Baseball

Donald Trump's personal check that bought POTUS rare baseball photos is hitting the auction block ... and TMZ Sports has learned it could go for over $15,000!!!!

Sources tell us a $909.99 check made payable to Steiner Sports Memorabilia back in 2011 bought D.T. a signed Hank Aaron pic and two photos of Yankees teams from the '50s.

We're told POTUS used to buy memorabilia like that all the time as gifts for clients ... and now, the check he personally signed could be the perfect present for you -- if ya got the cash.

According to RR Auction ... the check is ultra rare -- the first known Trump one to hit the auction block -- and could go for more than what similar modern president checks have sold for recently.

The minimum bid was $500 ... but it's already up over $3,000 -- and still has a nearly a week left on the block.

MLB players everywhere are rootin' like hell for Bryce Harper to ink the richest free-agent deal of all-time ... 'cause it means they'll get PAID eventually too -- so says Anthony Rendon.

Harper's (ex?) Nationals teammate tells TMZ Sports if Bryce signs the rumored $400 MIL deal he's expected to be offered -- players will have HUGE bargaining power over teams.

"Obviously if he drives up the free agency market, then I think it's going to help a lot of the players that are going to become free agents later on down the road. So, he's going to help other guys."

Of course ... that means Rendon is about to be the BIGGEST Harper cheerleader -- 'cause the 3rd baseman is set to be a free agent next offseason ... and could be the biggest fish available.

Kyler Murray's making the right call picking baseball over football ... so says Dave Winfield, who made the same choice more than 40 years ago and had things work out PRETTY well.

Of course ... D.W. is one of only six dudes to ever be drafted by THREE different pro sports -- but he chose the diamond over them all -- and says he's glad Kyler's doing the same.

"It's pretty intelligent to play baseball," the MLB Hall of Famer tells us ... "You don't get hurt as much."

Murray's a superstar QB at Oklahoma who some think could be the NFL's next Lamar Jackson ... but the kid was also drafted in the first round by the Oakland A's last summer.

Kyler says his plan -- as of now -- is to hang up the football cleats for the baseball diamond ... and Dave says that's a great call.

"Any football players you know play 22 years!?"

Tim Tebow thinks his NFL career ended prematurely ... 'cause the ex-Heisman Trophy winner says when he watches football now, he still thinks, "I can totally do that!"

Speaking about how hard it was to give up his pigskin career on the "Journeys of Faith with Paula Faris" podcast ... Tebow said it's STILL difficult to swallow, 'cause he thinks he can still ball.

"It's still hard sometimes when I watch games and I'm thinking, 'I can totally do that.' Or, 'I can be doing this or playing here or crushing that!'"

Of course ... Tim's tenure in the league officially ended back in 2015 after he completed just 47.9 percent of his career pass attempts.

But -- Tebow ain't bitter about the whole deal ... saying that while "the NFL didn't go at all as planned" -- he thinks it paved the way for his baseball career.

"I think God used the highs and the lows for a purpose and you try to embrace that and say, 'OK, God, what do you want me to do with this?' And he opened up baseball as an avenue."

Tebow seems to be better off ... dude's killin' it in the minor leagues -- and there's some talk the New York Mets could call him up to the Big Show next season.

As for that whole football thing ... most would disagree with Tim's take -- but, then again, have you seen Nathan Peterman throw the football these days?!

L.A. Dodgers pitcher Kenley Jansen says he's "fine" after undergoing heart surgery on Monday -- and even posted woozy post-procedure video from the hospital to prove it!

"Guys, I'm fine," Jansen said from his hospital bed alongside his wife, Gianni ... "The anesthesia is finally out of my system. I'm doing good. Enjoying the Christmas spirit. We'll see you guys soon in 2019, stronger than ever."

The 31-year-old was previously diagnosed with a condition that essentially put him at a higher risk for an irregular heartbeat at high altitudes ... not ideal when you fly all the time and play the Rockies in Colorado several times a year.

In fact, Jansen suffered an atrial fibrillation back in Denver in August after he was told he was at "high risk" for another medical incident.

So, on Monday he went under the knife for an "ablation procedure" to correct the condition -- and the surgery was a success. He should be ready to pitch again by Spring Training.

The Red Sox players are STILL winning ... 'cause the bonus checks for their World Series "W" were just announced -- and Boston got paid!!!

Major League Baseball just announced the postseason bonus pool totaled $88 MILLION to be divided by all of the teams that made the 2018 playoffs.

The total pool number -- essentially made up of playoff stadium ticket sales -- is the largest pot in MLB history. It's divided by the 10 playoff teams based on how far they got.

The biggest payout was obviously Boston -- the champs split $31.7 million between 66 players, which came out to $416k each!

Not too shabby, but slightly LESS than the $438k each Houston Astros player got last year for winning the 2017 World Series.

