Baseball

Al Kaline -- an MLB Hall of Famer who was affectionately known as Mr. Tiger -- has died at the age of 85.

A family friend of the Detroit legend confirmed the news with the Detroit Free Press on Monday ... although a cause of death was not immediately known.

Kaline was an unbelievable baseball player for the Tigers from 1953-1974 ... making 18 All-Star games and earning 10 gold gloves.

The former outfielder logged 3,007 hits, had a career batting average of .297 and slugged 399 home runs. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980 ... and his No. 6 was retired by the Tigers that same year.

Kaline also has a statue at Comerica Park in Detroit.

"Such a kind and generous man who meant so much to so many," former Tigers ace Justin Verlander said Monday. "I hope you knew how much I enjoyed our conversations about baseball, life, or just giving each other a hard time."

"I am honored to have been able to call you my friend for all these years.  R.I.P. Mr Tiger, Al Kaline."

The baseball legend worked in some capacity with the Tigers up until his death ... holding various roles as either an announcer, coach or front-office exec.

#RIP

Fantasy baseball nerds, get your rankings out ... Oakland A's legend Dave Stewart tells TMZ Sports rookie Jesus Luzardo is going to have such a huge year, he's a Cy Young dark horse!!

"Luzardo, I think coming into this season obviously is the odds-on favorite to win the Rookie Of the Year," Stewart says. "And, I don't hesitate to take it a little bit further -- I wouldn't be surprised to see him as a Cy Young candidate."

If you haven't heard of Luzardo yet ... you probably should have, because the 22-year-old is arguably the top pitching prospect in baseball and appears poised for a monster first full season in the MLB.

In fact, in just 8.1 innings of spring training ball last month, before the MLB suspended play due to coronavirus ... Luzardo struck out 13 while walking 1 and only giving up 1 earned run.

When we asked Stewart about the kid ... he couldn't have loved the prospect's game more -- but says another rookie on the A's staff is going to impress as well!

"What's a shame is you've got also A.J. Puk," Stewart says. "So, you've got Puk and Luzardo, and they're going to be competing with each other for that Rookie of the Year."

Astros ace Justin Verlander is about to be donating a boatload of money for the next couple months to coronavirus charities -- and a lot of people have radically differing thoughts on it.

The pitcher and his wife, Kate Upton, took to IG Saturday to announce ... in light of the MLB continuing to pay its players for at least the next couple months -- per Justin himself -- he says he and Kate have decided to donate those funds toward COVID-19 relief efforts.

They say they'll choose different charities each week for each check, and announce them on their pages. There are tons to choose from these days, so no shortage of good orgs.

Now, time for some math ... 'cause Justin's donations are going to be staggering based on the numbers of his most recent contract with the 'Stros. He got signed to a 2-year, $66 million extension recently (good through the '20 and '21 seasons) and if you break that down -- it's about $634k a week. If he donates for two months ... $5 mil, more or less.

Probably more.

As for how folks received this very gesture ... a truly mixed bag, with lots of people responding drastically different depending on whose feed you check. If you hop on over to Justin's IG page, it seems to be nothing but love in his comments. Not so on Twitter ...

Bored as hell during quarantine?? Hey, it could be A LOT worse ... 'cause a Texas Rangers pitching prospect just suffered a nasty knee injury tripping on his son's toy while at home.

The MLB farmhand -- former Seattle Mariners 4th-round pick James Jones -- was staying at his place Monday in Arizona when he reportedly tripped on his kid's toy and landed awkwardly.

Jones ended up shredding the patellar tendon in his right knee ... and immediately underwent season-ending surgery.

It's a brutal break for the 31-year-old lefty ... he was expected to compete for a bullpen spot on the Rangers' roster this year once MLB resumed play after its coronavirus suspension.

Of course, Jones is no stranger to surgery adversity ... the outfielder-turned-pitcher has already dealt with Tommy John surgery in his career and bounced back from that.

Chicago White Sox radio announcer Ed Farmer -- who played 11 seasons in the Majors -- died Wednesday night, the team announced. He was 70 years old.

Details surrounding his death have not been revealed. We're working on it.

Farmer was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 5th round of the 1967 Draft -- and went on to pitch for the Tigers, Phillies, Orioles, White Sox and more. He made the American League All-Star team in 1980.

He eventually transitioned over to the broadcast booth in 1992 where he spent nearly 30 years calling games for his beloved White Sox.

During his life, Farmer suffered from polycystic kidney disease -- in which cysts cluster around the kidneys, sometimes affecting their ability to function properly.

On the field, you might remember Farmer's issues with Al Cowens.

Famer hit Cowens with a pitch in a game in 1979 -- breaking his jaw and messing up his teeth.

