MLB

Former President Donald Trump's "Fight, Fight, Fight!" chant became a rallying cry for supporters following his assassination attempt ... and now, it has made its way to America's pastime -- with an MLB player recreating the moment in the middle of a game.

During Sunday's contest against the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls smacked a double into right field and cruised to second base. As he turned to his dugout to celebrate, Walls paid homage to No. 45 by raising his fist and mouthing the same words.

The highlight quickly made rounds on social media ... with the MAGA crowd eating it up. Naturally, some people didn't care for it ... pointing out Walls should be more concerned about getting his batting average up -- which currently sits at .160 through 81 at-bats.

Barry Bonds has made history once again ... this time in an auction house -- where a pair of his game-used items sold for nearly a quarter of a million bucks!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... a jersey he wore during Games 3, 4 and 5 of the 2002 World Series fetched a whopping $158,600 last week -- the most expensive Bonds uniform ever sold at auction.

In addition, the bat Bonds used to smack his 60th home run during his record-breaking 2001 season closed at $86,620. If you can't do the math ... that's a staggering $245,220 for the pair!!!

It seems Ingrid Andress' lowest moment on the microphone is actually benefitting her career ... TMZ Sports has learned her music has seen a big spike following her disastrous national anthem performance at Monday's Home Run Derby.

Officials over at SoundCloud -- one of the largest music streaming services in the world -- tell us ... plays on her tunes have gone up around 50 percent since her debacle in Arlington, Texas.

Specifically, we're told her 2019 "More Hearts Than Mine" song has really caught the ear of listeners.

Ingrid Andress has slashed some of her upcoming shows in the aftermath of her National Anthem disaster -- and it appears to be directly related to her saying she's hitting rehab.

The country singer was set to perform at Nashville's Row One on Wednesday night and then at Denver's Globe Hall the following Wednesday -- but tickets are now unavailable, and the dates have been completely wiped from her website.

Ingrid's majorly scaling back her slate of upcoming performances -- by half, in fact -- 'cause the next time she's set to perform after these 2 nixed gigs is in Minneapolis on Aug. 3 ... and then in Maryland on Oct. 4.

Paul Skenes will be throwing 100 MPH on the mound at the MLB All-Star Game in just a few hours ... but he's already bringing the heat to the event's red carpet -- with Livvy Dunne right by his side!!

The Pittsburgh Pirates ace -- who's slated to start the mid-summer classic for the National League later Tuesday -- arrived at Globe Life Field in an all-white suit with a black tie. His LSU star gymnast girlfriend, meanwhile, turned heads in a beige halter top dress.

The duo was all smiles as they strutted their stuff in front of cheering fans ... and they even stopped to chat with media members -- where Paul made a joke that Livvy doesn't always pick out his outfits.

It seems like the entire internet is dunking on Ingrid Andress after her disastrous rendition of the National Anthem, but one person is still in her corner ... Roseanne Barr.

As you know ... Ingrid was relentlessly roasted Monday for her anthem performance at the MLB All-Star Home Run Derby, an incident that took a more serious tone Tuesday, when the singer revealed she was drunk at the time, and would head to rehab.

Even before that revelation though, Roseanne had Ingrid's back, telling TMZ people needed to back off ... 'cause she says that particular song is the "hardest in the world" to perform ... and RB actually tells us she thinks the country singer did just fine.

Move over, "J-Rod" ... Alex Rodriguez has an even better nickname for Mariners superstar Julio Rodriguez -- "The Perfect Player!!!"

The MLB legend bestowed the new pseudonym on the Seattle outfielder during a sit-down interview for Fox Sports Films' "Welcome To The J-Rod Show" -- a new documentary all about Julio's journey to baseball stardom.

Alex -- who played for the Mariners from 1994-2000 -- gushed about Julio as part of the special ... saying there aren't many athletes built better than the 23-year-old two-time All-Star.

Folks might've thought Fergie gave the worst National Anthem performance ever -- but a new contender has entered the chat for a chance at the title ... and her name's Ingrid Andress.

The country singer was tapped as the talent to belt out the 'Star Spangled Banner' Monday during MLB's special event ... and as soon as she started to croon, it became clear this was gonna be one for the record books, for all the wrong reasons.