Don't feel too bad for the 2018 losers ... Los Angeles will get a cut of the bonus money too -- with their checks coming in at $267,027.49 per player.

Here's how the rest of the playoff bonus money was distributed ...

Houston Astros -- $154,656.05 per player.

Milwaukee Brewers -- $122,957.13

Atlanta Braves -- $40,375.74

Cleveland Indians -- $37,040.29

Colorado Rockies -- $40,335.96

New York Yankees -- $43,081.55

Chicago Cubs -- $16,155.34

Oakland Athletics -- $19,760.35

Yeah, it still pays to be good.

Could Tim Tebow's days as an unmarried man be numbered?!?!

Certainly seems that way ... 'cause the ex-NFL superstar brought his Miss Universe girlfriend to the Tebow Family Thanksgiving -- a sure sign that things are getting THAT serious.

Tim and Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters -- Miss Universe 2017 -- have been dating for a while now ... and they've been getting super cozy with each other the last few months.

Remember ... the South African model wished him a very public "happy birthday" back in August AND the two had a date day in New York with DLNP's fam in September.

In fact ... Demi even hinted she was "falling in love" with the minor league baseball star after the two hit up a Florida game last month.

But, the couple took things to another level last week ... when Tim brought her to the fam's turkey dinner.

"My first American style Thanksgiving with the sweetest family," DNLP said of the holiday ... "Grateful for an incredible year and everyone I got to share it with."

Tim never got a ring in his 3 years in the NFL ... but we wouldn't be shocked if he bought one pretty soon!!!

Joc Pederson is gonna have to rent scooters by the minute like the rest of us normies now ... 'cause the Dodgers star had his personal Bird jacked -- TMZ Sports has learned.

Sources tell us the outfielder had his electric wheels stolen outta his car recently near his San Fernando Valley home.

We're told Joc woke up and saw his car's window smashed out and his scooter taken ... and he reported the crime to the LAPD.

Sources say no arrests have been made ... but cops are investigating the whole thing.

The Bird is only valued at around $500 -- and Joc just made $2.6 MILLION this year -- but we're told the wheels were a gift from the company, so there's some sentimental value there.

We reached out to Joc for comment -- but no word back yet.

No surprise here ... but Roy Halladay has officially been placed on the ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame ... 1 year after his tragic death in a plane crash off the Gulf of Mexico.

Halladay's nomination was NOT advanced due to his death -- he last pitched in 2013, satisfying the usual 5-year waiting period.

Most experts agree Halladay is a 1st ballot lock -- since he was an 8-time All-Star and won 2 Cy Young Awards during his 15-year MLB career.

In 2010, Halladay famously threw the 2nd no-hitter in MLB postseason history -- when the Philadelphia Phillies blanked the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of the NLDS.

Halladay died on Nov. 7, 2017 while piloting a new ICON A5 single passenger amphibious plane over the Gulf of Mexico.

Witnesses had said Halladay was flying dangerously and lost control of the plane -- which eventually plunged into the water.

Halladay was 40-years-old.

Other big names on the 2019 Hall of Fame ballot include Mariano Rivera, Todd Helton and Andy Pettitte.

Pettitte could be an interesting one to watch considering he admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs during his MLB career.

If Bryce Harper's stomach is making the call ... the Cubs, White Sox, Mets and Yankees have a CLEAR advantage in signing him, 'cause he says NYC and Chicago have the best food.

In case you've been living under a rock ... Harper is poised to sign the richest free-agent deal OF ALL TIME -- some say up to $400 million -- but he's given no clear indication on where he's going.

We got Harper Thursday night at LAX ... and threw some questions out at him trying to crack the case, and while he was noncommittal on some, when it came to FOOD he definitely has some cities in mind.

"Favorite food? Probably Chicago. They got great food. I like this place called Steak 48, it's really good. Deep dish of course. Anywhere in New York of course you know you can always go out there and eat good food. That's huge for us."

We should also say ... while there are two teams in NY, Bryce complimented our camera guy's Mets cap and gave props to Jacob deGrom winning the Cy Young Award.

FYI -- Word on the street is that the Philadelphia Phillies are in the driver's seat to get Harper, but we didn't hear him mention Cheesesteaks anywhere in this entire clip.

Josh Hader's rough past few months just got a whole lot better ... the Brewers pitcher proposed to his longtime GF -- and she said yes!!

The 24-year-old flame-throwing reliever came under fire back in July when racist and homophobic tweets from 7 years ago surfaced ... forcing the MLB All-Star to apologize vehemently.

Things didn't get much better for the Milwaukee lefty in the fall ... 'cause his team got bounced in Game 7 of the ALCS by the Dodgers.

But ... finally, Hader got some good news Wednesday -- Maria Macias agreed to marry him!!

