Baseball

Chicago White Sox pitcher Mike Clevinger will not face discipline from the MLB following allegations he terrorized the mother of his child ... the league said Sunday it concluded its probe into the star, and will not be imposing any punishment on him.

The league initially opened up its investigation after Olivia Finestead made claims the 32-year-old had been violent with her during their relationship.

In a series of Instagram posts back in January, she claimed the baseball player "threw an iPad at me pregnant." She also said, "he strangled me." She alleged Clevinger "threw chew spit on our baby" as well.

The MLB said in a statement Sunday it spoke with Clevinger's accuser regarding the allegations -- as well as more than 15 other individuals -- during its investigation. It also said it reviewed "thousands of electronic communication records" in relation to the case -- but came to the conclusion "barring the receipt of any new information or evidence, the Office of the Commissioner will not be imposing discipline on Mr. Clevinger in connection with these allegations."

The league, though, did say Clevinger "has voluntarily agreed to submit to evaluations" by the MLB's joint treatment boards and has agreed to "comply with any of the board's recommendations."

Clevinger said following the MLB's announcement that he was "pleased" with the league's findings.

"I had nothing to hide and cooperated fully with MLB," he said. "I asked everyone not to rush to judgment until MLB's investigation was concluded, and I appreciate everyone who had faith in me, including the White Sox organization and my teammates."

Finestead said on her Instagram page Sunday, "Mike putting himself in drug, domestic & family violence therapy has always been my goal since the beginning and he refused to go when I tried to be there for him so I'm glad he's going now."

Get a *load* of this ... former Dodgers infielder Kiké Hernandez admitted he crapped on himself on the field during a 2020 playoff game!!

Hernandez's teammate, Justin Turner, who reunited with Kike in Boston with the Red Sox, asked KH for his most embarrassing moment during a Major League Baseball game, and he dropped a bombshell (yes, pun intended).

The Sox utility man told Turner he was taking antibiotics for a tooth infection a few years back, and one of the side effects of the medicine was ... you guessed it, diarrhea.

Kiké recalled the crappy incident, saying he was so pumped after the team got a big out in a pressure-packed situation in the National League Division Series (NLDS), he screamed, "F Yeah!"

"I was DHing and I thought I farted," Hernandez said to Turner. "I went out to lead off the inning. I struck out in three pitches."

He continued ... "When I went in the dugout, I went straight to the bathroom, pulled my pants down, completely sharted."

"So you're saying you misjudged a fart," Turner asked Hernandez. "Uh, no. What I'm saying is I s*** my pants during a game in the playoffs," Hernandez replied to Turner.

College baseball player Jatonne Sterling, a member of the Clark Atlanta University team, was shot and killed on Tuesday. He was just 20 years old.

The Atlanta Police Department said the tragic shooting happened less than a mile from CAU's campus in Georgia ... near a church.

According to cops, officers responded to the scene at around 1:42 p.m. ... and found Sterling suffering from a gunshot wound. They said he was "not alert, conscious, or breathing and was pronounced deceased on the scene."

Cops say they have launched an investigation into the shooting, but no arrests have been made yet.

CAU, an HBCU, and its athletics department mourned Sterling's death in a social media post, saying, "Gone too soon."

"Please keep Jatonne’s family in your prayers. 🙏🏾," the school added.

According to CAU, Sterling was a utility player on the baseball team who was majoring in computer science.

Before getting a baseball scholarship to play for the CAU Panthers, Sterling was a standout athlete at Chicago's Morgan Park High School ... where he won a championship in 2021.

His former high school baseball coach, Earnest Radcliff, told 11Alive he spoke with Sterling a week ago and looked at him like a son.

"I don't have any words to describe the hurt for this young man," Radcliff said. "No parent should have to bury their child."

R.I.P.

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Gavin Lux was deeply emotional while discussing his season-ending ACL injury with reporters on Tuesday ... calling the whole ordeal "heartbreaking."

