Baseball

Willie Mays, one of the greatest baseball players to ever step foot on a baseball diamond, died at 93, Major League Baseball announced Tuesday evening.

Mays had been living in an assisted living facility in the Palo Alto, CA area, according to the Giants.

"The Say Hey Kid" was 24x MLB All-Star, 12x Gold Glove winner, Rookie of the Year, and 2x NL MVP who patrolled the massive Polo Grounds center field for the New York Giants before the team relocated to San Francisco in the late-50s.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the new front-runner for the best bobblehead of the year ... as the team just announced the next Shohei Ohtani giveaway will feature his adorable pup, Decoy!!!

The team showed off the August 28 promotional item in an email sent out to fans on Tuesday ... which features Ohtani cradling Decoy in his left arm with a massive smile on his face.

It will mark the second bobblehead giveaway for the Dodgers superstar this season ... and his first one was a huge success. Over 50,000 fans filled Dodger Stadium for the matchup with the Cincinnati Reds last month -- marking the biggest attendance at a Dodgers game since September 2019!!

It was a rough day to be a White Sox supporter on Sunday ... 'cause as the MLB team got smacked by the Diamondbacks -- one of their fans got leveled during a fight in a festival pit too.

The crazy scrap happened at SeatGeek Stadium in Illinois during Summer Smash -- a three-day show headlined by Travis Scott, Playboi Carti and Chief Keef.

In video from the scene, you can see a young Sox fan in a grey Chicago jersey got into a tiff with a man in a pink shirt who had been situated on another side of a barricade.

Warning to all baseball fans: Please refrain from jumping onto the field and doing backflips in front of police officers or you will be tased and handcuffed on the ground.

No Joke! That's exactly what happened Tuesday night when the Cincinnati Reds went head-to-head with the Cleveland Guardians.

Check out the video ... it starts off relatively calmly with this dude hanging out with one of the outfielders on the field at Great American Ball Park in Ohio.

If Alex Rodriguez needed cash -- he's now got it in spades -- 'cause the baseball legend struck a deal with Michael Bloomberg, one of the richest people in the world, who has now joined A-Rod's Timberwolves ownership group ... as the men intend to buy an 80% stake in the team.

The Athletic broke the news on Thursday (and TMZ Sports has since confirmed), revealing the 82-year-old billionaire and former NYC mayor has agreed to link up with Rodriguez and his business partner, Marc Lore, in their quest to acquire majority control of the T-Wolves organization.

FYI, Alex and Marc bought a 40% stake in 2021, and ultimately planned to buy nearly the whole team (and the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, too) ... until 83-year-old majority owner Glen Taylor accused the men of missing a payment and called off the deal.

Chris Kirkpatrick of *NSYNC was totally Pete Rose'd in the middle of a celebrity softball game ... getting leveled at home plate and breaking his hand in the process -- but somehow, the dude kept playing through the injury!!

TMZ is told ... the musician was one of several big names invited to participate in the Rock 'N Jock fundraiser for Folds of Honor in Nashville on Monday -- and at one point in the friendly competition, CK proved just how tough boy bands can be!!

The moment went down in the third inning ... when local radio host Jeremy Loper rounded third base and headed for home.

Ippei Mizuhara -- Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter -- just showed up to court and pleaded guilty to two federal charges ... stemming from allegations he stole from the MLB superstar in order to pay off gambling debts.

The 39-year-old hit a Santa Ana, CA courthouse early Tuesday morning ... and was mobbed by a throng of reporters as he made his way to the proceedings.

He did not, however, address the media as he traversed through all the cameras.

6/4 7:20 AM -- Tucupita Marcano has been banned from Major League Baseball for life, officials announced Tuesday.

The league released a statement on the decision ... saying it was determined Marcano placed 387 baseball bets, including 231 related to MLB, in 2022 and 2023 -- totaling more than $150,000 on the sport.

The league added Marcano bet on the Pirates 25 times while he was a member of the organization -- although he did not play in any of the games due to his season-ending injury.

Josh Gibson is now officially Major League Baseball's all-time batting average leader ... and Albert Pujols couldn't be happier about it -- telling TMZ Sports the MLB's decision to integrate Gibson's Negro Leagues numbers into its record book is "a great thing for baseball."

