VANCOUVER (AP) - Vancouver Mounties' former third baseman, Howard Battle, today accepted signed with the Havana Cigars. Terms were undisclosed at the time of this article, but the writing was certainly on the wall for Howard this past season. A career .213 hitter whose best season was 2009 when he hit .232 with 14 steals and 10 homers, Battle slumped to a miserable .174 average.

"Watching a kid like Dick Simpson come up here and take third base away from me, that really demoralised me last season. Third base had been mine in Motown since 2005 and I was really gutted when they gave the position to someone else", said Battle.

"I learned a lot watching Howard up there in Motown", said Simpson, his understudy at third. "He was always a classy guy, and when I got the call he was the guy who met me at Vancouver International Airport and showed me around the city. He was my roommate and my mentor, and he'll be sorely missed by me and the rest of the team."

"We had little choice in the situation", said GM Cory Muzyka. "Howard has been a career Miracle and we really wanted to keep him around, but unfortunately we just couldn't match the kind of money that Havana gave him. We wish him all the best and hope he can find a permanent position there. He won't find it easy there either, with Nig Doyle and Sagua Isabella already entrenched at third. The Cigars are a great team that has only had one losing season in their entire history so it'll be a big step up for Howard."

"I'd like to just say thanks to the fans of Detroit and Vancouver for their support over the last 12 years", said Battle. "I've had a great career and was hoping to finish it up in Vancouver with the Mounties organisation. They've been really good to me and I hope they can one day win it all."