Baseball

Johnny Damon says it's "unfortunate" that the NY Mets still suck -- but he's got a plan to help right the ship ... TIM TEBOW!!!!

"He knows how to win," Damon told us at CC Sabathia's charity softball game at Yankee Stadium.

Tebow's kind of on a hot streak for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies -- the NY Mets Double-A affiliate. He's on a 5-game hit streak and he's batting .375 over his last 10 games (his season average is .256).

But, Damon -- the former NY Yankees star -- says he thinks Tebow is ready for the big show. More importantly, the Mets need him!

"If they wanna sell tickets and have someone who knows how to compete to win on any given basis -- whether it's on TV, whether it's on the baseball field or the football field ...he knows how to win."

And, if you're thinking Damon's just saying that because he wants the Mets to fail ... not the case! Damon says he grew up loving the Mets and actually wants to see them do well again.

Yu Darvish -- who's in a $126 MILLION contract -- completed his first minor league rehab start this week ... and celebrated by spoiling BOTH TEAMS with a very expensive Ruth's Chris steak dinner.

The Chicago Cubs had sent the pitcher down to the Class A Affiliate South Bend Cubs to help him work his way back from a triceps injury ... and, Monday night, he took the mound with a bunch of guys who make WAY less cash.

In fact, most of the players only make around $45k per year (and that's if they're playing consistently for the entire year).

So, Yu -- being the generous rich dude that he is -- pulled out the checkbook and bought a massive spread of steak, salmon, sides and some bomb ass cookies for his team and the opposing West Michigan Whitecaps.

Total bill for it all had to be pricey ... a steak from the fancy spot runs about $50 a pop, while the fish costs about $30 a piece.

As for the minor leaguers ... Whitecaps reliever Max Green took to Twitter to thank Yu for the meal afterward.

"What a guy!"

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Roberto Osuna has been suspended for 75 GAMES without pay by MLB for violating the league's domestic violence policy stemming from a May 8 incident.

Osuna was arrested for assault in Toronto after allegedly roughing up his girlfriend -- but officials have been tight-lipped about the details surrounding the incident.

MLB launched its own investigation and concluded 23-year-old Osuna -- a 2017 All-Star -- violated the league's Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.

The 75-game suspension is retroactive to May 8 -- he has not played in a game since the incident.

He'll be eligible to return on August 4. He'll miss out on roughly $2.7 million in salary -- $35k per game.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred says, "My office has completed its investigation into the allegation that Roberto Osuna violated Major League Baseball’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy on May 8, 2018."

"Having reviewed all of the available evidence, I have concluded that Mr. Osuna violated the Policy and should be subject to discipline in the form of an unpaid suspension that will expire on August 4th."

Osuna says he will not appeal the suspension.

For the 2nd time in his life, ex-MLB star Milton Bradley has been convicted of domestic violence ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The 40-year-old former All-Star was initially charged with misdemeanor spousal battery stemming from a January incident at his L.A. home. He was facing up to a year in jail.

His wife told responding officers Bradley roughed her up and fled the home by the time cops arrived.

Now, we've learned Bradley struck a deal with prosecutors in which he agreed to plead no contest to domestic battery and, in exchange, he was sentenced to 36 months of probation.

He is also required to complete 52 weeks of domestic violence counseling and pay various fines and fees. Bradley was also sentenced to 2 days in jail, but got credit for time served.

As part of his probation, Bradley is also not allowed to own or possess a firearm.

Arizona Diamondback Jake Lamb got HYPED this weekend ... watching his little bro advance to the College World Series -- and the awesome scene was caught on video.

Washington rallied to beat Cal State Fullerton in 10 innings Sunday night ... using a sacrifice fly to score the winning run -- and Lamb's reaction was priceless.

FYI -- Lamb -- a 3rd baseman on the D'Backs -- used to play for the Huskies ... and now his younger bro, Dylan, is a freshman reliever for the squad. All of that added up to Jake going ballistic when the winning run crossed home plate.

"My little brother achieved one of my childhood dreams tonight," Lamb wrote of the reaction. "I post this video because I’m at a loss for words. I love you man @dylanrlamb."

Wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world?

Good, because a bunch of Milwaukee Brewers pitchers just recreated that famous "Dumb and Dumber" scene ... and it's actually pretty good.

Brent Suter (Harry), Josh Hader (Joe) and Jeremy Jeffress (Lloyd) reenacted the famous "Dumb and Dumber" scene to help the squad promote mini-replica bullpen cars ... and it's hilarious.

Lenny Dykstra claims he was essentially kidnapped by an erratic Uber driver -- and now, we've learned the driver's been hit with a criminal charge.

The night in question (May 23) is the same evening Dykstra was arrested in NJ for allegedly threatening to shoot the driver when cops say they also found Dykstra in possession of weed, cocaine and ecstasy.

The driver had claimed Lenny asked to change destinations in the middle of the ride and when the driver refused, Lenny flipped out and threatened to shoot him.

But, Dykstra says that's B.S. -- admitting he did ask to change locations, but it was the DRIVER who flipped out ... locking the doors and driving 100 mph in the wrong direction.

Dykstra says the driver eventually pulled up in front of a police station -- where Lenny claims the driver lied to cops about what really happened.

Cops investigated and according to court documents, the driver has been hit with 1 count of false imprisonment.

Lenny says he was afraid for his life and called 911 several times from the back seat. Lenny says when the driver realized he was talking with police, the driver freaked out even more.

Dykstra's charges have not been dropped -- but now, it seems both the driver and the passenger could go down together in what may be considered as one of the most bizarre Uber rides ever.

8:40AM PT -- Dykstra and his attorney Matthew Blit held a news conference this morning in NYC .. where they described the incident. Lenny says he was kidnapped by the driver and was in fear for his life.

