New York Yankees

Baseball fans were all over Ted Cruz during Sunday night's playoff game at Yankee Stadium ... booing the senator relentlessly and flipping him off as he moved around his seat behind home plate.

The Texas politician -- a huge Astros fan -- showed up to the Bronx wearing orange and blue to cheer on his favorite team as it tried to punch its ticket to the World Series with a win over the Yankees.

Cruz was seen smiling before the opening pitch ... but throughout the night, he was NOT received well by fans near him.

Video of the senator shows as he got up from his seat during the game, fans jeered him over and over again. Several could be heard in the footage calling him a "f***ing loser" and a "racist piece of s***."

A photo of Cruz at the game also shows two fans even flipped him the bird from just feet away.

The 51-year-old kept his cool during it all ... smiling and waving to other fans in the crowd. At one point, he even took a selfie with a man in an Aaron Judge jersey.

Despite the scene, Cruz ended up with the last laugh, 'cause Houston beat New York, 6-5, giving them the sweep over the Pinstripes in the ALCS.

Cruz now won't have to travel far from home to watch his team play next ... the Astros host the Phillies in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday.

The Houston Astros embarrassed the New York Yankees ... and then they danced all over their graves -- bustin' out the brooms AND the booze for an epic locker room celebration.

The party all went down on Sunday night in New York ... after the 'Stros clinched the American League Championship Series, 4-0, with a 6-5 win over the Pinstripes.

Houston's players stayed on the field after the final out to receive their trophy at a ceremony in the middle of the Yankee Stadium diamond ... but then they hit the showers -- and turned up.

The guys grabbed brooms to signify their sweep over Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton ... and grooved to music with champagne well into Monday morning.

Everyone in the locker room got rowdy -- including 73-year-old Dusty Baker, who was spotted holding a bottle in one hand and the ALCS trophy in the other.

Jim Leyritz, hero of the 1996 World Series, knows a little something about hitting under pressure in the playoffs ... and now the catcher/infielder/outfield (Jim basically played every position) is telling TMZ Sports his secret.

"I always was taught that at a very young age from Pete Rose is if I treated every at-bat from day one til the end of the season, it didn't matter where it was, or what was going on around me, but that at-bat was the most important one, so I never got caught up in the moment, and that's what I would tell young players," Jim says.

"Don't get caught up in the moment. It's you against him. It's no different than your first at-bat at spring training or your last at-bat of the season. Concentrate on that at-bat and don't get caught up on everything going on around you."

"It's easier said than done, but that was my mindset."

You learned that from Pete, we asked.

"I have to thank Pete Rose, as a 14-year-old kid, as a batboy for the Reds, and he gave me that advice, and its helped me through my entire life in everything I've done under pressure, that I was able to perform under pressure."

Of course, Leyritz's is most known for his 3-run home run during Game 4 of the '96 World Series ... between the Yankees and Braves. Atlanta led the series, 2 games to 1, and held a commanding 6-0 lead through 5 innings in the pivotal game.

But, the Yanks scratched a few runs across ... and then in the 8th inning, Leyritz came to the plate, down 3, with 1 out and 2 runners aboard.

Then, with one crack of the bat, Leyritz blasted a 3-run dinger to left, tying the game at 6. The game went to extra innings before the Yankees ultimately won 8-6 in the 10th, evening the series at 2 games apiece.

NY went on to win Game 5 behind a dominant performance by Andy Pettitte ... before putting the Braves down once and for all in Game 6. It was the NYY first championship since 1978.

It was Jim's most memorable moment ... but not his only one. Just one year earlier, during the 1995 MLB playoffs, Leyritz blasted a walk-off, 2-run home run in the 15th inning of the 2nd game of the ALDS, putting the Yanks up 2-0 in the series.

Now, the Yankees will face their hated rivals, the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series ... with 4 wins the only thing separating the squad from a World Series berth.

We talked to Jim about much more relating to the Yanks-Stros ... and Jim even tells us who he thinks could be the breakout star of the series (as he once was).

The Yankees won't get any rest ... Game 1 starts today in H-Town.

