NATION : Giamatti Suffers Heart Attack; Is Rushed to Hospital in Mass.

EDGARTOWN, Mass. — Baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti was rushed to a hospital after suffering a severe heart attack today, police said.

Steven McKinnon, deputy police chief of Edgartown, told ABC Radio Sports: “On arrival, the units found Mr. Giamatti in full cardiac arrest. CPR was initiated at the scene and was continued on board in the ambulance until arrival at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.”

State Policeman Byron Rizos said Giamatti suffered the heart attack at his home and was unconscious when police arrived at 3 p.m. Rizos said Giamatti was in critical condition.

Giamatti, 51, became baseball commissioner earlier this year after a stint as National League president. Before that, he was president of Yale University.

For several months, he was involved in a heated legal dispute with Cincinnati Reds star Pete Rose, whom he accused of betting on baseball. Last week, he issued an order banishing Rose from baseball permanently.