Los Angeles Dodgers

A Dodgers World Series would be a HUGE win for the entire country -- so says longtime L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Not that he's biased or anything.

We got Mayor V -- who was in office from '05 to '13 -- out at Craig's ... and dude was straight beaming over his Boys in Blue -- declaring them America's team and saying this is absolutely their year.

"It would be great for the city of Los Angeles. It's great for America. Everybody loves the Dodgers," Antonio told TMZ Sports.

Don't know about that ... but we do know one celeb who's on the bandwagon.

From one 'Long Beach legend' to another ... Snoop Dogg had HIGH praise for Dodgers hero Justin Turner after crushing a 3-run walk-off homer against the Cubs Sunday night.

Snoop is known for giving his hilarious commentary -- both positive and negative -- for his favorite sports teams. This time, he was lovin' the late-game drama from his fellow L.B. native.

J.T. took notice ... and thanked the rap icon for the shout-out on Instagram.

As the Dodgers and Cubs get set for the NLCS, let's take a moment to stand and salute the insane hotness of their significant others.

L.A. and Chicago have 2 of the best teams in baseball -- but these pics prove their players are waaay bigger winners off the field than on it (no offense, MLB).

In the blue corner, we got the WAGs of Justin Turner, Alex Wood and Kike Hernandez.

In the other blue corner, the ladies of Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Jason Heyward and many more.

Forget the Gatorade bath, the L.A. Dodgers hit Cody Bellinger with a TRASH CAN downpour Monday during their NLDS sweep celebration.

Unclear what was in the trash can ... maybe beer, maybe champagne, melted ice? Who cares -- it was awesome.

And after Yasiel Puig and Kenley Jansen doused the rook, it got even crazier.

Highlights included:

- Belly sprayin' champagne straight up Kenta Maeda's nose

- Kenley strappin' on the goggles before a team-wide bottle-poppin'

- Clayton Kershaw yellin' like a maniac ... and manager Dave Roberts declaring them the best damn team in baseball ('cause who cares about jinxes, right?)

Congrats!

With the Arizona Diamondbacks beating the Dodgers the last SIX TIMES they faced off ... we had to ask Dodgers owner Stan Kasten if he was afraid of facing AZ in the NLDS.

First off ... Kasten is hilarious.

Second, while Stan says he ain't sweatin' it -- he knows what the Blue Crew is up against.

"They're a tough team, they're a great team," Kasten said ... "Every game is gonna be exciting."

But you gotta watch Stan's reaction if he's just saying that stuff because he HAS to ... it's pretty funny.

They've lost 15 of their last 20 -- but the L.A. Dodgers should still be considered one of the FAVORITES when the playoffs roll around ... so says Bob Costas.

The legendary broadcaster was at LAX when we brought up the most depressing topic in Los Angeles ... how the once mighty Dodgers have fallen in a big way.

Good news Dodger fans ... the team's epic collapse ain't NOTHING to fret about -- so says ex-GM Ned Colletti, who assured TMZ Sports that everything was A-OK when we got him out in Beverly Hills.

Okay, so here's the thing -- the Dodgers are in the middle of an EPIC slump, losing 16 out of their last 19, and seeing a 20 game NL West lead shrink down to 9.

They've won their last 2 though, and we guess that's enough for Colletti to pop some champagne ... 'cause when we found him in the 90210 he told us, and all the fans, to just CHILL.

Pete Rose can uncross his fingers and stop holding his breath -- he ain't ever going to Cooperstown, so says his former teammate Johnny Bench.

The Cincinnati Reds legend -- who played with Rose for 12 seasons -- says "Charlie Hustle" broke the rules by betting on baseball back in the day and will have to live with the consequences.

Bench says he wishes Rose would make the Hall ... but he knows it ain't ever gonna happen, despite Pete having the most hits in the history of the sport.

Bench also talks about the L.A. Dodgers -- and says he absolutely loves this year's team. He does point out the squad's history of blowing it in the playoffs ... but explains why this team can break the trend.

Magic Johnson ain't mincing his words -- guaranteeing his L.A. Dodgers are going ALL THE WAY this year and winning the World Series.

Magic grabbed the mic at Clayton Kershaw's Ping Pong 4 Purpose charity event at Dodger Stadium -- and told everyone straight-up, "The Dodgers are going to win the World Series this year."

"This is our year."

He then turned to the injured Kershaw and said, "Get healthy, lead us."

No pressure, bro.

