Baseball

Freddie Freeman's walk-off Grand Slam home run in game one was the swing that set the tone for the eventual World Series champions ... and now the ball just sold at auction for $1.56 million!

The whopping price tag makes the Freeman ball the third most valuable in the history of baseball -- coming in behind Shohei Ohtani's 50th HR ball and Mark McGwire's 70th HR ball from 1998.

The Ruderman family -- who caught the mega-valuable ball, blasted by the eventual W.S. MVP in the 10th inning of the then-tied ballgame -- consigned the item to SCP Auctions.

The L.A. Dodgers fan who had a horrific firework accident during the World Series has undergone several procedures to mend his hand ... but despite the unfortunate event, he tells TMZ Sports he's staying positive through it all.

We spoke with Kevin King fresh off his fourth surgery after the DTLA incident that cost him his pointer and middle finger on his left hand ... and he is thankful it wasn't worse.

"If you're only losing a couple of fingers, don't worry about it," he said. "Thankful it wasn't my face, eye or ears."

Juan Soto got an amazing dinner to go along with a $756 million contract on Thursday ... TMZ Sports has learned the Mets bought their new star and his family a steak feast to celebrate his formal signing with the team.

We're told just a few hours after Soto put pen to orange-and-blue paper at Citi Field, Steve Cohen hosted the 26-year-old and his loved ones at the world-renowned Benjamin Prime in NYC.

Soto grubbed on mozzarella and tomato salad ... and for a main course, he had a ribeye (if you were wondering, he's a medium-plus temperature kind of guy).

The Yankees will head into next season without Juan Soto, but fear not, New York fans ... Johnny Damon tells TMZ Sports they might just be better without the star slugger!!

We caught up with the 51-year-old former Pinstripes outfielder on Thursday -- just hours after the Mets introduced Soto to their fanbase -- and he said straight up, his former team might come out of this situation just fine.

His reasoning? Damon says the Yankees can now take the $750 million they had earmarked for Soto -- and spend it on a bunch of key pieces that'll make them perhaps even more formidable in 2025.

Chicago Cubs great Ryne Sandberg just revealed his prostate cancer is back and has spread to other organs in his body ... requiring more intensive treatment.

The Hall of Famer provided the health update on Tuesday ... saying despite the news, he will continue to have an optimistic mindset and remain tough as he fights the disease.

"Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for me and my family," Sandberg said.

Juan Soto joining the Mets marked a major shift in the New York baseball landscape ... at least that's what Dwight Gooden thinks, 'cause he tells TMZ Sports his former team can no longer be considered the Yankees' "little brother!!"

We caught up with the Gooden -- who spent time with both clubs during his career -- after Soto inked a 15-year $765 million deal with the Metropolitans ... and he says the narrative about the team in Queens is about to be a thing of the past.

"The first time I heard it, Reggie Jackson said it," Gooden said. "I have nothing against the Yankees, but I was somewhat offended by it. I understood what he meant by that, saying that the Mets are little brother, but now things are starting to change."

Kate Upton had her fans concerned last month after posting a worrisome scenario to her Instagram ... but the SI Swimsuit legend is now clarifying the details of the note, saying it had nothing to do with her husband, MLB star Justin Verlander.

As we previously reported, Upton asked her followers about a situation involving a 10-year-old girl traveling with her intoxicated dad ... the father threatens a taxi driver with a gun "if he does not drop them off on the highway at midnight to walk home."

Upton then speculated whether the described scene was an emergency or crime and how "lawyers/judges/advocates/law enforcement/parents" would feel about the matter... but did not explain what exactly was going on until Monday.

Juan Soto is a Met ... and actor/diehard New York fan Nick Turturro is summarizing how Yankee supporters are handling the news -- going absolutely nuts on the MLB superstar in a passionate video reaction.

Turturro posted the nearly minute-long clip to his X account Sunday night ... saying he had two words for Soto after his record-breaking $765 million deal was reported -- "F*** you!!!"

"I'm taking it personal," he said. "We gave you our love. We f***ing gave you our heart and soul. It wasn't enough! You turned your cap around after the World Series, I saw that f***ing move."

How does one celebrate becoming the richest player in baseball?? For Juan Soto, he soaked in the milestone by getting a beer shower!!

Soto's younger brother and member of the Nationals organization, Elian, showed off the $765 million party on his Instagram story ... with the new New York Met chilling in a hot tub as booze was poured all over his head.

While the star hitter is excited about his new $50 million annual salary, Mets fans are just as pumped for him to switch boroughs -- shortly after the news broke, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell posted himself on a FaceTime call with Soto -- with both giving wide grins.

Shohei Ohtani didn't seem fazed about losing his title of highest-paid player in baseball on Sunday ... 'cause he was busy enjoying the Los Angeles Lakers game with his stunning wife!!

The Dodgers superstar and Mamiko Tanaka left their adorable pup, Decoy, at home for a date night at Crypto.com Arena ... and with LeBron James out for the contest against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Shohei provided plenty of star power.

The 30-year-old and his former hooper bae had great seats for the Purple and Gold's 107-98 victory ... and at one point in the night, they were shown on the scoreboard to a massive ovation.

Baseball fans can now get their hands on some John Elway Yankees cards -- Topps has just put the NFL legend in a new set ... and it announced the move with a hilarious Larry David commercial!

Elway, of course, was drafted by New York way back in 1981 -- but despite initially playing for the org.'s minor league affiliate ... he bailed on the team for a Hall of Fame NFL career.

He never quite got a baseball card to commemorate the brief time in the MLB -- but Topps is changing that now ... throwing cards of him donning Pinstripes in its new 2024 Bowman Draft set.

Kai Asakura is fighting for the flyweight title in the main event of UFC 310 -- his first-ever bout in the United States -- and the Japanese MMA star says there's one special person he'd love to see Octagon-side ... Shohei Ohtani!

TMZ Sports recently chopped it up with 31-year-old Asakura before his UFC debut -- a title bout vs. Alexandre Pantoja going down December 10 in Las Vegas -- and the 21-4 fighter hopes the newly minted World Series champ can squeeze in a trip to Sin City.

"I have never met [Ohtani]," Asakura told us through a translator. "But I'd love him to come and watch my fight."

Vanessa Hudgens was on Cloud 9 at "Monday Night Raw" ... getting a special meet-and-greet with some of her favorite WWE Superstars!!

The actress and her husband, baseball player Cole Tucker, took a break from parenting to enjoy a date night in Glendale, Ariz. ... and they made the best of it by checking out some good old-fashioned wrasslin'.

On top of getting to witness all the in-ring action, the two were even able to spend time backstage with some of the Superstars ... and made sure to snap pics with some huge names in the organization.

If ya missed out on the sale of Shohei Ohtani's historic 50/50 home run baseball, don't worry ... another cool artifact from the Dodgers superstar has just hit the auction block -- one of his old Nippon Professional Baseball league jerseys!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... a Nippon-Ham Fighters uniform Shohei rocked during the 2017 NPB season was posted to Grey Flannel Auctions this week -- and it's pretty awesome.

It's got Ohtani's name on the back, his former squad on the front -- and some unique markings on the tags.

Shohei Ohtani keeps doing things no baseball player has ever done.

The Dodgers superstar unanimously won the National League's Most Valuable Player award Thursday, becoming the first full-time designated hitter to take home the hardware.

In his first season with the Dodgers, Ohtani became the first big leaguer to have 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. Ohtani's 54 homers were top in the NL and his 59 stolen bases ranked second in all of MLB.