The struggling New York Yankees will be hit with a record luxury tax this year.

Initial projections by the commissioner’s office based on opening-day rosters have the Yankees owing $30,637,531, according to information obtained this week by The Associated Press.

The only other team projected to owe a tax is World Series champion Boston, which would pay $969,177.

The Yankees are off to a 6-9 start, just a game ahead of last-place Tampa Bay in the American League East.

For the luxury tax, payrolls are based on the average annual values of contracts for all players on the 40-man roster and include benefits. Under that formula, the Yankees opened with a payroll of $204.6 million, followed by Boston ($131.2 million), the New York Mets ($116.4 million), the Los Angeles Angels ($111.2 million) and Seattle ($109.3 million).

Teams with payrolls above $128 million owe tax this year. The Yankees pay at a rate of 40 percent for the amount they are over because they will be exceeding the threshold for the third time under the labor contract that began in 2003. The Red Sox, projected to be over for the second time, pay at a 30 percent rate.

Baseball will send the bills in late December based on end-of-season figures.

Last year, the Yankees paid a tax of $25,964,060 based on a final payroll of $207,046,868, according to the commissioner’s office. Figures were adjusted slightly after the initial bill was sent in December, with New York’s tax rising by $937,708.

● NO PENALTY FOR SHEFFIELD: Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield won’t be punished for his role in a scuffle with fans at Fenway Park last week.

Bob Watson, baseball’s vice president in charge of discipline, made the decision a day after meeting with Sheffield and the right fielder’s agent at Yankee Stadium.

On Tuesday, Boston police filed applications for misdemeanor criminal charges against two fans - one who allegedly made contact with Sheffield, and another who allegedly tossed a beer at him.

The Red Sox officials revoked season tickets from Christopher House, the fan who appeared to make contact. The other fan has not been identified, but the Red Sox said he will not be able to buy tickets for games at Fenway this season.

● ANOTHER DRUG SUSPENSION: Texas Rangers minor-league pitcher Agustin Montero was suspended for 10 days, becoming the third player to test positive under Major League Baseball’s new policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

Agustin, who has never appeared in a major-league game, failed the drug test while he was on the Rangers’ 40-man roster during spring training. He was designated for assignment April 2, when opening-day rosters were set, then sent outright to Frisco of the Double-A Texas League. He is 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA in eight innings over five relief appearances.

● UMP ACCUSED OF PLANE RAGE: Major-league umpire Paul Schrieber is under investigation for an alleged assault on a flight attendant during a trip from Dallas to Denver last weekend, two sources told The Associated Press.

American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner said the flight attendant was verbally abused and physically assaulted, but he would not identify anyone involved.

A baseball source and a law enforcement source, both speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AP that Schrieber was being investigated.

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