Could be a big year for Johnson -- since LaVar Ball has also guaranteed a deep playoff run for Magic's Lakers.

Even the guy who plays "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at Dodgers Stadium was affected by the death of Chester Bennington ... and honored the Linkin Park singer with a musical tribute on the stadium organ.

Just before the Dodgers took the field against the Braves, team organist Dieter Ruehle played his own version of "Numb" over the loudspeakers.

That's not all ... during the game Dodgers pitcher Brandon McCarthy used LP's "Figure.09" as his walkout music when he took the field.

While Chester was from Arizona, the band was especially big in L.A. -- where the founding members are from.

How does one of the biggest young superstars in baseball celebrate his birthday?? Boat party turnup in Miami with his teammates, of course!!

Cody Bellinger and his fellow Dodgers friends hit the deck for his 22nd birthday Thursday ... taking advantage of their extra time in South Beach following the All-Star break to down some brews on the water.

Justin Turner appeared to throw the shindig for Belly ... with Alex Wood, Corey Seager and all their significant others joining in on the fun.

The highlight of the party -- the baseball bros actually had Jeremih's "Birthday Sex" song playing in the background as Bellinger blew out his birthday candles.

"... Girl, you know I-I-I!!!!!"

An all-out chaotic brawl broke out between opposing fans at the Dodgers vs. Angels game Monday night ... leaving one fan with a bloody face.

It all went down in the pavilion section of Dodger Stadium when 2 fans started barking at each other ... but things quickly turned physical when they dragged each other to the ground and started throwing punches.

Other fans joined in by throwing haymakers and beers ... while a mother and her crying daughter try to separate themselves from the altercation just a few feet away.

Stadium security and off-duty cops broke up the fight ... but surprisingly, no arrests were made and the aggressors left the game on their own. A police report was not made for the incident.

Forget Rookie of the Year -- Cody Bellinger already has MVP chops ... so says L.A. Dodgers analyst/former Dodger Jerry Hairston.

"He is a legit MVP candidate," Hairston told TMZ Sports before Tuesday night's game at Dodger Stadium ... a 12-0 L.A. blowout that saw Bellinger slug home run #22 (his 10th in 10 games!).

Hairston knows what he's talking about -- he played in the bigs from '98 to '13 and won a World Series with the Yankees in 2009.

As for Bellinger ... he's on the most torrid HR pace for a rookie EVER ... pretty insane considering the kid started the season in the minors.

Hairston -- a third-gen MLBer -- told us he's "never seen a start to a career like this."

Even Cody's dad, a three-time World Series champ, can't believe what he's seeing.

Cody Bellinger is having such an insane rookie year with the Dodgers, his own father can barely believe the numbers ... but tells TMZ Sports, "It's really fun to watch."

We spoke with ex-MLB player Clay Bellinger -- who won 3 World Series during his pro baseball run -- and he tells us he's incredibly proud of his boy.

FYI, Cody has already blasted 18 home runs -- more than anyone else in the league since he was called up on April 25th. He's currently tied for 5th overall in HRs.

Ya gotta hear Clay gush about Cody's meteoric rise. It's awesome. Plus, Clay reveals the Dodgers legend who's really gone out of his way to help the kid.

The two L.A. Dodgers security guards who donned masks and stole a ton of gear from the team clubhouse have finally been punished ... and are officially banned from the memorabilia biz.

We broke the story ... Fernando Sierra and Juan Dedios Prada were caught on video in 2015 sneaking around Dodgers Stadium (in masks) in an effort to steal game-used bats, gloves, etc.

Officials believe the guys had been doing it for a while -- and made serious profits moving the stolen loot with the help of a 3rd man who sold it on eBay.

Now, we've learned the 2 security guards (who have since been fired) cut a deal in which they pled no contest to burglary and got 3 years formal probation.

As part of the deal, they are not allowed to sell any kind of sports memorabilia.

The stakes are high because they also got a 16 month suspended prison sentence -- meaning if they screw up, they go to the slammer.

Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda is "doing well" after after undergoing heart surgery Thursday to replace his pacemaker ... and is expected to return to Dodgers Stadium soon.

The 89-year-old is still in the hospital recovering from the procedure. He's not expected to be released for a few more days, team officials say.

Tommy's been hospitalized several times over the years -- but keeps fighting through his ailments to make appearances at Dodgers Stadium.

In fact, he attended the tribute to Vin Scully earlier this month.