Baseball

WHY IS NOAH SYNDERGAARD LETTING ANYONE NEAR THAT BEAUTIFUL HAIR WITH A RAZOR?!?!!

Because "Vikings." That's why.

The NY Mets pitcher -- who earned the nickname Thor because of that godlike blonde mane -- was offered a role on the insanely violent History Channel show but it came with a catch ... ya gotta tweak that 'do.

Don't worry, it's not all the way gone -- as Noah put it, "Party on top, business on the sides."

Noah says his character's name is "Thorbjorn" -- he's a badass -- and he'll be featured on season 6. Chances Thorbjorn meets a gruesome death? Very high (everyone dies on that show).

Producers must be stoked Noah actually showed up for the shoot -- as we previously reported, they've been screwed over by big celebrity guests in the past.

In fact, Katheryn Winnick -- who plays Lagertha on the show -- says Conor McGregor bailed on filming a scene at the last minute ... forcing Katheryn and her team to rewrite the episode.

The Rockies were the WORST houseguests Tuesday night ... 'cause after they booted the Cubs from the playoffs -- they SOAKED their Wrigley Field locker room in bubbly and beer!!!

Colorado scored in the top of the 13th in the NL Wild Card game and slammed the door on Chicago in the bottom of the frame ... and then it was time for champagne and Budweiser.

The team sprayed down the whole locker room -- although they were at least kind enough to put up the tarps beforehand.

There was an MVP chant for Charlie Blackmon ... Nolan Arenado made sure to bring the tunes ... and Tony Wolters (dude with the game-winning RBI) had a great dance. Good times were had by all.

It's the Brewers up next for the Rockies in the NLDS. Series starts Thursday.

MLB star Jayson Werth got into it with a police officer during his DUI arrest back in April -- ultimately telling the cop he's not sure the officer had his best interests at heart.

Werth was pulled over in Scottsdale, AZ on April 17 for expired registration and, during the stop, the officer suspected he was drunk.

Werth tried to celebrity his way out of the arrest -- handing the cop an MLB "courtesy card" which shows he's a pro baseball player -- and told the cop, "We do a lot of work with you guys."

Didn't work.

When the cops tried to conduct a field sobriety test, Werth objected -- refusing to comply and telling the cop, "I'm just not sure I trust you."

The cop tried to explain that he was NOT misleading Werth and was only trying to do the right thing.

Werth replied, "A lot of people have gotten into a lot of trouble assuming that police officers have their best interests [at heart]."

That's when the cop broke out the handcuffs and arrested the baseball player.

As we previously reported, Werth was taken to a nearby station where he ultimately surrendered to a blood draw -- which showed he had a .12 BAC.

Legendary sportscaster Ernie Johnson has just announced he will NOT be covering the MLB playoffs for TBS ... after doctors diagnosed him with blood clots in both of his legs.

The 62-year-old says he was undergoing a routine physical when doctors found the clots -- which can be fatal if not treated immediately.

The danger with blood clots ... they can break off and enter the blood stream and, in some cases, can cause a pulmonary embolism, which is a blockage of an artery in the lungs.

Johnson says he understands the situation -- and he's treating it aggressively with blood thinners and compression socks.

Flying in planes can be dangerous when diagnosed with clots -- and since Johnson would be taking a bunch of flights in a relatively short time period, his medical team advised him it wasn't worth the risk.

"The best course of action is to just stay grounded at this point, not fly," EJ said ... "blood clots are nothing to be messed with."

While recovering and treating the clots, Johnson says he'll be preparing to cover the NBA when the season kicks off in just a few weeks.

A jersey Joe DiMaggio once wore when he beat Jackie Robinson's Dodgers in the World Series is hitting the auction block ... and it's expected to fetch A FORTUNE!!!

DiMaggio's one of the greatest hitters of all-time -- dude had a CAREER .325 batting average AND he won NINE World Series rings for the Yanks.

Well ... the jersey he rocked (and later signed) in Game 5 of the 1947 W.S. just hit Heritage Auctions -- and they tell TMZ Sports they expect it to sell for around $400,000!!

Why such a high price tag?? 'Cause Joe, sportin' his No. 5 jersey, blasted a two-run shot that ended up plating the winning runs in the pivotal game in that series.

The diamond Joltin' Joe was on that day was filled with legends too -- Jackie Robinson, Phil Rizzuto, Duke Snider and Pee Wee Reese.

Yasiel Puig doesn't seem too fazed about all the burglaries at his L.A. home -- he just went out and bought a bunch of expensive replacement stuff!

Puig and the Dodgers are in San Francisco to play the Giants in a hugely important 3-game series beginning Friday night ... but before Yasiel took the field, he hit Gucci and Louis Vuitton with some of his teammates, including Pedro Baez!

Of course, Puig could use some new stuff -- his home was hit 4 times in the past 2 years. In the most recent invasion, crooks raided his bedroom earlier this month while he was playing at Dodger Stadium.