Take a listen ... Ingrid was kinda all over the place with her notes in the performance, and yes it was pretty off-key too at various points -- so bad in fact, some players looked like they were about to burst out laughing.

Patrick Mahomes Sr. -- the father of NFL superstar Patrick Mahomes II -- has had yet another run-in with cops ... TMZ Sports has learned he was busted in Texas last month for driving on an invalid license.

According to court documents we obtained ... Mahomes Sr. was ticketed for the offense in Tyler, Texas at around 8:30 PM on June 29 -- less than five months after he was arrested for DWI in the same city.

The docs show Mahomes Sr. was given a warning for disregarding traffic signs in addition to the citation ... indicating he was initially pulled over for a routine violation.

Shohei Ohtani appalled some fans on Wednesday after he appeared to celebrate a stolen base with a lewd gesture ... but upon further review, it seems he was simply shakin' dirt.

Take a look at how the Dodgers superstar got up following a slide into second during the first inning of L.A.'s game against the Phillies in Philadelphia ... he sure looked like he was imitating some R-rated bedroom activity.

He ripped off his glove, put it in front of his junk ... and shook it repeatedly as he stared into his team's dugout.

Sean Burroughs -- the ninth-overall pick in the 1998 MLB Draft -- died from a fentanyl overdose.

The late MLB player's official cause of death is listed as fentanyl intoxication and his death has been ruled an accident ... according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.

As we reported ... 43-year-old Sean died back in May, when he was found unresponsive next to his car in a Long Beach parking lot outside his son's Little League baseball game. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Tampa Bay Rays star shortstop Wander Franco has been formally charged with sexual abuse and sexual exploitation against a minor in the Dominican Republic ... for a relationship he allegedly had with a 14-year-old girl.

Franco, who's now 23, has been under investigation by authorities in the D.R. since July 2023 ... after a complaint was filed alleging he had sexual relations with a teenager.

Wander, according to authorities, has also been accused of human trafficking.

The mother of the child is also included in the indictment ... with prosecutors claiming the mother was paid thousands of dollars by Franco to look the other way, and allow the relationship.

Minnesota Twins star Joe Ryan's crotch must've been on fire during Monday's game ... 'cause the pitcher couldn't help but douse his balls in baby powder right in the middle of the dugout -- and it was all caught on camera!!

The hilarious blooper went down during the top of the 7th inning of the Twins' road matchup against the Chicago White Sox ... when the broadcast followed Carlos Correa back to the bench after hitting a home run.

The intention was to capture CC celebrating with his teammates ... but as an added bonus of sorts, the shot went on just a bit too long -- and showed Ryan casually tugging on his waistband and unloading a bunch of powder on his privates as he had a quick chat with the shortstop.

Paul Skenes' first-ever MLB All-Star Game selection came with an extra surprise ... a pizza party courtesy of his loving girlfriend, Olivia Dunne!!

The star LSU gymnast made the trip to Pittsburgh after partying in the Hamptons for the Fourth of July ... and when she found out Skenes was named to The Show's mid-summer classic, she threw him an impromptu bash.

Livvy showed on her TikTok page that she copped some balloons, a bottle of champagne and some 'Za for the fiesta -- and Skenes was clearly loving it all.

Vanessa Hudgens is officially a mother ... she gave birth to her first child, and it looks like things went well, because she's taking her bundle of joy home.

Check out these photos of Vanessa leaving the hospital Wednesday in Santa Monica ... where a nurse wheeled her out to her car with the baby swaddled in her arms.

The guy in the hoodie behind Vanessa is the proud father, Vanessa's MLB player husband Cole Tucker ... who seemed to have the added duty of getting their mountain of luggage out to their ride.

A piece of Willie Mays' historic career is hitting the auction block ... and the winning bid could end up being a fortune!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... Mays' game-worn and autographed threads from the 1969 All-Star Game -- when Mays played for the San Francisco Giants -- are up for grabs via Heritage Auctions.

The No. 24 gray, orange and black jersey features the SF name on the front ... with a sweet John Hancock from the "Say Hey Kid" himself. It also has "Mays 42/3 1969" and the "W.A. Goodman & Sons" label on the front tail.