New York Yankees

The Judge has made his ruling ... and it's GREAT news for Yankees fans.

Aaron Judge is re-signing with New York -- and, according to multiple reports, he's getting paid handsomely to do so ... agreeing to a 9-year, $360 MILLION contract.

The Yankees had been competing with the San Francisco Giants for the outfielder's services ... and for a brief period on Tuesday, they had appeared to lose the battle.

But, after seven great seasons in NY, Judge is clearly now looking to finish his career in the Bronx.

The 30-year-old reigning AL MVP is coming off the best year of his life ... hitting a staggering 62 home runs (the new AL record) while logging 131 RBI and a .311 batting average.

Judge in '22 also led the league in runs scored (133), walks (111), and slugging percentage (.686).

The huge season seemingly helped him get a wild pay bump too ... considering he reportedly turned down a $200-plus million contract from the Yanks before the year began.

Judge will now look to build on a pinstripe career that's already seen him bat .284 with 220 home runs and 497 total RBI.

The two-piece wedding suit Marilyn Monroe wore for her marriage to Joe DiMaggio is hitting the auction block ... and it's expected to fetch seven figures.

Marilyn's 'fit from the January 1954 wedding to the New York Yankees star will be offered to the public through Gotta Have Rock and Roll, and although it's one of her more conservative looks ... folks at the auction house think the winning bid will be spectacular -- somewhere between $1.5 and $2 million!

The historic clothing is a two-piece dark brown Serge wedding suit, with a white fur collar on the jacket.

Marilyn and Joe's wedding was a huge event back in the day ... and there are tons of photos and videos of them kissing while she's in the wedding suit.

And, here's a fun fact: glamorous Marilyn totally went mainstream for her big day!

Gotta Have Rock and Roll says she originally bought the suit at Macy's, and it was later gifted to the mother-in-law of her personal photog, Milton Greene.

It ain't Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds or Mark McGwire ... no, according to Blue Jays ace Alek Manoah, the "worst cheater" in the history of the MLB is Yankees star Gerrit Cole.

The 24-year-old Toronto righty dropped the spicy accusation while on Serge Ibaka's "How Hungry Are You?" show ... in order to avoid drinking a cricket-filled, tea-like concoction.

"He cheated," Manoah told the NBA star without much hesitation at all. "He used a lot of, like, sticky stuff to make his pitches better. And he kinda got called out on it."

Back in 2021, the MLB famously began a crackdown on the use of foreign substances on baseballs -- and many around the league believed it really affected Cole, who some thought had relied on it all heavily.

In fact, Cole's now-teammate, Josh Donaldson, specifically called out the right-hander when he was a Minnesota Twins, saying he could see Cole's spin rates dramatically drop following the league's ruling.

Clearly, Manoah thinks there's some serious truth behind the allegations ... though he didn't evaluate further during the show.

As for Cole's take on it all, he never specifically denied using sticky stuff to make his baseballs move more ... infamously telling media members in 2021, "I don’t quite know how to answer that, to be honest."

Aaron Judge's 62nd home run ball could be yours -- the record-setting baseball is about to hit the auction block -- after the fan who caught the historic piece of memorabilia turned down a whopping $3 million offer!

The ball will soon be on the block at Goldin Auctions ... one of the most prominent online sports sellers in the world.

As we previously reported, Cory Youmans caught the baseball on October 4th ... while he was seated in the outfield for the Yankees vs. Rangers game in Texas. The Yanks tried to convince the fan to give up the ball that night, but the fan refused to part ways with it.

In the weeks since, Youmans -- who's been living it up -- has received increasingly larger offers for the ball ... culminating in a massive $3 million offer.

Clearly, the fan believes he can make even more at auction ... and he's got company.

“The ball has the potential to become the highest-priced baseball ever sold,” Ken Goldin said, adding ... “Three million plus would be my estimate.”

Of course, Judge set the NY Yankees and American League single-season home run record this season ... topping the 61 HR mark set by former A.L. MVP and Yanks star, Roger Maris, in 1961.