25-year-old Lux suffered the devastating setback when his knee buckled while running the bases in the Dodgers' spring training matchup against the San Diego Padres on Monday ... closing the curtain on his 2023 campaign.

Lux was visibly upset while discussing the injury with the media just minutes ago ... fighting back tears as he spoke about it.

"You put in a lot of time and work and you really enjoy the guys in the clubhouse," Lux said at the Dodgers' facility. "The hardest part is just not being able to be on the field, for sure."

Lux says he felt his knee pop right away ... and the outside of his leg went numb.

"S*** happens, so control what you can control and crush my rehab and try to be ready for 2024 when it rolls around and that's kinda all you can do," he added.

It was slated to be a big year for Lux, who was going to be the Dodgers' starting shortstop -- a role he's wanted since he was a kid.

"I think every baseball player's dream is to play shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers. So, yeah, I think that's one of the hardest parts."

Lux said his teammates have been nothing but supportive throughout the process ... adding it just goes to show "how good these guys in the clubhouse are."

Lux will have surgery next week ... and is expected to be out 8 months.

Ross Stripling's first season in San Francisco ain't off to the best start -- he revealed Monday he accidentally went through the team's picture day with food in his teeth!!!

The new Giants pitcher posed for the photos a couple days ago -- but when they came back this week ... he noticed something wasn't quite right with his pearly whites.

In between two of his top incisors -- there was something black wedged in ... and it didn't take him long to realize it was actually part of his lunch that day!!

The 33-year-old, though, was a good sport about it all ... tweeting a photo of the mishap and laughing it all off.

"Went the entire picture day with a piece of pepper in my teeth and no one told me," he said, adding a crying emoji.

No word yet if the Giants will retake the photos for the guy, who signed with the team in free agency in December, or if they'll simply work some photoshop magic.

Terrifying scene out at Pittsburgh Pirates' spring training practice Tuesday ... a guest of the org. suffered a medical emergency on the field -- and needed immediate attention from trainers and doctors.

The incident happened while the man was helping shag fly balls in the outfield. According to the team, he suddenly collapsed, and officials rushed to his aid right away.

Reporters at the stadium described the scary scene ... with Post-Gazette Pirates beat writer Jason Mackey saying the individual needed CPR.

Pirates players, meanwhile, took a knee and looked on from the infield as the situation unfolded.

A spokesperson for the Pirates said the man eventually became "alert and responsive" -- before he was taken to the hospital for further evaluation.

Pirates practice ultimately resumed several minutes later.

Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton spoke to the media afterward about what happened ... and he praised his team's medical staff for doing an "unbelievable job."

Ex-Mets pitching coach Phil Regan has filed a lawsuit against the team ... claiming the only reason he was booted from his gig in NY nearly four years ago was because he's old.

The 85-year-old baseball lifer spelled out his allegations in a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports, alleging the age discrimination happened after he took over the interim pitching coach role in the middle of the 2019 season.

Regan, in the suit, says after he filled in for the fired Dave Eiland, the team saw immediate results. He claimed the staff's aces -- Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard -- all got better under his watch ... and he added that the team's ERA lowered significantly too.

But, he said he was not retained following the season ... claiming he was not brought back solely because he was 82 years old at the time.

In the suit, filed by high-profile employment attorney Matthew Blit, Regan said the team's GM at the time, Brodie Van Wagenen, even admitted to him that he wasn't coming back because he was "too old."

Regan also said in the lawsuit that Van Wagenen told him, "If we don't find the young pitching coach we are looking for, we will hire you back."

The Mets ended up hiring 33-year-old former MLB pitcher Jeremy Hefner to replace Regan in the offseason.

Regan -- who both played and coached in the MLB for six decades -- did not coach again following the '19 season. He's suing for unspecified damages.