Farmer insisted it wasn't intentional, but Cowens didn't buy it -- and when they played against each other the following season, Cowens charged the mound and attacked Farmer.

Farmer filed assault charges against Cowens -- but later agreed to drop the case if Cowens would shake his hand. Wild stuff.

As for the White Sox, the team issued a statement about Farmer's passing saying, "We mourn the death of Ed Farmer who passed away Wednesday night."

"Farmer worked as a radio broadcaster for the Chicago White Sox for nearly 30 years, played 11 seasons in the major leagues, including three with his hometown White Sox, and was a strong advocate for organ donation."

WARNING: THIS RANT IS NSFW!!!

Ex-MLB star Aubrey Huff just LOST HIS MIND on people hoarding toilet paper during the coronavirus quarantine ... saying, straight-up, "I hope your a**holes fall off!!"

And, yeah ... that's the LEAST offensive thing he said during the 25-second diatribe.

Huff's rant all went down Monday because he said after trips to THREE different stores to try to find some wipes for his bum ... he couldn't snag any TP.

"My question is, how is there no toilet paper on the shelves but there's plenty of groceries, plenty of booze?" he said. "I don't get this sh*t!"

Aubrey concluded his tirade with a simple, "F**k you!!"

Of course, Huff's overreaction is pretty funny ... but toilet paper hoarding seriously ain't no laughing matter -- 'cause government officials have already said there's no need to stockpile the stuff despite the global pandemic.

So, just take what you need and get out ... for everyone's sake!!

The estranged wife of Orioles closer Mychal Givens claims the pitcher has abused her and made her life "a living hell" over the past 15 months ... and TMZ Sports has learned the MLB is aware.

Mychal, however, tells us the allegations are false ... and vehemently denies the claims.

Tiffani Givens -- whom Mychal has children with -- says on several occasions over the last year the MLB player has stalked her, sent her abusive messages and stole from her.

Tiffani -- who married Mychal in 2014 but is in the process of divorcing the pitcher -- spelled out a lot of the allegations in several Facebook posts ... and says cops have been involved frequently.

In fact, when we reached out to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office this week ... they told us officers have been called to Tiffani's home in Tampa, FL four times since March 2019 over domestic disputes.

The most recent one came just this week ... when on Wednesday, cops were called to Tiffani's house after she alleged Mychal broke in and stole items.

Cops tell us no criminal charges were filed -- they say since the two are married, it's a civil issue -- but Tiffani wrote of the incident, "He continues to be emotionally and mentally abusive to me and doing all of this today IN FRONT OF THE CHILDREN."

"Pray for me guys I have tried EVERYTHING to maintain sane in this 15 months of hell and this sh*t is still continuing how does one deal with this for so long the emotional and mental toll this takes on you is absolutely draining and NO ONE SHOULD EVER BE AN OUTLET FOR THIS TYPE OF ABUSE."

We're told the MLB is involved in the situation ... however, it's unclear if league officials are investigating the 29-year-old pitcher for domestic violence.

For Mychal's part, his reps tell us, "Unfortunately, the parties are going through a divorce and recently concluded a two-day custody trial. The false Facebook allegations have already been taken down, but warrant a few points of clarification."

"The police have never found wrongdoing by Mr. Givens. The police have never detained him, nor charged him with anything. Instead, he peacefully collected his personal belongings and left the residence."

"Also, during the recently concluded two-day custody trial, nobody made any allegations of abuse of any kind. Mr. Givens vehemently denies the false Facebook allegations. Divorce is always an incredibly difficult, personal matter for everyone involved. He is pleased the divorce is being properly handled by the court."

If you thought the quarantine would lead to more baseball families buying private batting cages to work on their swings at home (like we did) ... you thought wrong.

In fact, the baseball equipment industry is getting hit pretty hard by the coronavirus pandemic -- especially Jugs Sports, the company behind the famous pitching machines.

We spoke to a rep for the company who tells us March is usually the busiest time of the year for them -- they ship out machines to little leagues and other baseball and softball orgs around the country before the season kicks off.

But with the COVID-19 outbreak, we're told business has slowed in a big way -- a 30% to 50% DECREASE in sales from last year.

We spoke with other baseball equipment companies and they're also reporting a slow down in sales -- so far, it seems Jugs is having the toughest go.

Makes sense ... those Jugs machines ain't cheap -- they range from a couple hundred dollars for a basic model to a couple thousand dollars for the top of the line stuff.

WARNING: THIS VIDEO WILL MAKE YOU CRY!!!

NY Mets superstar Pete Alonso surprised a sick fan with a video message -- and the gesture was so heartfelt, it brought her to tears!