The good news for Puig ... he's rich. Dude's in the middle of a $42 million contract.

In fact, back in November Puig told us he has "too much f**king money" to worry about burglaries.

So, Friday morning he proved it -- hitting some of the fanciest stores in San Fran and leaving with a ton of bags.

Mat Latos -- an ex-MLB pitcher who made $28 mil in the bigs -- has been ordered to stay away from his ex-girlfriend after allegedly slashing her tires and threatening to kill her.

TMZ Sports has obtained court docs which show Mat's ex-girlfriend went to authorities in Florida to report several incidents in which she claims Mat physically and emotionally abused her ... dating back to 2017.

According to court docs, the woman claims the first incident occurred back in Sept. '17 -- when Mat got angry and flipped over a bed while she was still on it.

"He tackled me to the floor, picked me up and slammed me on the couch where he got on top of me pressing his forearm on my throat."

The woman claims Latos then backed her into a wall and told her, "I'll f**king kill you."

"He then spit on me, put water in his mouth and spit more."

She claims the abuse continued in January 2018 -- when Latos locked her in her closet.

In April 2018, the woman claims Latos slashed her tires with a knife. She reported that incident to police.

In August 2018, the woman claims Latos got violent again -- but this time she hit back, elbowing him in the jaw. She claims a witness will back up her account.

The woman claims she's in fear for her life -- especially since Latos owns "multiple guns."

A judge granted a restraining order on August 28 requiring Latos to keep at least 500 feet from the woman at all times -- and it's been extended until October when the case is due back in court.

We reached out to Latos for comment. So far, no word back.

30-year-old Latos was a stud during his 9 seasons in the Big Leagues -- striking out more than 1,000 batters while playing for the Reds, Padres, Blue Jays and other teams.

It's IMPERATIVE for the NY Yankees to clinch home field for the AL Wild Card game -- so says Alex Rodriguez, who tells TMZ Sports why a road game could spell DOOM for the Bronx Bombers.

The Yankees are currently in the driver's seat -- up 2.5 games over the Oakland A's. If they keep the lead, the 1-game Wild Card round will go down at Yankees Stadium. If not, it's off to Oakland.

Enter A-Rod -- who we got in L.A. at the Jeep Wrangler Celebrity Customs Reveal Event ... he says a home game vs. away game is "night and day" and explained why having to travel across the country would put his former squad in a real hole.

"The Yankees finish the season in Boston," A-Rod points out ... "You don't wanna have to jump on a plane [and go] 3,000 miles and go play at the Coliseum, which historically has always been one of the toughest places for the Yankees to win."

The AL Wild Card game is right around the corner -- scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 3.

By the way, the last time the Yankees met the A's in the playoffs was in 2001 ... and it spawned one of the most iconic plays in baseball history.

Astros closer Roberto Osuna just caught a huge break ... with prosecutors dropping the assault charge in his domestic violence case Tuesday.

As TMZ Sports previously reported ... Osuna was suspended 75 games without pay by the MLB after he was arrested for assault in Toronto after allegedly roughing up his GF.

But, when the 2017 All-Star showed up in court Tuesday, he was let off easy -- getting his charge dropped and entering into a peace bond -- a restraining order-type agreement where he's not allowed to have contact with the alleged victim for the next year.

“I am pleased and relieved by today’s court decision," said the 23-year-old Osuna, who was traded from the Blue Jays to the Astros shortly before being reinstated by the MLB this summer.

"Now I can begin to put these allegations behind me and focus on baseball. I want to thank my family, teammates and fans for believing in me."

The Astros added in a statement, "The Houston Astros look forward to Roberto continuing his commitment to be a productive and caring part of our community."

"The Astros remain committed to increase our support regarding the issues of domestic violence and abuse of any kind."

David Wright is finally back ... and he's getting some serious praise from Tim Tebow!

"I think he's one of the best players to ever play for the Mets," Tebow told us while battling the rain in New York City.

35-year-old Wright was just activated from the disabled list after being sidelined in May 2016.

Wright suffered a bunch of injuries including spinal stenosis -- and some people thought he would never play baseball again.

But, Mets activated him Tuesday -- and he's scheduled to play Saturday when the Mets take on the Marlins at Citi Field in Queens ... the crowd is gonna go nuts!

Wright is expected to hang it up after this season -- and while he's probably not a Hall of Famer, some people would like to see his #5 jersey retired.

Jayson Werth would not go quietly into that good night during his April DUI arrest -- refusing to submit to field sobriety tests and forcing cops to get a warrant to draw his blood.

TMZ Sports obtained the incident report from the April 17 arrest -- in which the Scottsdale PD says Werth was pulled over around 10:45 PM after officers noticed expired plates on the truck he was driving.

Right when they pulled him over, cops say Werth threw a lit cigarette out the window -- and when officers approached the ride, he reeked of smoke and booze and slurred when he talked.