"I literally thought this guy was going to kill me."

Glen "Big Baby" Davis has been formally charged with felony assault stemming from an alleged violent altercation in April and if he's convicted ... he faces up to 7 YEARS in prison, TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... the 32-year-old ex-NBA player was arrested last month after prosecutors say he beat the living hell out of a man outside a West Hollywood nightclub.

The alleged victim was hospitalized with several major injuries including facial fractures, a broken tooth and broken ribs.

A rep for the L.A. County District Attorney's office tells us the official charge is felony assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury ... and it carries a possible 7-year prison sentence.

Clearly the beef ain't squashed between Red Sox owner John Henry and Johnny Damon ... 'cause the former outfielder tells us he's ROOTING FOR THE YANKEES in the renewed rivalry with Boston!!

It's an interesting stance considering Damon is a Red Sox legend -- a key part of the team that broke the curse and won the World Series in 2004. He later played for the Yanks.

Now, with the two teams battling it out for 1st place ... Damon says he loves the renewed rivalry.

"They're bringing back the rivalry that we had in the early 2000s and it's going to be a fun year," Damon told us.

But when we asked Johnny who he's pulling for -- that's when it got interesting.

"I'll be rooting for New York."

Remember, Johnny went on "Celebrity Apprentice" a couple years ago and said he and John Henry weren't exactly on speaking terms after contract drama in 2005.

Jim Edmonds' wife either had the biggest breakfast anyone's ever had ... or she's 36 weeks pregnant.

Soooo ... congrats!?

Meghan King Edmonds is carrying TWINS -- and is ready to pop any day now.

She posted this pic with her daughter, Aspen, and included the caption, "Warning: Use protective eyewear when viewing this photo! 😎#36weekspregnantwithtwins."

Meghan is one of the stars of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" -- and Jim was a stud with the Angels back in the day.

Jim has 4 other kids from a previous relationship ... so his new twin boys will be kids #6 and #7.

Johnny Damon says he LOVES how President Trump has been performing since taking office -- and when asked for a specific reason ... he told us, "Well, do you like having more money in your pockets?"

The ex-MLB star was recently appointed to the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition --- and spent his Wednesday visiting the White House.

And since Damon's been getting a lot of online hate from anti-Trumpers on Twitter ... we asked how he's handling the criticism.

"That's all right," Damon said ... "Half the people aren't supporters, but he's doing a great job."

He also fired off his top reasons why he's still Team Trump -- from his tax plan to his pro-life stance.

The couple that does sweaty yoga together, stays together??

Seems to be the case with Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez ... who hit up a group Hot Pilates workout class at TruFusion in the Miami area -- and put in that work!

J-Rod seemed to enjoy it ... doing breath exercises, chopping moves, dancing and posing for selfies with everyone in the class.

They also threw fake money to promote J Lo's new song, "Dinero," with Cardi B and DJ Khaled.

The people in the class loved it -- and gave the couple an ovation after the workout. J Lo rewarded the group with a little dance number.

Here's a picture that's as adorable as the Miami Marlins are terrible ... both courtesy of Derek Jeter.

The MLB legend took some time away from his atrocious baseball team to hang with his wife, Hannah Jeter, and their baby, Bella Raine, in New York City.

Props to Jeter for stepping away from his job as the CEO of the Marlins for a little while to squeeze in some quality family time ... but ya gotta wonder when he's gonna start freaking out about how bad his team is playing.

The Marlins are 11.5 games out of 1st place in the NL East with no hope in sight (Fun Fact: the Marlins have scored the least amount of runs in all of MLB baseball).

Good news Mets fans ... you don't completely suck this year -- so says Carlos Beltran, who says his former squad has a real shot to make a run this season.

Of course, the Mets were absolute trash last year -- racking up a pitiful 70-92 record ... 27 games behind first place in their division.

So, when we saw Beltran -- a 9-time All Star -- leaving Capitale in NYC, we asked if there's any real hope for success in MetLand.

"I think that the Mets are going to be okay," Beltran tells TMZ Sports ... "I think that the season is early, I think that they have a lot of talent so there's no doubt that they have the talent to bounce back."

"The pitching staff looks great, the most important thing right there is to try to keep this guy healthy, and I think they have a good manager who was able to manage the starting pitcher in Cleveland and I think he's going to do a pretty good job for them."

No, this ain't a clip from 2005 ... Rafael Palmeiro really took a pitcher YARD in an independent minor league baseball game this week -- AT 53 YEARS OLD!!

It all went down Monday night in the fifth inning of the Cleburne Railroaders' tilt with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks -- when Palmeiro hit a BOMB off a pitcher 25 years younger than he is.

Remember, the former Baltimore Orioles All-Star signed with Cleburne earlier this month in what seemed like a PR stunt for Rafael to get some quality time with his son, Patrick, on the baseball diamond.

But, Palmeiro's been ballin' despite being about three decades older than everyone on the field, recording two hits in his third game of the season on Monday.

From one Oriole to another ... MLB star Adam Jones just bought Cal Ripken Jr.'s insane $12.5 million Maryland estate!!

As we previously reported ... Ripken's been trying to part ways with the 24-acre estate since 2016 -- initially asking for $12.5 mil before knocking it down to $9.75 milli back in April 2017.

The Hall of Famer found a buyer in the current Baltimore slugger ... and according to Seth Rosenthal of The Athletic, Jones -- a real estate enthusiast -- couldn't pass up the sweet deal.

Jones' new crib comes with 6 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms, a home theater, 10-person spa, private hiking trails, pool, baseball field, indoor basketball court, full gym and a private fishing pond!!

While the final selling price has not been made available, the 32-year-old has made nearly $100 million during his long career ... so yeah, just a drop in the bucket for Jones.