The Cleveland Guardians' stay in NYC ain't exactly going smoothly ... the team was forced to switch hotels Monday night just hours ahead of their pivotal Game 5 against the Yankees in the ALDS.

The issue started with Monday night's rain out of what was supposed to be the deciding Game 5 vs. the Yanks ... but Mother Nature had other ideas.

Cleveland planned to either fly to Houston (win Game 5) or back to Ohio (lose Game 5). However, the game was rained out ... and when the team tried to go back to the hotel, they were told the place was booked, according to ESPN's Eduardo Perez.

Cleveland and the NY are tied 2-2 in the best-of-five series. The Yankees are leading the Guardians 4-0  ... with game 5 being played Tuesday afternoon.

But, it's not over yet ... the series has had its fair share of thrilling moments, including Cleveland rallying from down three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday night to win 6-5.

Bob Costas was left saying "Sorry" while working the Yankees vs. Guardians game ... after he accidentally called Cleveland pitcher Shane Bieber "Justin Bieber" -- and the moment is hysterical.

The legendary broadcaster made the mistake during the top of the 6th inning of Game 2 of the American League Division Series on Friday ... when he meant to talk about the 2020 Cy Young winner, but ended up name-dropping the pop star.

"Justin Bieber just threw his 84th pitch," Costas said before immediately realizing his mistake. "Did I actually call Shane Bieber 'Justin Bieber?' I vowed that would not happen."

Costas hilariously defended himself ... saying, "I'm sure that's not the first time that's happened in his life."

In fact, it's not -- Topps accidentally put Justin's name on Shane's trading card back in 2019 ... which led J. Biebs to shout out the pitcher on Twitter.

TMZ Sports even talked to Shane about the Justin confusion shortly after it happened ... and he said it was just "a matter of time" before someone made the mistake -- and he was right, thanks to Costas.

JB and SB have been tied to each other since ... and the "Honest" singer even has his very own "Not Shane Bieber" jersey.

Aaron Judge's 62nd homerun ball has gotten a ton of attention, and with a value of $2 million, justifiably so ... but it's not the only ridiculously valuable piece of memorabilia, the uniform, bat, cleats and batting gloves are also worth a fortune!

TMZ Sports talked to David Kohler from SCP Auctions -- one of the industry leaders in sports memorabilia -- about the value of basically everything but the record-setting baseball.

"Certainly the bat, the tool, the trade that he used yesterday to hit this historical milestone home run. That bat's worth a lot of money and the uniform he wore. Those are Aaron Judge's basically right, so I'm sure he's keeping those, but again if we had those at auction, in our firm, SCP Auctions, that's gonna probably bring, for a pair, probably a million dollars."

"Of course, his cleats that he wore, his batting helmet of course -- all those things are gonna bring big bucks for this very historical moment."

And, Kohler says if Aaron were to inscribe any of the items, they'd be worth even more!

As for the baseball, it's still the most valuable item from the historic game ... and worth upwards of $2 million.

"This baseball's worth a lot of bucks! Our estimate actually, with everything that's gone on in the last week or two leading up to the last game yesterday, our estimate is over $2 million for this baseball!"

FYI, Kohler's company has auctioned some of the most important balls in sports history ... including Barry Bonds' 500th, 755th, 756th and 762nd HR ball, as well as Alex Rodriguez and Mark McGwire's 500th HR baseball.

And, they'd like to add Judge's 62nd ball to the impressive list.

"We haven't talked to him personally yet, but we reached out to him," Kohler says, adding the situation is very much like a "lottery ticket landing in your lap."

Aaron Judge would love to make some room on his mantle for his 62nd home run ball ... but there's just one issue -- the fan who caught it ain't sure if he's willing to part ways with it yet.

The Yankees star hit the historic blast in the first inning of NY's loss to the Rangers on Tuesday -- giving him sole possession of the American League record over Roger Maris -- and Cory Youmans was the lucky spectator who ended up on the receiving end of it.

The guy -- who reportedly works in finance in Dallas -- boxed out other fans and snagged it with his glove ... and then he was whisked away by Rangers security guards in order to have it all authenticated.

