New York Yankees

They used to chant "Reggie sucks" ... but Yankees legend Reggie Jackson says he holds no grudges against Boston Red Sox fans -- telling TMZ Sports he's got nothing but respect for the enemy.

"Have respect for your opponents when it's an opponent like the Red Sox," Jackson told us in New York.

"You're facing a great franchise with great players, 108 wins ... couple guys could be the MVP. It's a great franchise. I loved playing there."

"The whole stadium used to say, 'Reggie sucks' when I was there. [But I'd] hit a home run and they would stand up and clap," Reggie said.

"That's just the fans. It's just excitement. It's just the thrill of playing."

This is why Reggie Jackson is awesome ... doesn't take the heckling personally -- understands it's fun for the fans and liked to shut 'em all up with his play.

Then again, easy for Reggie to say ... his Yankees teams usually destroyed the Red Sox during his playing days.

David Ortiz is just as surprised as the rest of us by his old teammate, Johnny Damon -- telling TMZ Sports he's SHOCKED that Damon would root for the Yankees to beat the Red Sox in the ALDS.

"Johnny Damon?! That's some bullsh*t, isn't it! Red Sox all the way," Big Papi told us.

Damon and Ortiz were both a part of that special 2004 "bunch of idiots" team who broke the Red Sox curse and won their first World Series since 1918. Damon left Boston in 2005 and signed a contract with the rival Yanks.

So, when we asked Johnny who he was pulling for now that his 2 former squads are facing off in the American League Division Series ... and he went with the Bronx Bombers.

Remember, there was bitterness between Damon and Boston -- and in 2015, Damon said he wasn't on speaking terms with Red Sox owner John Henry.

Still, Ortiz clearly felt like there was enough Beantown love for Damon to pick the Sox over the Yanks.

Sorry, Boston ... Johnny Damon's making it 100% clear -- he bleeds pinstripes now.

"New York's my team," Johnny tells TMZ Sports. "The Yankees, that's who I want to win."

Damon says he still does have at least SOME love in his heart for the Sox -- a team he broke a curse with and won a World Series within 2004.

But, when it comes to Boston-N.Y. in the ALDS -- he's got his Yanks cap firmly on.

"I think [the Yankees] upset them," Damon says.

So, why's Johnny -- who played 4 seasons in N.Y. after his 4 seasons in Boston -- picking sides??

Johnny sorta explains -- when he left Boston, contract talks created some drama. But, with the Yanks, it's been nothing but good vibes from them since retirement.

Plus ... it doesn't hurt that he spends a lot of time in N.Y. these days.

It's IMPERATIVE for the NY Yankees to clinch home field for the AL Wild Card game -- so says Alex Rodriguez, who tells TMZ Sports why a road game could spell DOOM for the Bronx Bombers.

The Yankees are currently in the driver's seat -- up 2.5 games over the Oakland A's. If they keep the lead, the 1-game Wild Card round will go down at Yankees Stadium. If not, it's off to Oakland.

Enter A-Rod -- who we got in L.A. at the Jeep Wrangler Celebrity Customs Reveal Event ... he says a home game vs. away game is "night and day" and explained why having to travel across the country would put his former squad in a real hole.

"The Yankees finish the season in Boston," A-Rod points out ... "You don't wanna have to jump on a plane [and go] 3,000 miles and go play at the Coliseum, which historically has always been one of the toughest places for the Yankees to win."

The AL Wild Card game is right around the corner -- scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 3.

By the way, the last time the Yankees met the A's in the playoffs was in 2001 ... and it spawned one of the most iconic plays in baseball history.

Alex Rodriguez says he's still holding on to his Hall of Fame dream -- even though he knows his PED scandals cut against him -- explaining, "I want to get in, I hope I get in, I pray I get in."

The ex-MLB superstar opened up to Cigar Aficionado (he LOVES cigars) -- and talked about everything from his shot at Cooperstown to Jennifer Lopez and Derek Jeter.

On the Hall of Fame ... A-Rod says:

"There’s rules, and you have to follow the rules. I made those mistakes, and at the end of the day I have to live by those mistakes."

"Whether I get in or not -- and let’s be clear, I want to get in, I hope I get in, I pray I get in -- if I don’t, I think I have a bigger opportunity yet again."

"And the platform of my mistakes, the good the bad and the ugly, has allowed me to have a loud voice to the next generation, to say when in doubt, just look at my career. The other message is, maybe I’m not a Hall of Fame player, but I get a chance to be a Hall of Fame dad, a Hall of Fame friend."

