NY Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera -- the greatest closer in baseball history -- could be done for ever after tearing his ACL in a freak injury Thursday night.

Mo twisted his right knee while shagging (baseball term, not the British one) fly balls during batting practice before the Yankees' game in Kansas City. He immediately crumpled to the ground holding the knee ... and had to be removed from the field on a cart.


According to the Yankees, an MRI revealed the torn ACL -- and he'll most likely be out for the rest of the season. 42-year-old Rivera has 608 saves -- the most of all-time -- and is a lock for the Hall of Fame. Even before the injury, Yankees fans were terrified he might retire after this season.

After the game a reporter asked Mariano if he would return next season -- and while fighting tears he responded, "At this point...I don't know. We have to face this first."

If Derek Jeter goes 4-for-4 in Baltimore tonight ... it might have something to do with the awesome home cooking he ordered up from a local restaurant -- owned by Bronx native Chazz Palminteri.

New York Yankees sources tell us Jetes and fellow Bronx Bomber, Andruw Jones, were jonesin' for classic NY style pizza this afternoon ... and found it at Chazz: A Bronx Original.

We're told Jeter and Jones walked into the Baltimore hot spot ... and placed a Ruthian sized order: coal-fired burrata pizza, chicken parm, veal meatballs and shrimp over polenta! 

Before the Yanks took their order to go they posed with a staffer ... and Palminteri -- writer and star of "A Bronx Tale" -- called to wish 'em good luck in tonight's game against the Orioles.

Jeter got 4 hits last night against the O's. So ... 5-for-5, anyone?


4:10PM PT  Jeter just crushed a lead-off homer deep to centerfield to start the game.

NY Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain's comeback has been crushed ... thanks to a gruesome trampoline accident at a kid's play center yesterday.

Chamberlain was jumping with his son at a center in Tampa, Florida ... when he came down wrong on his right foot ... causing severe damage to his ankle.

There are conflicting reports about the severity of the injury -- some media outlets are saying the bone was protruding through the skin and there was lots of blood. Others say Joba simply twisted the ankle.

Either way, Chamberlain had surgery last night ... and the MLB star is currently recovering.

It's just another setback for Joba ... who missed almost all of last season  with an elbow injury.

Former New York Yankees pitcher David Wells is so obsessed with the great Babe Ruth, he got himself a tattoo of the Bambino across his pitching arm.

Wells' infatuation with the Babe is famous -- he once wore a $35,000 Babe Ruth hat while pitching in an MLB game -- and last night outside of Boa, we got a peek at the art ...  a depiction of Wells pitching to The Babe.

The death certificate for former New York Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu has been filed in Los Angeles ... in which his official cause of death is listed as "hanging ... self-inflicted with rope."

42-year-old Irabu was found dead in his California home last month.

According to the certificate, the Japanese-born ball player was married at the time of his death. He also had two children.

Former New York Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu was found dead yesterday in his California home -- and law enforcement sources tell TMZ, it appears he committed suicide by hanging himself. We're told a friend found him.

L.A. County Coroner is still trying to locate next of kin.

Hideki played for the Yankees, Expos, and Rangers -- last pitching in the big leagues in 2002. He won World Series rings with the Yanks in 1998 and 1999.

Irabu was 42.

Story developing ...

Usually it's considered common courtesy to give up your seat to a woman -- but Rudy Giuliani was reportedly none too pleased when he had to vacate his prized spot at Yankee Stadium ... to the First Lady.



The former mayor of New York City always sits near the Yankee dugout, but according to Page Six he was relegated to sit behind the photographers' box for Game 1 of the World Series because Michelle Obama was given the seats instead.

The paper says it was the White House that didn't want Giuliani near Obama, but get this: Michelle didn't even sit in the seats because of the weather and they remained unoccupied for the whole game.

Giuliani got his seat back for Game 2, which the Yankees won.

The Phillies dominated the Yankees last night -- and according to this PA congressman, not even the combined powers of Beyonce, Jay-Z, Kate Hudson and all the celebrity Yankees fans in the universe can help them pull ahead.



We got Robert Brady (D-PA) -- the same guy who issued The Mohawk Challenge -- today in DC, where he said having hardcore athletic support from celebs is great and all, but "How many home runs did Kate Hudson hit?"

The man has a point...

With tonight's game just hours away, Congressman Robert Brady (D - PA) is looking to make a last minute bet in tonight's Yankees vs. Phillies showdown ... and he's willing to risk most of the hair on his head.


We got the Phillies phan on Capitol Hill today -- where he said he couldn't find a single NY fan with enough "guts" to meet his high-risk wager. The stakes: The loser would have to get a mohawk!

Any takers?

There's no crying in baseball -- and according to Jerry Seinfeld, there shouldn't be any designated hitters either.


The notorious Mets fan was at Chateau Marmont last night, where he couldn't resist taking a shot at the Yankees ... and every other pitcher who never picks up a bat.

Alex Rodriguez just apologized to his teammates for the nasty performance-enhancing drugs scandal he's now embroiled in -- but dude's quivering lip was distracting.