Baseball

Ricky Williams fue uno de los mejores corredores de su época, pero dice que tenía el potencial para dominar en un deporte completamente diferente. El ex jugador de los Miami Dolphins le comentó a TMZ Sports que podría haber sido una estrella si hubiera comenzado una carrera en el béisbol.

Antes de forjar su camino en la NFL, Ricky —cuyo nombre legal es ahora Errick Miron— jugó varias temporadas con los Filis de Filadelfia, mientras hacía malabares con su tiempo con el equipo de fútbol de Texas Longhorns.

Ricky, elegido en la octava ronda del Draft de Aficionados de la MLB de 1995, fue jardinero de los equipos de la liga de novatos y de la liga Single-A durante cuatro años... ¡¡y existen imágenes de uno de sus primeros partidos!

Así que cuando nos pusimos al día con Ricky la semana pasada, le preguntamos si alguna vez se había preguntado cómo habrían ido las cosas si hubiera cambiado su enfoque al béisbol ... y él cree que tenía las habilidades para estar con los grandes jugadores de liga.

"No diría que era genial, pero tenía mucho potencial", nos dijo Ricky. "Me encanta mejorar. Si me hubiera dedicado a tiempo completo al béisbol, habría sido un jugador de béisbol All-Star".

Entonces, ¿qué le llevó al fútbol en lugar del béisbol? Una razón bastante comprensible.

"Es una fantasía, pero la realidad es que soy una persona en la que 162 partidos... eso es demasiado para mí.

"El fútbol es intenso, pero tienes una buena temporada baja. Ese es más mi ritmo".

Ricky ganó el Trofeo Heisman en 1998 y llegó a correr más de 10.000 yardas en su carrera.

A ball boy broke the first rule of being a ball boy at the Marlins game Thursday ... grabbing a live baseball in fair play and chucking it into the stands -- costing his team a run.

The epic blunder went down in the sixth inning of Miami's tilt with the Los Angeles Dodgers in Florida ... after Freddie Freeman roped a liner down the right-field line.

The ball flew over first base and skidded into the outfield ... but for some reason, the ball boy in the area thought it had landed in foul territory.

The guy nonchalantly jogged over to the ball, scooped it up, and then hurled it to some fans in the crowd.

Of course, there were big ramifications for the act ... umps allowed Mookie Betts to score -- not knowing if the play would have been made by Miami's right fielder had the ball boy not interrupted.

It ultimately didn't matter too much in the end ... the Marlins got rocked, 10-0 -- and even Miami outfielder Jesús Sánchez came over to let him know it was OK.

Julio Urias was seen shoving a woman into a fence at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday before he was arrested ... multiple sources tell TMZ Sports.

The alleged incident happened at some point after the LAFC vs. Inter Miami soccer game.

We're told stadium workers at first broke up the altercation ... but our sources say Julio then went into a nearby car with the woman, where we're told things once again got heated.

Our sources tell us cops then came and got the two out of the car ... before arresting Urias for felony domestic violence.

The Dodgers star pitcher was ultimately booked into jail at around 1 AM PT Monday ... and after about four hours behind bars, he posted $50,000 bail and was released.

Urias had been having an up-and-down season for LA prior to the arrest ... posting an 11-8 record with a 4.60 ERA.

Tens of thousands of mini Julio Uriases will NOT be handed out to Dodger fans in a few weeks -- the team has elected to scrap its bobblehead promotion following the star pitcher's domestic violence arrest.

The Dodgers announced the move just minutes after the ace was placed on administrative leave Wednesday ... as the league investigates allegations he got physical with a woman at the LAFC vs. Inter Miami game Sunday night.

Sept. 21's game against the San Francisco Giants was slated to honor Urias' participation in the World Baseball Classic this past offseason ... with the collectibles showing him in a throwing motion in a Team Mexico jersey.

L.A. said in a statement the team will now hand out "select premium bobbleheads" to the first 30,000 fans at the ballpark instead of the Urias giveaways.