"Phil is the first to crack jokes about his age," Blit said in a statement to TMZ Sports, "however there is nothing funny about a person being told that they are being passed over because their employer wants someone younger. That's discrimination, plain and simple."

Blit added, "Suing for discrimination in professional sports is extremely rare. In fact, Phil debated doing this for many years. But the hurt from the conversation that he had with Mr. Van Wagenen continues to haunt him to this day. He can hear the exact words playing in his head over and over. Phil knew this had to be done."

Chicago White Sox prospect Anderson Comás revealed this weekend he's gay ... saying he's hoping coming out now will help inspire others to "fight for your dreams."

The 23-year-old became just the second active MLB minor leaguer to reveal he's gay ... and in an emotional Instagram post on Sunday, he wrote, "I'm doing this cause I wanna be an inspiration for those like me out there fighting for their dreams."

"Please don’t listen to those stupid things that people say about us," he added, "fight for your dreams, believe in yourself and go for it."

Comás signed with the Sox in 2016 out of the Dominican Republic ... and began his career as an outfielder. In 2022, though, he switched to pitching -- and logged 11.1 innings on the mound for the White Sox's rookie league team last season.

After his announcement Sunday, the White Sox applauded him -- saying on Twitter they were "proud" of the prospect.

Team assistant general manager Chris Getz later said in a statement Comas came out to the team last year.

"I was very pleased that he was comfortable sharing with us in player development," Getz said.

Travis Scott's Cactus Jack Foundation hosted a celebrity softball game yesterday ... and he scored big by carving out loads of opportunities for Historically Black Colleges in honor of Black History Month.

The star-studded game went down Thursday inside Houston's Minute Maid Park -- home to MLB's Astros -- and raised awareness for the Waymon Webster HBCU Scholarship Fund and Cactus Jack HBCU Classic.

LaFlame put out the call and a huge list of famous athletes answered to help in the effort: 9-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis, Ken Griffey Jr., Reggie Jackson, Jose Canseco and his daughter Josie, Gary Sheffield, Andre Dawson, Shane Victorino and Nick Swisher. Plus, NFL and NBA greats Terrell Owens, Adrian Peterson, Robert Horry, Vince Young, and Tracy Mcgrady.

Travis' fellow artists came out too ... folks like Scarface, Bun B, Metro Boomin, Slim Thug, Sheck Wes, Trae Tha Truth, Paul Wall, and Dominic Fike.

Following the match (which T.O.'s team won), Travis and his family were presented with the Vanguard award by Daniel Moss, Executive Director of the HBCU Foundation, for their dedication to higher learning within the Black community and the scholarship opportunities they've provided.

To date, Travis' efforts have raised about $1 million for 100 graduating HBCU seniors ... who were all celebrated during Thursday's game.

Tim McCarver -- a two-time World Series champ who went on to become one of MLB's most famous broadcasters -- has sadly died.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed the news on Thursday afternoon ... calling the baseball legend "an All-Star, a World Series Champion, a respected teammate, and one of the most influential voices our game has known."

"All of us at Major League Baseball are grateful for Tim's impact on sports broadcasting and his distinguished career in our National Pastime," the commish added. "I extend my deepest condolences to Tim's family, friends and the generations of fans who learned about our great game from him."

MLB.com reported the cause of death was heart failure. He was 81 years old.

Tim got his start in the MLB in 1959, when he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as a teenager. The catcher went on to become a full-time player in 1963, before he earned his first All-Star selection in 1966.

In 1967, he finished second in MVP voting -- just behind Orlando Cepeda and just ahead of Roberto Clemente.

Tim won two World Series with the Cardinals -- but eventually left the org. for Philadelphia in 1970. He went on to play for the Expos and Red Sox, before finishing his career with the Phils.

He ended his playing days after the 1980 season ... finishing with a career .271 batting average, 97 home runs and 645 RBI.