In his only public comments after making the grab -- Youmans told a gaggle of media members at the stadium he hadn't thought about what he was going to do with it.

"That’s a good question!" he said.

Youmans has a few options -- namely, he can sell it for a fortune ... as experts like David Kohler from SCP Auctions say it's worth up to $2 MILLION right now!

Following the game, Judge said he would like to get the ball back if Youmans wanted to give it up ... but he told reporters that hadn't happened yet.

The 30-year-old, though, said there'd be no hard feelings if Youmans didn't return it.

Aaron Judge has made history … the New York Yankees superstar slugger just knocked his record-breaking 62nd home run of the year.

Judge, with just 3 games remaining in the regular season, led off the 2nd leg of a day-night doubleheader with a blast to left field at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX.

With the home run, #99 passes late Yankees star Roger Maris … who hit 61 HR’s in 1961.

In fact, several members of Maris' family were on hand to witness the historic moment.

Now, the million-dollar question (literally) is who caught the ball ... and do they trade it back to AJ? A memorabilia expert previously told us the ball could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars or more.

The record wasn’t just the Yankees' high mark -- it was also the best ever by an American League player ... that is until about 10 minutes ago when 30-year-old, 6'7" Judge stepped to the plate.

Longballs aside, Judge — who will be a free agent next year — has had one of the best offensive seasons ever. AJ has knocked in 131 runs, batting leadoff much of the time, all while batting .310. He also has 176 hits and scored 132 runs.

Of course, Sammy Sosa (66), Mark McGwire (70) and Barry Bonds (73) all hit over 62 dingers in the N.L. … but their careers (and the record) have been tainted by allegations of the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Because of that, many baseball purists believe the true home run record is now held by none other than Aaron Judge.

Harrison Bader took a page out of Stone Cold Steve Austin's playbook on Tuesday night -- chugging three beers at once to celebrate the Yankees winning the AL East title ... and it was EPIC!!!

The New York outfielder -- who's only been a member of the Pinstripes for a few weeks after being acquired by the team in a trade with the Cardinals last month -- was seen hitting the party trick in the locker room following NY's 5-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

The 28-year-old nabbed three Bud Heavies, cracked 'em all open, then proceeded to pour each one down his face. At one point, one of his teammates even threw ANOTHER beer into the mix!!

Following the initial chug, Bader let out a burp -- and then went back for more!

Of course, he wasn't the only Yank gettin' after it following the big victory ... the team's MVP, Aaron Judge, was also spotted in the locker room enjoying a face full of champagne.

Judge didn't hit any homers in the contest -- he walked FOUR times and still remains one dinger shy of tying Roger Maris' 61 mark -- but he clearly didn't care ... even opting to sip on a Bud later in the celebration.

No word when the guys finally wound down the celly -- but it had to have wrapped up sooner than later ... they've got a game Wednesday at 4 p.m. PT.

A new horror movie is coming out next week, and the studio found a creative way to let people know about ... sending background actors to live baseball games, front and center.

We're talking about Paramount's latest offering, "Smile," which drops next Friday ... and amid a lot of "Don't Worry Darling" chatter, it seems the mountain execs were trying to find a way to break through the noise and stand out ... and they chose MLB broadcasts to do it.

Several marquee matchups aired on big-time TV stations Friday -- including Dodgers vs. Cardinals, Mets vs. A's and Yankees vs. Sox. In all of them, there was at least one person prominently positioned behind home plate that held a super creepy smile the entire time.

It was perhaps most notable during the Mets game, where a woman in a highlight green shirt (with the word SMILE written across) was standing and smiling awkwardly ... that is, until a security guard told her to park it.

Another guy in green was also spotted at the Dodgers game, sitting in silence and holding a creepy smile for much of the game. Some of them stood up at times, but mostly sat still and just held the pose ... completely committed to the gag.

Another man, this time in blue, was seen at the Yankees game ... and he got up occasionally -- with viewers at home certainly taking notice and noting it was freaking them out.

Unclear if there were more actors at other games, but these are the ones that people paid close attention to. Of course, this is good old-fashioned viral marketing ... and it would appear it worked, 'cause the stunt is getting some media coverage.