It's not the first time the Dodgers have elected to go a different route with a player promotion amid controversy ... the team did the same thing after sexual assault allegations were made against Trevor Bauer in 2021.

Dodgers star Julio Urias was arrested Sunday night for felony domestic violence in Los Angeles, TMZ Sports has learned.

Details surrounding the arrest are not currently clear ... but we know the 27-year-old starting pitcher was taken into custody at the LAFC vs. Inter Miami game (he was there to watch Lionel Messi) just after 11 PM, and transported to an LAPD jail, where he was booked around 1 AM.

Urias was listed at 6'1 and 240 lbs. on his jail booking sheet.

Bond was set at $50K ... and after 4 hours behind bars, Urias -- who is earning over $14 million this season -- posted and was released around 5 AM Monday morning.

It's not the first time Julio has been arrested for domestic violence. Back in May 2019, Urias was involved in an alleged incident at the Beverly Center mall in Beverly Hills. Urias was accused of pushing a woman he was with, however, the alleged victim told investigators she simply fell.

Ultimately, prosecutors did not charge Urias with a crime. Still, Urias was suspended 20 games by MLB for violating their Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Child Abuse Policy.

Urias, who will be a free agent after this season, last pitched for the Dodgers on Friday, September 1 ... a subpar outing for him, giving up 5 earned runs in 5 innings of work.

Julio, who won a World Series in 2020, has a court date scheduled for later this month.

Story developing ...

Morgan Wallen had a hometown surprise for Pittsburgh fans during his concert Thursday night ... Wiz Khalifa!

The concert was packed when Wiz, who grew up in Pittsburgh, appeared on stage and sang "Black and Yellow," as fans went wild. The optics were pretty spectacular ... flames shooting up in the air with yellow lights surrounding the venue.

Morgan and Wiz embraced as they left the stage. Seems Wiz is a Morgan fan ... he's hit up several of the country star's concerts.

If you checked our site earlier, you'll know the concert went down at PNC Park ... it's where some women got into a pretty epic porta-potty brawl the day before!

Several girls got so upset with each other while in line for a porta potty at Morgan Wallen's show Wednesday night ... they straight up beat the snot out of each other -- and the wild fight was all captured on video.

The incident happened inside the Pittsburgh Pirates' stadium, PNC Park ... and while it's unclear what sparked the melee -- it appeared a dispute over who could use one of the toilets is what set everyone off.

You can see in the footage, two girls were arguing next to a porta-potty ... before they began pushing and shoving each other.

Eventually, the two's tussle spilled into one of the open Johns ... and despite the gross conditions, they still continued to pound on each other.

One of the girls' apparent acquaintances then came in to break it up -- and that's when things turned way more violent.

The girl in the blue romper and white cowboy boots pulled one of the combatants out by her hair and threw punches. She then swung on another girl, before kicking her.

Ultimately, cooler heads prevailed.

Lionel Messi was back on the pitch in Florida for the first time in nearly a month Wednesday night ... and, as has become tradition, celebs flocked to see him -- including Floyd Mayweather and Alix Earle, who got VIP treatment at the game.

The new MLS superstar had maybe his quietest night since joining Inter Miami -- scoring zero goals in a 0-0 tie against Nashville SC -- but A-listers were spotted throughout DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale enjoying the GOAT in action nonetheless.

Mayweather and Earle, flanked by NFL superstar Jaylen Waddle, got prime seats and field access as guests of Miami mogul David Grutman.

Ken Griffey Jr. even showed up too ... though he chose to grab a media credential instead of suite seats -- opting to shoot the game with his camera instead of rubbin' elbows in the stands with the stars.

At one point, however, the MLB legend was able to link up with Mayweather -- who was also with friend Lionel Khoury -- sharing an embrace with the boxer and getting in a pic.

Unclear how much facetime all of the celebrities got with Messi -- the soccer player was, after all, busy trying to scrape out another win for his squad -- but everyone was grinning ear-to-ear throughout the night nonetheless.

They'll all have to wait a bit to do it again -- Messi's not set to play in Ft. Lauderdale 'til Sept. 9 now -- unless, of course, they want to fly out to Los Angeles this weekend to see him vs. LAFC.