Following his playing career, McCarver became one of baseball's most popular analysts for FOX, calling games alongside Joe Buck from 1996 to 2013. Prior to his work at FOX, TM also worked for NBC, ABC and CBS.

At CBS, he famously had water thrown on him by Deion Sanders over some previous comments he had made about the two-sport star.

In 2012, McCarver was eventually given the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award. He had just retired from broadcasting last year.

Cole Tucker clearly spared no expense when he asked Vanessa Hudgens to marry him ... 'cause the actress was seen rockin' her new engagement ring this week -- and it's HUGE!!

Hudgens was spotted with the bling while out grabbing a bite to eat with her family in Los Angeles on Wednesday -- and it ain't hard to see her MLB player beau picked out some fine jewelry for his future bride.

Sporting an oversized sweatshirt, sweats and slippers ... the diamond on the "High School Musical" actress' left hand stood out like a sore thumb -- appearing to be nearly the size of her knuckle!!!

Hudgens has only had the ring for a few months now -- the couple only got engaged at the end of 2022 -- but check out her smile, she's clearly loving it and the engagement life.

Hudgens and Tucker initially began dating in 2020 -- and have become inseparable ever since ... with Hudgens attending plenty of his baseball games, and Tucker spending most of his offseasons with her.

Just recently, Hudgens glowed about Tucker ... saying in a sappy Instagram post, "I'll stop the world and melt with you."

She added two emojis ... "❤️🥰."

Now batting for the Atlanta Braves ... Travis Kelce?!?

A former MLB scout tells TMZ Sports that very well could have been a possibility this year and beyond -- if only Kelce had opted to play baseball instead of football after high school.

Reggie Sanders -- who scouted for the Braves in the Ohio area as Kelce was starring at Cleveland Heights H.S. in the early 2000s -- tells us that in his several trips to see the teenager who grew up to be a Kansas City Chiefs star ... he was blown away by what he saw.

Sanders remembered the future tight end as a good hitter with blazing speed ... and noted the young Kelce, who graduated H.S. in 2008, was towering, too.

"He seemed like a big leaguer on a field of high school players," said Sanders, who worked for the Braves from 2002 to 2007. "He looks almost the same size today as he was in high school."

Sanders said after watching Kelce play, he was "certain" the guy would have ended up in the big leagues if he had stuck with it ... telling us, "I remember writing his report and I comped him to Josh Hamilton."

Of course, Kelce never stayed with baseball -- he opted to follow in his big brother's footsteps and play football at Cincinnati. The rest, as you know, is history ... and he'll be playing for his second Super Bowl championship next week.

You can't mess with Alek Manoah's fastball on the field, and you apparently can't mess with it off of it either ... 'cause the Blue Jays ace absolutely eviscerated an MLB Network analyst this week after the guy body-shamed him on live TV.

Anthony Recker, a former MLB catcher who's been breaking down players and games for the league's network for the past year, made the comments on "MLB Tonight" on Wednesday ... seemingly taking a shot at Manoah's 6-foot-6, 285-pound frame.

"Show me you're willing to put a little more time in the gym," Recker said.

Manoah caught wind of the remarks a few hours later -- and he was clearly pissed over them.

"Hey @Anthony_Recker my job isn’t to please you," the 26-year-old said on his Twitter page. "You are an outsider you don’t know me or my work ethic. What I do in the gym has clearly worked check the numbers, sucks you can’t say the same for yourself."

Recker immediately tried to backpedal on the comments, telling Manoah his remarks were taken out of context.

Manoah, though, wasn't buying it ... adding, "Youre just like everyone else. Love to talk and then wanna say sorry when you get called out. If you wanna see how an All Star, 1st team All-MLB, and CY young finalist trains. Come meet me [at the gym]."

The right-handed flamethrower then shared a bunch of videos of him getting after it in the weight room.

Former Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman later entered into the conversation -- slamming Recker for his comments as well.