Cops say Werth tried to the play the MLB card -- literally -- handing them an ID card which showed he was a pro ball player. Werth then said, "We do a lot of work with you guys."

Werth initially denied drinking alcohol -- but later admitted to having a glass of wine. When cops asked him to perform various field sobriety tests, including a breathalyzer, he refused.

Werth was arrested and taken to a nearby station where he told cops he would not consent to tests of his blood and breath. So, officials requested a warrant to forcibly draw blood -- and it was granted.

Once notified, Werth told cops, "I have no recourse?" An officer essentially told him no and Werth ultimately complied with the blood draw.

When the test came back, the blood showed a .12 B.A.C. -- well over the .08 legal limit.

Werth's case went in front of a judge last week where he cut a plea deal in which he pled guilty to 1 count of DUI. In exchange, 2 other charges were dropped and he was sentenced to a diversion program, ordered to pay fines and fees totaling $1,600 and his license will be suspended.

Tommy Lasorda just turned 91 years young this weekend ... and now he's letting TMZ Sports in on his secret to living to almost a century old!!

We spoke with the Dodgers legend while he was out celebrating the big 9-1 at Rao's in Hollywood on Saturday ... and asked him the key to out-living the average American by 13 years.

FYI -- the U.S. life expectancy is 78. AKA, not great compared to other developed countries.

Shohei Ohtani can pitch ... he can hit ... AND HE CAN SAAAANGG!!!

Here's the Japanese Babe Ruth proving there really isn't anything he can't do ... serenading his Los Angeles Angels teammates on a team bus with a Japanese rendition of "Despacito."

OK ... it's not quite Justin Beiber or Luis Fonsi -- but the 24-year-old pitcher does have some tone ... and his teammates loved it!!

"Best thing he did all year!" one player yells after Shohei wraps up.

The impromptu concert appears to be part of a season-ending hazing for L.A. rookies -- and yeah, dudes that throw 100 MPH AND hit bombs still gotta participate.

By the way ... Shohei's expected to be sidelined from pitching until 2020 because of an elbow injury -- soooo, more time for singing lessons???

Meantime, here's the full Japanese version of the song. Enjoy!

Kanye West made the most of his Chicago homecoming week by capping it off with a visit to the mound with his son, Saint, and two tosses to kick off a crosstown classic rubber match.

Ye and Saint were assigned to throw out the first pitch(es) Sunday for game 3 of the Chicago Cubs and White Sox series at Guaranteed Rate Field. Saint pitched first (getting as far as he could) ... and his pops followed up with a throw that made it to home plate.

Just the day before, Kanye took Saint out for a boys night out at The Sugar Factory, where they appeared to be getting their nosh on. Looks like Yeezy didn't want to miss out on a mirror shot with his boy.

Kanye's been in Chicago since at least Monday, and his latest excursions come on the heels of his announcement that he's moving back to his hometown and "never leaving again." We're told he plans to move his Yeezy offices from Calabasas to Chi-Town ... but still maintain his properties in L.A.

If Dodgers slugger Yasiel Puig's house is hit by burglars again ... it won't be because of a lack of effort by cops.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... cops have significantly increased their presence in the San Fernando Valley area where Puig's home -- and so many others -- have been hit by thieves.

Puig's 4th burglary -- the last one was this week -- was the catalyst for law enforcement to kick things up to nab some of these bad guys.

We broke the story ... LAPD got video footage of the suspects breaking into Puig's home after one of them kicked the front door open. Cops believe there are 3 suspects involved in the latest burglary ... and say they're the same perps who tried to steal his stuff on August 30.

Incredibly, Yasiel had yet another intruder on his property Thursday night ... but the guy isn't believed to be one of the burglars. Puig has a Ring security system set up at his home to get alerts for any visitors, but so far it hasn't been enough to keep thieves away.

Major League Baseball says Chicago Cubs infielder Addison Russell has been placed on "administrative leave" in the wake of new domestic violence allegations levied by his estranged wife.

Melisa Russell went into detail in her blog Wednesday -- claiming she was first "physically mistreated" by her husband in the months after their wedding in 2016.

"I couldn't wrap my head around what just happened," she wrote ... "Why did he get so angry? What did I do for him to want to put his hands on me?"

She added, "As time went on abusive behavior happened more often."

Allegations against Addison first went public in June 2017, but this is the first time Melisa has gone into detail about it.

A rep for MLB says the league launched an investigation into Addison back then -- but Melisa wouldn't cooperate with officials ... so nothing really happened.

Until today.

"With the new details revealed in today’s blog post by Ms. Russell, Mr. Russell has been placed on Administrative Leave in accordance with the Joint MLB-MLBPA Domestic Violence Policy."

"We are hopeful that this new information will allow us to complete the investigation as promptly as possible."

For his part, Addison has previously denied committing any sort of domestic violence -- but he has not commented on the new blog post.