"Today I asked the woman of my dreams to marry me!" Josh said ... "She said yes!"

The two met when Josh was playing for the Astros' minor league team, The Hooks, three years ago ... and Maria worked for the team in marketing.

Maria says (ironically enough) it was a successful Twitter DM slide that started it all.

BTW ... the two just got an adorable puppy together a few days ago -- proving Hader's 2019 is looking a helluva lot brighter than this past year.

Nationals superstar Trea Turner's offseason is already off to a great start ... dude just tied the knot with his smokin' hot ex-gymnast star fiancee!!!

The 25-year-old shortstop met Kristen Harabedian at NC State years ago ... when he was tearin' up the baseball diamond and she was killin' it on the mat.

The two dated forever ... but decided to make things offish on Saturday ... with a dope wedding at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in D.C.

A bunch of Trea's Nats teammates were reportedly there ... including Bryce Harper!!!

The icing on the cake to the whole weekend? Turner just found out he made the MLB's Super Two cutoff -- which means he's all set for a raise of nearly $5 MILLION next season!!!

Congrats!!

The wife of L.A. Dodgers star Justin Turner claims her beloved miniature pinscher was savagely murdered by a neighbor's German shepherd ... and now she's suing the guy for letting it happen.

Kourtney Turner -- aka Kourtney Pogue -- claims her pet, Dior, was chillin' at her L.A. home on Nov. 7, 2016, when a "vicious and aggressive" dog named Sonny got onto the property and attacked.

Kourtney claims the dog's owner knew Sonny got violent with other dogs -- and when he went after Dior, the man did nothing to stop it.

In the lawsuit, Kourtney claims she was too paralyzed by fear to jump in and save her 11-year-old pet ... and by the time the mauling was over, Dior had suffered fatal injuries.

Kourtney is not only suing for vet bills and other costs associated with Dior's death -- she also wants damages for pain and suffering, claiming she "relied upon the emotional support of Dior for her well-being."

After Dior passed away, Kourtney posted an emotional tribute to her friend ... saying, "Eleven years wasn't long enough, and to be honest, forever wouldn't have been either."

She added, "You taught me unconditional love & we will never ever forget you."

Kourtney now has a new dog, Moonshine -- who was born 1 month after Dior's passing.

Billy Corben -- the acclaimed director behind "Cocaine Cowboys" and "The U" -- is about to debut his new film about Alex Rodriguez ... and warns the MLB star he ain't gonna like it.

The movie is called "Screwball" -- a no-holds-barred look at Alex's role in the Biogenesis scandal, when several players were accused of using performance-enhancing drugs.

A-Rod was banned for the entire 2014 season after an MLB investigation.

Corben tells TMZ Sports he's spent years working on the documentary -- and was actually contacted by Alex at one point in the process.

But, A-Rod allegedly wanted Corben to only tell his side of the story and things just didn't work out.

"He pitched us the idea," Corben said ... "But, then kind of ghosted us over the course of 2014, and then he realized he didn't have to tell anybody anything."

The movie is loaded with shocking claims and stories that Corben insists are 100% true.

Gotta think A-Rod will have a bone to pick with some of it -- but we'll see how this whole thing plays out.

The celebration for Mookie Betts might never stop ... 'cause on top of winning the World Series two weeks ago -- the Red Sox superstar just welcomed a baby girl into the world!!

The outfielder posted Tuesday he and his longtime girlfriend, Brianna Hammonds, had their first child together ... and said he couldn't be more pumped about it.

"Never knew what unconditional love meant or how it felt until I met this little princess," Betts wrote.

"Nov 6th 2018 is a day I’ll never forget❤️"

It's been a helluva past few days for Betts ... who won a 'ship on Oct. 28, celebrated like crazy at nightclubs, had an epic parade around Boston -- AND partied with Tom Brady and the Pats last weekend.

Things might still be gettin' better for Mookie too ... he's expected to be named AL MVP next week!!

Jon Stewart REALLY wants the Mets to be good -- and REALLY wants 'em to sign Bryce Harper -- but he's also been around long enough to know they'll bungle it.

"There's no way Bryce Harper is coming to the Mets," Stewart told us in NYC ... "It's not possible!"

Harper is reportedly looking for a MASSIVE new contract (some say $400 MIL) with his eye on several teams. But Stewart says fellow Mets fans shouldn't hold their breath.

"I'm sure they just signed a 14-year-old they're sure is going to be the next Bryce Harper," Stewart says ... "but is gonna turn out to be just another asthmatic with a bat."

Jon is one of New York's most famous die-hards ... but back-to-back seasons of fewer than 80 wins have him feelin' pretty down on the Mets these days.

Still, Jon says he's holding out a scintilla of hope ... because a strong left-handed batter would be DOPE!