Those "mistakes" he's referring to ... the TWO incidents involving performance-enhancing drugs.

In 2009, he admitted to using PEDs from 2001 to 2003 while playing for the Texas Rangers. And then in 2013, he was busted for PEDs and was suspended for the entire 2014 season.

Despite the scandals, A-Rod is 4th on the MLB All-Time Home Run list, more than 3,000 hits, 14-time All-Star and a 3-time AL MVP. He has some of the greatest stats of all time.

There's more in the C.A. interview (on newsstands Sept. 25) ... including his friendship with Derek Jeter.

"Derek and I are friends. I’ve known Derek since we were 15 years old," A-Rod said.

"Like all relationships, there’s ups, there’s downs, there’s ups, but where it sits today is where it’s always sat -- with respect."

"I have a lot of love and admiration for Derek, and he’s a 5-time world champion and what I remember most about our relationship is he’s one of the greatest competitors, consummate professionals I’ve ever been around."

Alex also spoke about his relationship with girlfriend Jennifer Lopez ...

"Jennifer, when you talk about power, and you talk about beautiful, both inside and outside. The way she mothers her twins, the way she’s with my daughters. There’s just so much admiration. And what I love about Jennifer is how genuine, how real, and how much she does for others, and how much she inspires others, men and women."

And finally, how would Alex Rodriguez like to be remembered?

Everyone's seen the video of President George W. Bush taking the mound at Yankees Stadium on October 30 -- in the wake of 9/11 -- but the man who caught the pitch is telling us what went down behind the scenes.

TMZ Sports spoke with Todd Greene -- the backup catcher for the Yanks that year -- who not only praised Bush for throwing a strike with the world watching ... but doing it while wearing a bulletproof vest.

The Yankees were taking on the Diamondbacks in Game 3 of the World Series -- the first World Series game back at Yankees Stadium ... and the scene was about as emotional as it could get.

Greene says the secret service had placed bulletproof glass in George Steinbrenner's private owner's box where Bush was watching the game ... and that was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to security.

Greene says the players were essentially on lockdown once POTUS arrived to the stadium.

So, what did Greene say to Bush when he caught the ball? Watch the clip and find out.

By the way, the Yankees won the game 2-1.

If you'd like to donate to the 9/11 Memorial Fund, click here.

The Yankees, Red Sox rivalry continues ... this time, Darryl Strawberry thinks Pedro Martinez was out of line when talking about the Baby Bronx Bombers.

It's all over a tweet Pedro posted on Tuesday, saying, "The Yankees don’t seem to have the energy of a winning team. I understand some key players are injured, but they don’t seem to be hustling out there."

We asked Straw (who famously played for the Yanks) if he thought Pedro (who played for the Sox) was just trying to motivate the talented squad -- but Darryl wasn't havin' it.

"I don't know why former players always have something to say about other teams," Darryl said ... "It's not really important for us to be able to say things about the teams. You just wish them well!"

So, how does Darryl feel about the Yanks this season? He admits he doesn't really "deal with baseball anymore" ... but thinks the Yanks are only scuffling 'cause of injuries.

We spotted NY Yankees legend David Wells out in NYC -- and asked if he had any advice for Luis Severino, the Yankees ace who's been struggling recently.

Wells told us he doesn't watch much baseball these days ... but did drop a few pearls of wisdom for the 24-year-old fireballer.

"S**t happens when you struggle ... find a way out of it!"

The clip is pretty great ... Wells talks locker room stories, golf and even gives props to our photog for dodging obstacles in the street.

Aaron Boone owes Matt LeBlanc some tickets ... 'cause the "Friends" star is the reason the Yankees manager can now speak to his ace pitcher without an English-speaking translator.

And, we're dead serious.

NY stud Luis Severino went on "The Jim Rome Show" Monday and revealed the sitcom -- and his favorite character, Joey -- is where he picked up most of his English after he came to the U.S. to play baseball.

"I love watching 'Friends,'" Severino says. "I think I learned a lot of English from watching 'Friends.'"

Luis moved to the States from the Dominican Republic about 5 years ago ... and admits it was all tough -- especially the language barrier -- until Ross, Chandler and the gang taught him the lingo.

Here's some real talk featuring Hollywood super heavyweight Aaron Sorkin ... a die-hard Yankee fan who's doing the unthinkable ... questioning the legitimacy of the career of BABE RUTH.