Hurricane Idalia's trail of destruction across Florida includes a direct hit on Gov. Ron DeSantis' home, where a century-old oak tree came slamming down as his wife and kids were inside.

DeSantis' wife, Casey, shared the frightening news Wednesday evening, as the brutal storm made its way through Florida and Georgia -- she wrote, "100 year old oak tree falls on the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee."

What's worse, she says she was hunkered down in the home -- with their 3 young kids, Madison, Mason and Mamie -- when Idalia toppled the mighty oak!

Luckily, she says no one was injured, but it's safe to say it'll take a pretty big cleanup crew to get rid of the lumber.

The FL Governor was asked about the tree damage while giving the state updates on the storm ... reassuring folks his family was safe despite the close call.

He managed to find a silver lining for the fallen tree, though ... joking (we hope) his kids would now have more room to practice baseball.

Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. was accosted out of nowhere by a couple of fans ... getting knocked to the ground during his team's Monday night game against the Colorado Rockies.

The bizarre incident went down in the 7th inning at Denver's Coors Field when one fan dashed into the outfield and gave Acuña a huge hug.

Check out the video ... the hugger won't let go of Acuña as security guards run up to them and try to break it up.

Eventually, the guards pull the dude off Acuña ... but Acuña isn't out of the woods just yet.

Another fan sprints up to Acuña and bumps into him, causing him to fall on his butt. More guards respond and haul away the two rowdy men.

As for Acuña ... he told reporters after the game he was okay, but felt a bit scared by the fans, who wanted to take photos with him.

We've reached out to Denver PD to see if they got involved ... so far no word back.

By the way, the Braves trounced the Rockies 14-4 ... and Acuña had one of his biggest games of the year despite the incident, logging 5 RBIs.

Sister Jean is proof age ain't nothin' but a number!

The famous chaplain for the Loyola men's basketball team threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Brewers-Cubs game ... at an astounding 104 YEARS OLD!!

Jean Dolores Schmidt -- Sister Jean's government name -- showed off her fastball Monday night at Wrigley Field before the Chicago Cub's played the Milwaukee Brewers.

Sister Jean rocked her custom Cubs 'fit ... and tossed a better ball than 50 Cent and Conor McGregor.

No shade!

Of course, this wasn't Sister Jean's first time on the mound ... she's a pro! Last year she tossed the first pitch to celebrate her 103rd birthday!

This year's celebration isn't over just yet ... Loyola is hosting a block party on Thursday in her honor.

Sister Jean is known to be the life of the party ... first rising to fame nationally as the Loyola Ramblers went on an NCAA tourney run, making it to the Final Four, and Jean was their good luck charm.

In fact, Sister Jean was so popular, her bobblehead sold for over $300 on eBay.

Someone's trophy case just got a whole lot cooler -- Roberto Clemente's Silver Bat award from 1964 just sold at auction ... and it came with a hefty price tag!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the awesome trophy given to the Pirates legend for having the highest batting average in the National League during his tenth season has a new owner after being made available at SCP Auctions this month.

Bidding closed over the weekend ... and the final number came out to be $307,500.

It was quite the popular item, as the bids skyrocketed over the final days of the auction.

As we previously reported, the Silver Bat -- inscribed with "BATTING CHAMPION 1964 NATIONAL LEAGUE B.A. .339" -- was modeled after Clemente's 34-inch Louisville Slugger bat ... and is made of 55.6 Troy ounces of silver.

Even though the award is more than half a century old, it's in great condition and only has a few blemishes.

MLB star Stephen Strasburg is walking away from the game -- the 2019 World Series MVP is reportedly planning to retire at 35 years old ... amid a battle with a medical condition.

Strasburg -- the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft -- last played in June 2022 ... pitching just four innings after having surgery to treat thoracic outlet syndrome a year prior, which resulted in having a rib and two neck muscles removed.