"Smile" is going up against Billy Eichner's rom-com, "Bros," next week ... not to mention any spillover from 'DWD' and other recent horror releases like "Barbarian" and "Pearl." Plus, "Avatar" is back in theaters, and it already seems to be doing well -- so tough competition.

Paramount's smiling through it all though, especially at the ballpark!

Barry Bonds is firmly in the corner of NY Yankees star Aaron Judge as he chases the single-season homerun record once set by him ... saying he wants him to break his record!

“The way he swings, he might as well hit one a day and get past me. I don’t care. Why not?” the former Giants slugger told Sportico.

Bonds -- who hit 73 home runs during the 2001 season, setting the MLB record for most ever in a single season -- also told the outlet he wants to see No.99 in a Giants uniform next season.

“I hope he signs here,” Bonds said. “Can it happen? I don’t know. It depends on what the Yankee payroll is. But we would love to have him, I’ll tell you that.”

The Yankees outfielder has been the best player in the Majors all season -- leading MLB in nearly every offensive statistical category -- and making a serious push for the Triple Crown.

FYI, the Triple Crown is super rare and means a player led the league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in (RBI).

Judge tied Babe Ruth's single-season high the other night when he hit his 60th homerun against the Pirates -- pulling him within a dinger of tying Roger Maris' record of 61 homers in one season.

Judge -- who turned down a seven-year, $213.5 million extension from the Yankees -- will be a free agent at the end of the season, and Bonds wants him in a Giants uni.

“We in the Bay Area -- he’s a Bay Area boy -- we hope they don’t sign him, and we can get him,” Bonds said. “I would. He’s that good.”

As Judge closes in on Maris and chases Barry, he recently said Bonds hitting 73 home runs in a season is the record in his eyes, despite others who question the legitimacy of it.

"No matter what people want to say about that era of baseball, for me, they went out there and hit 73 homers and 70 homers, and that to me is what the record is."

Aaron Judge is on the cusp of making history -- just a couple blasts away from setting both Yankees and American League home run records -- and we're told those baseballs will be worth a fortune at auction!

The 30-year-old NYY slugger leads all MLB with 60 dingers, and no one else is even close (Yordan Alvarez has 39 HR's). More importantly, the 6'7" centerfielder is knocking on history's door ...and the baseballs might as well be flying lottery tickets, according to David Kohler from SCP Auctions.

On Tuesday night, Judge tied Babe Ruth's all-time single-season high (60 HR's) -- which the Bambino set in 1927 -- a ball that Kohler estimates to be worth between $100-150K!

The fan who caught 60 gave it back to Judge in exchange for a signed bat and ball. His buddiesd also got signed baseballs. Good trade?

The next home run's big -- number 61 -- it'll tie the all-time Yankees and AL record ... set by Roger Maris in, you guessed it, 1961.

That ball, according to Kohler, will be worth between $200-250K!

Home run number 62 will set the new record Yankees and AL record, and could fetch over $500K at auction.

And, for the last HR Judge blasts, whatever number that happens to be ... that ball could be worth over $1 million!

Making the balls even more valuable ... the sports memorabilia market's on fire, and New York Yankees' merch traditionally does great on the block.

The Yankees have 15 games left in the regular season ... setting Judge on a trajectory to comfortably surpass Maris.

Judge has hit a home run a little better than once every 9 at-bats this season ... meaning AJ's on pace to finish with around 66 HR's.

The all-time single-season record is a bit convoluted. In 2001, Barry Bonds hit an astounding 73 dingers ... but, was he cheating?

Same deal with Sammy Sosa (66) and Mark McGwire (70) in 1998. Many credit the home run race with bringing fans back to baseball after the strike. However, Sosa and McGwire are both alleged steroid users.

SCP has auctioned off some of the most desirable home run baseballs ever hit ... including Bonds' all-time record-setting 756th HR ball ($752,467), the 755th ball ($186,750) that tied the legendary Hank Aaron, and the 762nd HR ball ($362,000), the all-time career record.

They've also unloaded Alex Rodriguez ($103,579), McGwire ($50,162), and Bond's 500th HR balls ($303,277).

