knee injuries and surgery limited him to .259, 2 home runs and 7 RBIs in 32 games and 97 at-bats in 2012. It’s a role the 14-year veteran is willing to embrace.

“You want to play as much as you can,” Berkman said. “If I can play, I want to play. I’ll give the team everything I have.”

While the signing of Carlos Pena appears to have taken Berkman’s hometown Astros out of the market for a veteran DH, he said it will take more than just the Rangers’ geographic proximity to sway his decision.

“In a way they have to buy me out of retirement, and I know that sounds crass — I wish it didn’t — but it’s a big commitment, it can put a strain on the family,” said Berkman, who has been working with Rice University’s baseball team this winter. “If I’m going to play, I’m going to give my heart and soul to the team. But if the carrot’s not big enough, the mule isn’t going to want to go.”

Lance Berkamn could be coming back to baseball after all. (Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images)

Lance Berkman may not be retiring after all. FOX Sports reports that the six-time All-Star is currently in conversation with multiple clubs about a return to Major League Baseball, with the Texas Rangers believed to be among them.

Berkman missed a large chunk of last season with various injuries to his right knee, and was listed on the physically unable to perform list with the St. Louis Cardinals as they lost the NLCS to the San Francisco Giants.

Berkman played the first ten years of his MLB career with the Houston Astros, before moving to the New York Yankees and then the Cardinals.

Lance Berkman said he would have to be “blown away” by an offer to return. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Free-agent first baseman Lance Berkman said Monday that four teams — the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros — have all contacted him to express interest in signing him.

Berkman has not yet decided whether he will return for the 2013 season, after he missed all but 32 games in 2012 because of an injury that required knee surgery. He played the last two seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Berkman, who is volunteering as an assistant coach at Rice University, said he would need to be “blown away” by an offer to come back.

“If I’m going to hit third for a major-league team, then obviously there’s a compensation level that accompanies that,”  Berkman said, according to The Houston Chronicle. “It’s just a matter whether the Astros would be willing to pay that or not. If they are not, no hard feelings. I just feel like if you are going to do a job you deserve to be paid somewhere in the ballpark where the job description entails.”

Berkman excelled in his last full season with the Cardinals in 2011, batting .301 with a .959 OPS while being a key contributor to St. Louis’ World Series-winning squad.

Surgeries to his right knee limited Lance Berkman to 97 at-bats in 2012. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Former Astro Lance Berkman is open to returning to the team after meeting with owner Jim Crane last week, according to FOX 26 Sports.

Berkman stopped by Crane’s office while in Houston working as a volunteer assistant for the Rice University baseball team. The pair left the idea on hold until Berkman’s knee is evaluated and he gets a feel for his value on the free-agent market.

Two surgeries on Berkman’s right knee limited the 37-year-old to 97 at-bats last season with the Cardinals. Berkman has considered retirement, but appears ready to let teams weigh the value of his 2011 season that included 31 homers and a .959 OPS in 587 PAs, and a World Series title for the Cardinals.

“I think he has an interest,” Crane said. “All of that will depend on his knee and probably the price, if he gets any other offers or what.

“If all that works out, and there are a lot of ifs there, possibly he could do some DHing (designated hitter) for us.”

Lance Berkman, the Cardinals first baseman, had knee surgery on Friday and is expected to miss 8-10 weeks. (Jeff Golden/Getty Images)

Lance Berkman, the St. Louis Cardinals first baseman, had surgery Friday morning to repair a torn miniscus in his knee and is expected to miss 8-10 weeks, according to Derrick Goold, the Cardinals beat writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The 36-year-old injured his knee in a loss to the Dodgers on May 19 in Los Angeles.

In a copy of the Cardinals press release obtained by Matt Snyder of CBSsports.com,  the team said:

“the arthroscopy found a partial tear in the medial meniscus, which was removed, and also a small femoral condylar cartilage tear, which was debrided.”

Berkman finished seventh in MVP voting last season but has played in only 13 games this season. He had one home run and four RBI’s before going down with the injury. If his recovery goes well, he could play for the Cardinals in the final two weeks of the 2012 season.

His injury will open up an opportunity at first base for 23-year-old Matt Adams, who was called up last week after playing 152 games in Double-A and Triple-A.

Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Lance Berkman does indeed appear to have a torn ACL, and he may consider retirement.

Post-Dispatch reporting early diagnosis is that Berkman did suffer a torn ACL in right knee Saturday. Monday MRI to confirm.

—
Joe Strauss (@JoeStrauss) May 21, 2012

Berkman injured his right knee fielding a throw to first base in the second inning of the Cards’ loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. He left the game with what was termed a sprained right knee, but he was later diagnosed with a torn ACL instead. An MRI will confirm the injury today.

Berkman, the National League’s comeback player of the year last season, has played in only 13 games for the Cards this season, hitting .333 with one home run and four RBIs. He missed 21 games earlier this season with a strained left calf.

At age 36, the switch-hitting slugger may be nearing the end of the road. Berkman has played 14 major league seasons with the Houston Astros, New York Yankees and now the Cardinals; he’s hit .296 for his career with 359 home runs and 1,197 RBIs.

The St. Louis Cardinals will place first baseman Lance Berkman on the 15-day disabled list with a left calf injury, according to the Associated Press.

Berkman said he aggravated the injury by taking a bad step chasing after a popup in last night’s win over the Cincinnati Reds. Rather than play through the injury, Berkman will take the time to recover fully.

“It doesn’t seem like it’s going to be one of those that you can really push through,” Berkman said. “It’s certainly frustrating. I don’t like missing time. I like being in there, being productive.”

Berkman, 36, is hitting .348 for the Cards this season, with two RBIs in seven games.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman/outfielder, Lance Berkman, gave away starting pitcher Adam Wainwright’s truck as an April Fools prank Sunday, according to Yahoo Sports.

In the top of the third inning, Wainwright’s white Silverado pick up was rolled onto the warning track as the public address announcer told the crowd that someone had won the truck.

“As long as that’s a joke, that is well done,” Wainwright said. “I don’t know if that’s a joke, yet.”

“Hilarious,” Wainwright later admitted. “Those are the kinds of things that keep baseball pretty fun—besides the fact that baseball is already pretty fun.”

The two-time World Series champion, All-Star selection, and Golden Glove award winner missed the 2011 season due to injury. However, Wainwright is expected to make a huge impact this season for the Cardinals. He has pitched 66 win and 35 losses with an average of .653 and a 2.97 earned run average with 724 strike outs.