Rob Manfred's org. made the decision to absorb the legend's stats -- as well as everyone else's who played in the Negro Leagues from 1920-1948 -- on Wednesday ... and Pujols praised the move when we got him out at LAX a day later.

He told us it was the "perfect time" for Manfred and co. to recognize the greats -- saying it showed big respect for those who performed during that era.

1:35 PM PT -- Mets manager Carlos Mendoza addressed the decision to designate Lopez for assignment ... saying the team has standards and his actions would not be tolerated.

9:48 AM PT -- Lopez is clearing the air on his comments ... saying he was really calling himself out, not his teammates.

"Who ever hear me I said teammate and what I said on the situation I been the worst teammate thanks media for make it worse," he wrote on Instagram.

A bad outing for Mets reliever Jorge Lopez got worse and worse as the night went on ... 'cause not only did he throw his glove into the stands after getting ejected, he also unloaded on his team in a post-game interview -- and now, he's losing his spot on the roster.

The whole meltdown started shortly after Lopez gave up a two-run home run to Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani amid the Mets' late-game collapse ... when he started arguing over a checked swing call during the next at-bat.

Lopez got in a heated argument with the third-base ump over the ruling ... which resulted in him getting booted from the contest.

The woman rumored to be expecting a child with Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis is actually welcoming a baby with MLB player Joey Gallo, TMZ Sports has learned.

The erroneous reports were made over the weekend ... with several irresponsible NFL social media accounts assuming Hayden Hopkins -- who was spotted alongside the team owner at a game in 2022 -- was pregnant with his first kid.

We got down to the bottom of things ... and as it turns out, there is still a sports connection to Hopkins' future baby -- just not what was previously indicated.

Shohei Ohtani is putting his historic contract to good use -- the Dodgers superstar just snagged a ritzy mansion in Los Angeles for $7.85 million ... a place formerly owned by comedian Adam Carolla.

Details on the deal were released this week ... with the L.A. Times reporting the Japanese two-way athlete is the buyer of the La Cañada Flintridge digs.

The pad -- built in 2013 -- is perfect for a guy like Ohtani. It's a three-story, five-bedroom, six and 1/2-bathroom home that comes with a decked-out kitchen, private movie theater, basketball court and gym ... as well as a pool and spa.

Corey Seager's late-game home run Tuesday night proved costly for at least one Phillies fan ... who straight up lost an entire plate of nachos because of it!

Here's the deal ... the Texas Rangers superstar was trying to claw his team back from down 3-1 against the Phils in the eighth inning at Citizens Bank Park -- when he launched a ball deep into right field.

As it came crashing down toward the stands, initially, it looked like it ricocheted off some railing ... leaving him with merely a double.

Cameron Brink's meet-and-greet with Hollywood's biggest names continues ... 'cause fresh off her run-in with Kim Kardashian, the L.A. Sparks star hung out with Shohei Ohtani at the Dodgers game!!

The 2024 No. 2 overall pick and her fellow rookie teammate, No. 4 pick Rickea Jackson, were VIP guests at Los Angeles' home matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday ... throwing out the first pitch and shouting the traditional "It's time for Dodger baseball" rally cry before the game.

Brink got some one-on-one time with the biggest name in baseball as well ... and when they met up, Ohtani couldn't help but acknowledge how they were on eye level.

Forget the first inning, Jimmy Rollins says Shohei Ohtani should focus on the ninth innings when he fully recovers from Tommy John surgery ... telling TMZ Sports he believes the Dodgers star's future on the mound is as a closer.

The 29-year-old, of course, has been a starter and a designated hitter throughout the majority of his historic, two-way career ... but after having his second major elbow procedure this past offseason, Rollins told us he thinks Ohtani should have a very limited pitching future going forward.

Specifically, the former Philadelphia Phillies shortstop says he would like to see Ohtani bat at the dish and then be used out of the bullpen once healthy ... in an effort to preserve his golden arm.

The jersey worn during one of the most memorable no-hitters in Major League Baseball is hitting the auction block -- Yankees pitcher Jim Abbott's game-used AND autographed threads from his iconic 1993 outing.

Abbott -- who was born without a right hand -- threw the five-walk no-no in a home contest against Cleveland on September 4, 1993 ... leading New York to a 4-0 victory and solidifying his place in the history books and inspiring millions in the process.

31 years later, the top Abbott donned for the game is up for grabs via Grey Flannel Auctions ... with a starting bid of $5,000.