MLB

The Yankees fan who knocked out a man outside of a Phillies game earlier this week was called a homophobic slur just prior to the vicious smack ... new video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows.

In the footage, which was taken just outside of Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia at some point during the Pinstripes' win over the Phils on Tuesday ... you can see a man in an Aaron Judge jersey in a heated argument with a guy in a black shirt moments before things turned violent.

The two appeared to be talking about a potential fight ... as the Judge supporter screamed he'd "dust" his competitor.

The Philadelphia Police Dept. tells TMZ Sports ... it is aware of the incident and has launched an investigation.

"We are asking the victim and anyone who may have knowledge of the incident to come forward," the PPD added.

A New York Yankees fan got so upset with a guy outside of the Pinstripes' game in Philadelphia on Tuesday night ... he unleashed a violent smack that appeared to do some serious damage.

The heated interaction all went down at some point either during or after the Yanks' 7-6 extra-innings win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

It's unclear exactly how the altercation started, but you can see in video from just outside the stadium, an Aaron Judge supporter got right in the face of a man who was wearing a black shirt and red shorts.

Baltimore Orioles catcher James McCann was drilled in the nose by a 95 MPH fastball on Monday ... but incredibly, the guy shook it off and stayed in the game!!

The scary scene went down just minutes ago in the Orioles' tilt with the Blue Jays at Camden Yards ... as McCann was facing off with Toronto pitcher Yariel Rodriguez.

Check out footage from the game's broadcast ... on a 2-2 count, Rodriguez let a heater fly, but it got away from him -- and beelined right toward McCann's noggin.

Ex-Major League Baseball pitcher Reyes Moronta has died at just 31 years old ... with local reports stating he was killed in an ATV accident in the Dominican Republic.

The Mexican Baseball League and the Bravos de Leon -- Moronta's club up until his release on July 25 -- confirmed the tragic news.

Multiple reports claim Moronta suffered fatal injuries in a traffic accident while driving a 4-wheeler at his father's house in Villa Gonzalez.

12:09 PM PT -- The Dodgers just revealed Freddie Freeman will somehow play in Thursday afternoon's game. He's slated to play first base -- while batting third in the lineup.

Freddie Freeman's evening at the ballpark Wednesday turned into a night at a local hospital ... as his wife says the MLB star raced from Dodger Stadium to a nearby emergency room to be with their sick son.

Chelsea Freeman said in a post on her Instagram page -- just before Freddie and the Dodgers took on the Giants in L.A. -- that Maximus, the couple's youngest boy, needed a prayer after he had come down with what doctors believed was transient synovitis.

The ailment -- which causes extreme pain and discomfort in the hip -- was thought to have stemmed from a viral infection the 3-year-old contracted during the Freemans' trip to the All-Star Game in Texas earlier this month.

The battle of New York spilled into the stands at a Yankees vs. Mets game earlier this week ... as several of the teams' fans got into a wild brawl at Yankee Stadium -- and the chaos was all caught on video!

The skirmish happened on Tuesday night ... after the Mets beat the Pinstripes in Game One of their two-game Subway Series.

You can see in video filmed by a bystander ... roughly six people were involved in the melee -- including two women.

Rockies pitcher Cal Quantrill got so pissed at Reese McGuire during their game Wednesday, he shaded the Red Sox catcher for his past public masturbation arrest -- and his heated words nearly incited an all-out brawl.

The incident went down after McGuire hit a pop-up in the fourth inning of the two teams' tilt at Coors Field in Denver.

As Cal was walking back toward the Rockies' dugout ... he for some reason decided to go after McGuire -- reminding him colorfully of when he was arrested in 2020 for allegedly pleasuring himself in a car in front of a store in Florida.

Several fans at Sunday night's Dodgers vs. Red Sox game got into a wild brawl ... and the violence all appeared to start because a man poured his beer on a woman.

It happened at some point during L.A.'s win over Boston at Dodger Stadium ... when a couple people began jawing at each other from their seats on the third-base line.

You can see in footage from the stands ... a woman in a pink hat and a man in a grey shirt were in a heated argument -- when, suddenly, the woman seemed to pour something on the guy.

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.