Yeah, he did it.

We got Sorkin out at Craig's and asked him if the current Yankees home run hitting tear should come with an asterisk ... because the new Yankee stadium has short fences in places.

That's when it happened.

"If there's no asterisk next to Babe Ruth for only facing white pitchers, then there can't be any asterisk on the Yankees."

It's a point that's been raised before, basically stating that segregation meant that Babe Ruth never faced the VERY best competition, because some of that competition was black.

Yankees nation rallied together for CC Sabathia on Thursday -- using their star power to raise $1 MILLION for the pitcher's charity organization ... despite a torrential downpour!

Stars like Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez and Victor Cruz teamed up with Aaron Judge, Amar'e Stoudemire, Saquon Barkley, Leslie Jones and Mariano Rivera to play in a softball game at Yankees Stadium.

And get this, Meek Mill's attorney Joe Tacopina also got the VIP treatment -- posing for pics with the likes of Giancarlo Stanton. Tacopina was actually named co-MVP of the game!

There was also a moment of silence to honor Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz -- the teenager who was stabbed to death by gang members earlier this month in the Bronx.

CC's charity -- PitCCh In -- focuses on helping underprivileged kids in inner city communities.

Clearly the beef ain't squashed between Red Sox owner John Henry and Johnny Damon ... 'cause the former outfielder tells us he's ROOTING FOR THE YANKEES in the renewed rivalry with Boston!!

It's an interesting stance considering Damon is a Red Sox legend -- a key part of the team that broke the curse and won the World Series in 2004. He later played for the Yanks.

Now, with the two teams battling it out for 1st place ... Damon says he loves the renewed rivalry.

"They're bringing back the rivalry that we had in the early 2000s and it's going to be a fun year," Damon told us.

But when we asked Johnny who he's pulling for -- that's when it got interesting.

"I'll be rooting for New York."

Remember, Johnny went on "Celebrity Apprentice" a couple years ago and said he and John Henry weren't exactly on speaking terms after contract drama in 2005.

Rudy Giuliani says his feelings aren't at all hurt he got BOOED ON HIS BIRTHDAY in Yankee stadium ... telling TMZ Sports the boo birds are a sign of affection in the Big Apple.

"I know Yankee fans ... they boo you when they love you," the former NYC mayor tells TMZ Sports.

We got RG out in D.C. and he told us he wasn't bothered by the booing one bit. He even laughed about it!

Yankees legend David Wells ain't exactly thrilled with the whole Robinson Cano scandal ... telling TMZ Sports he's disappointed over Cano's 80-game suspension.

Cano was popped for taking a banned substance -- though he INSISTS it was a prescribed medication and NOT a performance enhancing drug.

But, not everyone is buying Cano's excuse ... considering the substance he took can be used as a masking agent for PEDs.

So, when we saw Wells in NYC, we asked if he was disappointed.

"Of course," he said ... noting, "I'm glad I'm not playing anymore."

We asked to explain his comment ... "Because 5 innings is a quality start."

He's definitely throwing shade at the new generation of MLB players -- essentially calling them soft.

We also asked about the Yanks vs. Red Sox rivalry ... Wells says it's good, but not like it used to be.

"Now they hug when they have a fight!"

You think Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez can go 9 innings without a selfie? Hell no!

The power couple (along with J Lo's mom) hit up Yankees Stadium on Thursday night to watch NY take on the Boston Red Sox .... and you know they had to post the proof on social media.

Of course, A-Rod used to play for the Yankees ... but last night, he was bad luck -- the Yankees lost to the Sox 5-4, snapping the 8-game winning streak.

The good news ... Jenny's mom, Guadalupe, seemed to be having a blast at the game ... until the end.

How awesome is this?!

We just got Yankees manager Aaron Boone rushing to Yankees Stadium for Tuesday night's big game against the Boston Red Sox -- and he was cool enough to talk to our guy!!!

The big talk -- the rivalry ... which has gotten more intense this season for two reasons -- the Yanks and Sox have the best records in baseball PLUS the teams got into a brawl the last time they faced off in April.

So, with pride and 1st place on the line ... how does Boone feel about the situation?

"It's always big when these two teams get together," Boone said.

"They're a great team. We think we have a good team ... so it's fun to be a part of."

As for concerns that tonight could get violent?

"Nah, all good ... hopefully we'll just see a lot of good baseball."