The story behind the footage is touching ... shortly after 82-year-old Kathleen Selig tragically learned she was given just weeks to live after a small cell lung cancer diagnosis, her granddaughter reached out to the Mets over social media.

18-year-old Ally Henglein explained of her "Gammy," "She is a diehard Mets fan and has been since the start."

"The Mets have helped her through the lonliest of times," Henglein wrote. "So much so, she has asked us to spread her ashes at Citi Field when the time comes."

So, how did NY respond? Not only did its best player make her a personalized vid ... new manager Luis Rojas also surprised her with a phone call -- and her reaction was priceless.

You can see in the footage ... the woman tears up with joy over seeing Pete's face -- and then is overcome with emotion when Rojas gets on the phone.

It's super touching ... and the Mets clearly couldn't have been happier to do it for their biggest fan.

As for the aftermath of the amazing moment, Selig's granddaughter wrote, "I’ve never seen her so overcome with emotion. I know she’ll fight to see opening day after all of this love and support."

L.A. Dodgers minor leaguer Connor Joe -- a former MLB 1st-round pick -- underwent surgery for testicular cancer Tuesday ... but the utility player says he's very optimistic about his recovery.

"The good news is that we caught it early, and cases like mine are very curable," Joe said. "I have started treatment, underwent surgery yesterday and am in my recovery process now."

Joe -- who was picked by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2014 MLB draft -- left Dodgers' spring camp a couple weeks ago with the ailment.

Connor revealed doctors discovered the cancer after a battery of tests ... but the 27-year-old is hopeful for a "quick and full recovery" after his operation earlier this week.

"I recognize the road ahead may be challenging and uncomfortable at times, but God is good and I am staying positive," Joe said.

Connor -- who's had a successful minor league career the past few years -- had a cup of coffee in The Show with the SF Giants last season, recording 1 hit in 8 games.

He was attempting to compete for a roster spot with the Dodgers at spring training this year before his cancer diagnosis.

Donald Trump and his buddy, Vladimir Putin, are leaving their mark on America's pastime, literally ... because the world leaders autographed a baseball and it's going up for sale!!!

Here's the deal ... a high-ranking Russian government official got Putin to put his John Hancock on a baseball in Russia at the start of the year, and then a member of the GOP got Trump to sign the same ball during a meet-and-greet before his March 2 campaign rally in North Carolina.

The baseball and it's unmistakable signatures are going up for sale through the memorabilia company, Moments in Time -- and they're hawking this slice of the Trump-Putin bromance for a cool $54,000.

It's unclear if Trump knew Putin's autograph was on the other side of the baseball when he put pen to cowhide ... but as we've reported, it's kinda easy to get Trump to sign things -- like his own articles of impeachment.

And, the price of Trump signed baseballs continue to skyrocket ... remember, they used to be worth only $200 tops before he was sworn into office. Add Putin to the mix, and you get a pretty big price tag.

Luke Voit didn't have to give away his number to Gerrit Cole for free ... the NY Yankees stud tells TMZ Sports the team's new ace coughed over a SOLID prize for No. 45!!

"He hooked me up with something cool," Voit said.

Luke rocked the digits the past two seasons in New York ... but when Cole came over on a 9-year, $324 MILLION deal in free agency -- he asked the 29-year-old first baseman for the uni.

Turns out, Voit says Cole didn't come empty-handed either!!

As for what he got, Voit -- who ended up switching to No. 59 -- tells us he can't say exactly ... but did joke, "I should've had him buy me a house or something. Or, a car."

We also talked to Voit about his superhuman strength -- remember, the guy benched a 145-pound barbell with ONE ARM in 2018 -- and he tells us he's the strongest guy on the team.

In fact, he says his 2-rep max on the bench press is 365!!!

By the way, Luke also spoke with us about his new children's book, "Luke's Baseball Story" ... and the story sounds SUPER-cool.

Baltimore Orioles star Trey Mancini underwent surgery Thursday to remove a cancerous tumor from his colon ... and team officials say the procedure was successful.

The 27-year-old left the team last weekend to deal with an undisclosed medical issue ... and in a statement, the Orioles explained doctors discovered the outfielder had a tumor during a colonoscopy.

The team added there is currently no timetable for a return to the diamond for Trey.

Mancini released a statement after the operation, saying, "The outpouring of love and support I have received has made an extremely tough week so much better. I have the best family, friends, fans, and teammates imaginable."

Trey added, "I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and kind words, which have furthered my excitement to get back to playing the game I love."

Mancini has been one of the bright spots for the Orioles the last couple seasons ... he's become one of the game's premier power hitters, slugging 35 home runs in 2019.

He's also posted a career .276 batting average ... and was expected to compete for his first-ever All-Star nod this season.