Vanessa Hudgens and her MLB player boyfriend, Cole Tucker, have just taken their relationship to a whole 'nother level ... TMZ Sports has learned they're engaged!!!

A source close to the two tells us ... Tucker popped the question sometime at the end of 2022.

It's unclear when exactly the question was popped ... but the couple was in Paris in November -- a lovely place for a potential engagement to go down.

The "High School Musical" star and the Colorado Rockies utility man have been dating since 2020 -- and have been nearly inseparable since they initially became romantic.

Vanessa's been spotted at a ton of his baseball games over the past couple years -- and in Tucker's offseason, he's spent nearly all of his free time with the actress.

Just a few days ago, Hudgens proclaimed her love for the baseball player in a mushy social media post, writing, "I’ll stop the world and melt with you ❤️🥰."

Tucker's written similar messages to Hudgens on his Instagram too.

It was quite a 2022 for Tucker ... he started the year as a Pittsburgh Pirate before moving on to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

He ultimately signed as a free agent with the Rockies this offseason -- meaning he and Vanessa are now going to be spending a whole lot of time together in Denver in 2023.

Derek Jeter says he was slumping so terribly back in the 2004 season -- he turned to none other than a golden thong to get him out of his rut.

Seriously.

The former Yankees captain made the surprising -- and hilarious -- revelation while playing a game called "True Confessions" with Jimmy Fallon and Rita Ora on Wednesday night's "The Tonight Show."

Jeter was forced to pick one of two topics, and his two cohosts had to guess if he was telling the truth or not.

"I once wore a thong, in public, in front of thousands of people," Jeter said.

Both Fallon and Ora thought it was a fib -- but the ex-NY shortstop said it was, in fact, a real tale.

Jeter explained ... back in 2002, he got a new teammate who swore up and down that wearing a golden thong would get him out of any slump.

Jeter initially thought it was a load of B.S. -- but at the start of the '04 season, he hit an offensive rut that he had never seen before.

"Every day I'd walk in, [my teammate] would point at the thong," Jeter said. "So, finally, I wore the thong."

First pitch of his first at-bat? Home run for Jeets.

"Yes, yes," Jeter said. "That is true."

The game was said to be the Yanks' April 29, 2004 contest against the Oakland A's. Records show he was in an 0-for-32 skid before cracking a dinger off Barry Zito at Yankee Stadium.

As for who the golden thong's true owner was? According to a 2015 interview on the Dan Le Batard Show, it was none other than Jason Giambi.

"The golden thong is legendary," JG said during the '15 discussion on ESPN Radio. "It's never not gotten a hit."

By the way, if you're wondering about the hygiene of it all -- don't worry, Jeter said there was no thong-to-skin contact.

"I had shorts on underneath," he said. "I put the thong over the shorts."

Sad news for Cleveland fans -- famous Guardians bleacher drummer John Adams passed away on Monday, the team announced. He was 71 years old.

Adams was a staple at Cleveland baseball games for nearly five decades ... attending his first game with drum in hand back in 1973.

Adams gained notoriety for his heartbeat-esque drumming during Guardians home matchups ... and was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame in 2022, with a bronze instrument and bleacher erected in Heritage Park in his honor.

"For nearly five decades the beat of John’s drum was the heartbeat of baseball here in Cleveland," Guardians Senior VP of Public Affairs Bob DiBiasio said on Monday. "We are all saddened by John’s passing."

"His dedication, commitment and passion for our franchise, at both Cleveland Stadium and Progressive Field, was unmatched. John will forever remain a member of our team."

The team says Adams attended more than 3,500 games over the course of his fandom ... including three All-Star Games, 11 playoff series and three World Series.

He missed games in recent years due to ongoing health issues.

Unfortunately, Adams never witnessed a Cleveland baseball championship ... but he loved his team nonetheless.

"I do it for the players," Adams previously said. "I love the organization. It’s my way of drumming up enthusiasm for the team."