Former major leaguer Wladimir Balentien hit his 55th home run on Wednesday, tying Japanese baseball's single-season record, according to an ESPN.com report.

Balentien matched the mark set by Sadaharu Oh in 1964 and equaled by Tuffy Rhodes in 2001 and Alex Cabrera in 2002.

He has 21 regular-season games left to break the record.

The Red Sox will honor Carl Yastrzemski with a statue at Fenway Park, the team announced Wednesday.

The statue will be unveiled at Fenway on Sept. 22 in a pre-game ceremony before the Red Sox take on the Blue Jays.

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw is being recognized for his work off the field. He's the winner of the 2013 Branch Rickey Award in recognition of his community work.

At 25, Kershaw is the youngest person to receive the award.

"Branch Rickey is a pretty influential person, especially to this franchise. So it has a little bit special meaning to me," Kershaw said.

Kershaw and his wife, Ellen, founded Kershaw's Challenge, a foundation that seeks to transform at-risk children and communities. Their cornerstone charity, "Arise Africa," has built and sustained an orphanage in Lusaka, Zambia, called "Arise Home." Each year, the Kershaws travel to Africa to visit with children and to bring awareness of diseases and infections related to HIV and AIDS.

Vin Scully will serve as grand marshal of the 125th Rose Parade on New Year's Day in Pasadena, according to an ESPN.com report on Thursday.

The beloved broadcaster for the Dodgers will be joined by his wife, Sandi, for the ride down Colorado Boulevard on January 1.