According to the Washington Post, a press conference is scheduled for Sept. 9 before the Nats host the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Strasburg was one of the most-hyped prospects after a stellar career at San Diego State ... but unfortunately, the ace dealt with multiple injuries over the course of his career.

The report says Strasburg is still dealing with "severe nerve damage" as a result of his condition ... and struggles with everyday tasks like opening doors and lifting his children.

FYI, according to the Mayo Clinic, TOS is "a group of disorders that occur when blood vessels or nerves in the space between your collarbone and your first rib are compressed" ... which results in shoulder and neck pain, as well as finger numbness.

Roberto Clemente didn't only personify greatness off the field ... the Hall of Famer was a problem at the plate, winning countless awards throughout his Hall of Fame career, including the 1964 Silver Bat Award for leading the league in batting average!

Lucky for baseball fans, the award, which looks absolutely awesome, is now on the block at SCP Auctions.

FYI, the Silver Bat (different from today's Silver Slugger award) was given to the player with the highest batting average in both the National and American League during Roberto's era. Clemente won four NL batting titles with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Silver Bat was modeled after Clemente's Louisville Slugger bat. The 34-inch long award is actually made of 55.6 Troy ounces of silver (that's worth over $1,300 in silver alone). Despite being almost 60 years old, SCP says the bat is still in excellent condition with only a few blemishes.

The award is inscribed with ... “BATTING CHAMPION 1964 NATIONAL LEAGUE B.A. .339.”

"Clemente is one of the most prolific hitters in major league history, batting .317 in his career and reaching the prestigious 3,000 career hit milestone," SCP said.

"This history trophy wonderfully commemorates the season in which Bob had a career-best 211 of those 3,000 hits."

The 211 hits were good enough the lead the league. Clemente was also named an All-Star in '64 (one of 15 All-Star appearances), and earned a Gold Glove (one of 12 he won) for his spectacular defense in the outfield.

As great as RC was on the diamond, he was known just as much for his charitable work away from the field.

Tragically, Roberto died in an airplane crash while trying to deliver aid packages to earthquake victims in Managua in 1972. He was only 38.

The Silver Bat Award auction ends Saturday, but it's not too late to bid, however, it won't come cheap. The bat already has a bid of over $97k.

SCP expects the SB Award, which comes with a letter of provenance from the Clemente family, to ultimately sell for around $350k.

Justin Verlander was so pissed at Alex Cora during their game Tuesday night, he straight up told the Red Sox manager to "f*** off" ... and the heated dispute was all captured on a hot mic!!

The Astros ace had been dealing with some PitchCom issues during the second inning of Houston's tilt with Boston at Minute Maid Park ... and he needed a break from the action to get it all squared away.

But, when Cora thought he was taking advantage of the situation to avoid a pitch-clock violation ... he came out to argue -- and the two then got into it.

"You shook him off five times!" Cora could be heard telling the right-hander.

"I didn't shake that at-bat!" Verlander fired back. "I didn't shake that at-bat! F*** off, Alex!"

The situation was so unique, one of the game's announcers could be heard on the broadcast letting out a loud chuckle.

Ultimately, Verlander would go on to get the last laugh in the situation ... 'cause once he returned to the pitching rubber, he shoved -- going six strong innings while allowing no earned runs and striking out nine.

Ya gotta give this Little League World Series player an A for effort -- one kid tried to shrink the strike zone as much as possible during an at-bat on Tuesday ... by practically sitting in the box!!

It all went down during Mexico's matchup against Venezuela ... when second baseman Santiago Hernandez stepped up to the plate in the top of the 5th inning.

With a 1-0 count, Hernandez crouched down until he was basically in the dirt ... but unfortunately for him, his master plan didn't go according to plan, as Venezuela's pitcher threw a strike.

The announcers got a good laugh out of it ... wondering if the young athlete had practiced the stunt in the past.

As it turns out, the Little League rulebook specifically addresses this sort of thing -- stating a batter's strike zone is determined based on their normal stance ... displayed when they swing at a pitch or take a practice whiff.

In other words, Hernandez's crouching didn't change his strike zone one bit ... resulting in a called strike.