If the baseball is to set the record, it'll need to sell for at least $3,005,001 ... in order to surpass the sale price of Mark McGwire's 70th home run (the slugger played in the National League), which he smashed during his historic 1998 season in which he went toe-to-toe with Sammy Sosa.

Like millions of Yankees fans ... Derek Jeter tells TMZ Sports he's super hopeful his old squad is able to keep Aaron Judge in Pinstripes -- and re-sign the superstar this offseason.

Jeets didn't mince words when we got him out in NYC this week ... explaining he "of course!" wants the outfielder back at Yankee Stadium for 2023 and beyond.

The problem? It's unclear if that'll actually happen.

Judge, of course, is a free agent ... and after turning down a monster contract offer from the Yankees before the 2022 season began, some believe he could be looking elsewhere in the coming weeks and months.

Jeter told us he isn't sure where things stand in the negotiations between Judge and the Yankees -- or where else in the MLB the star could end up.

But, watch the clip ... he sure seems to be wishing Judge stays put.

After Judge's historic '22 season -- it's not hard to see why the former shortstop believes the Yankees should stop at nothing to get him back ... the dude hit 62 home runs, and batted .311!!

Breathe easy, Yankees fans ... Aaron Judge will re-sign with NY this offseason for a monstrous 8-year deal -- at least, that's according to Nick Swisher.

The ex-Pinstripes outfielder made the prediction to TMZ Sports this week ... as speculation about Judge's future continues to rage on.

Because of his age (he's 30 now), and the way he turned down a mega $200-plus million deal before the 2022 season began, many think the star outfielder could move on to another team. But, Swisher made it clear, he thinks Judge will be back ... and the Yankees will sweeten the pot by giving him the big deal and the captaincy.

"Here's what I think," Swish said. "I think he signs a monster deal; 7, 8-year deal, and guess what we do? We put that C on his chest and the Yankees fans -- it makes everybody happy."

As for a dollar figure on the contract, Swisher didn't have specific numbers for us there ... though he did say it wouldn't shock him if it were somewhere around the dollar figure of Mike Trout's annual $35 MILLION salary.

Swisher clearly doesn't think the new American League HR king will regret it, either ... telling us he thinks NY will do all it can to make sure he's surrounded by a good team.

The man who caught Aaron Judge's 62nd home run ball is continuing to live the dream ... he's now on vacation in Italy -- riding around on yachts and in classic convertibles.

Cory Youmans showed what life is like on his social media page after nabbing one of the most prized possessions in baseball history ... and, yeah, it's good.

Youmans and his wife, former "The Bachelor" contestant Bri Amaranthus, made their way to the Amalfi Coast ... less than three weeks after the dude caught the Judge ball at a Yankees vs. Rangers game in Texas on Oct. 4.

The couple revealed they're seemingly sparing no expense while on the vacay ... cruising around in style both in the water and on the land.

Youmans could be seen on the trip enjoying a beer ... as well as a dip in the Mediterranean Sea.

It's unclear if the Judge ball is playing any role in the bill for the European getaway -- at the time of his big catch, Youmans only told reporters he wasn't sure if he was going to sell it.

Since then, he's been radio silent.

Of course, if he did part ways with it ... we know he got at least $2 MILLION for it -- because one auction house said earlier this month it had already made the 7-figure offer.

Phillies fans were phull of beer phollowing their big win over the Padres on Sunday ... with one of them enjoying the suds straight from near the top of a light pole!!!

The wild chugging celebration went down in the streets of Philadelphia ... after the home team punched its ticket to the World Series with a 4-3 victory over San Diego.

You can see in video from the roadways that the crowd was going crazy enjoying its first trip to the big games since 2009 ... especially after one fan climbed a light pole to shotgun a beer.

The dude held on for his life with one arm ... while suckin' down the booze with the other.

The famous Philly Elmo also popped up on Broad Street with the drumline ... getting the crowd even more fired up.

Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata -- who was enjoying a bye this week -- stopped by to join in on the fun too!

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.