Obviously, outside of Roger, home run records are a bit tainted ... and that's why many people believe if Aaron hits 62 plus, he'll be recognized as the true single-season home run record holder.

An MLB fan learned the hard way on Monday night it's best to stay in your seat at Yankee Stadium -- 'cause as soon as he left it to take a jaunt on the field ... he was DECKED by security guards.

The moment all happened in the seventh inning of the big Yankees vs. Mets tilt -- when a man thought it'd be fun to hop an outfield wall and attempt to bother NY right fielder Starling Marte.

But, the dude didn't get very far at all -- witnesses at the game say he was pummeled by authorities almost as soon as his feet hit the grass.

Video taken from the outfield seats shows the guy was then manhandled by guards -- who threw him around like a ragdoll.

Eventually, the guy was cuffed and escorted off the turf. No word yet if he was arrested -- we've reached out to cops, but so far, we haven't heard back yet.

The guy ended up missing a pretty good ending to the game -- the Yankees went on to close the door on the Mets, 4-2.

Dr. Anthony Fauci's no longer havin' trouble with the curve -- 'cause after he epically botched his first pitch effort in D.C. in 2020, he was able to redeem himself with a respectable toss at the Mariners game on Tuesday night.

Fauci took the bump just before the M's played against his childhood favorite Yankees in Seattle -- and while he didn't exactly look like Gerrit Cole out there, the pitch was MUCH better than his first go-around two years ago.

You'll recall, at that Yanks vs. Nationals game in Washington, Fauci threw a ball so poorly, it landed some 10-15 feet away from home plate. The COVID-19 expert was dragged for the throw, with social distancing jokes continuously flying following the terrible heave.

But, Fauci has clearly worked on his arm since -- and was nearly able to throw a lollipop strike to Mariners manager Scott Servais at T-Mobile Park.

Fauci gave a fist pump following the toss -- and Servais was stoked for him, congratulating him, and then getting him to sign his mask!

As for how the doc was received at the game ... there was a smattering of boos from the crowd, but overall, it seemed to be a pleasant evening for Fauci -- who got to see the home team win a 1-0, 13-inning thriller.

No hard feelings, Aaron Judge -- but Roger Maris' son is making it clear to TMZ Sports he'd prefer it if his father's historic home run record was still standing at the end of this year.

Of course, the Yankees superstar is on a torrid HR streak right now -- and appears to be poised to surpass the 61-dinger mark that Maris set way back in 1961.

But, Kevin Maris tells us if Judge were to somehow fall short of the number -- which still stands as the American League record -- he wouldn't exactly feel horrible about it.

"I don't know if anybody likes their record broken at the end of the day," Kevin said, candidly. "But it's nice to see him giving it a good run. Records are made to be broken at some point. If it happens to be this year, you've got to tip your hat to the guy."

As of Friday night, before NY took on the Cardinals, Judge had an astounding 43 home runs on his resume. And, with more than 50 games left, most think the 30-year-old will easily get more than 61.

If it does happen, Kevin says he'll be glad his father's number has been bested by a Yankee -- and added that he's wishing Judge "the best" in his HR hunt.

Best Tuesday ever?!?!

New York Yankees ace Nestor Cortes had a hell of an experience on the mound at his first All-Star Game -- and then he got engaged to his girlfriend!!

The left-handed pitcher just shared the news on his social media page ... saying following his dominant outing in Tuesday night's midsummer classic, he proposed to his GF -- and she said yes.

"All Star week made 2 of my dreams come true," the 27-year-old said. "Pitch in a all star game. And propose to my bestfriend. With my parents along my side. I had to make us official."

Alondra G. Esteras Russy confirmed on her own social media that she didn't turn the Yanks star down ... writing on pics of her new ring, "Of course i said YES !"

Cortes appeared to pop the question at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art -- a fitting place, considering the paint he had thrown at the All-Star Game just hours earlier.

In his one inning of work, he struck out two, allowed no hits and gave up no runs -- as he helped propel the American League to a 3-2 win over the National League.

Only thing that could make this year better would be a World Series ring -- and, given the way the Yankees look, that might just happen.