Baseball

Grab your tissues ... this tearjerker's brought to you by Kansas City Royals prospect Brady Singer who surprised his parents with a VERY expensive gift that'll earn him an award for Son of the Year.

Singer posted this video on Christmas Day ... which begins with Singer's mom opening a red envelope. She starts reading Singer's heartfelt letter ... and if it doesn't give you all the feels, nothing else will. Singer's mom reads out loud: "I just wanna say thank you for everything you've done to help me reach my dreams ... Both of you constantly took off of work and spent every dime you made just to put a smile on my face."

Then ... her jaw drops. SINGER WIPED OUT THEIR ENTIRE DEBT!!!

Singer was selected by the Kansas City Royals with the 18th overall pick earlier this summer. He's a right-handed pitcher with huge potential ... which explains why the Royals paid him $4.25 million to sign with them instead of returning to Florida.

Another sign the Royals wanted Singer badly? They paid him well above the slot value of an 18th overall pick. Yeah, he's that good. And, he's a byproduct of his parents' hard work and sacrifices ... which is why Singer wanted to SHOCK them with an incredible gesture.

Marshawn Lynch threw on his best hoodie and sandals and hit up the Oakland City Council meeting on Wednesday ... and made the following statement to city officials:

"We're losing the Warriors. We're losing the Raiders. Best not lose the A's. Appreciate it."

Marshawn is an Oakland guy, born and raised -- and is clearly upset with the mass exodus of the major sports teams in the area.

The Raiders are moving to Las Vegas and the Golden State Warriors -- who play in Oracle Arena in Oakland -- are moving to the Chase Center in San Francisco next season.

The Oakland A's currently play at the Oakland Coliseum but are hoping to build a new 34,000 seat waterfront stadium in the area where they could play in 2023.

Enter Marshawn who didn't have much to say -- but made his point crystal clear.

Oakland A's president Dave Kaval was grateful for Beast Mode's support -- tweeting out, "Thank you Marshawn! Let's do this!!"

Kaval has previously commented on the stadium situation -- saying, "We've been there 50 years ... We have a great sense of the importance of that development on the future of East Oakland."

Ex-Miami Marlins president David Samson egged on hecklers at a party this weekend ... flipping off the crowd, bragging about his team's sale and then screaming, "F*ck you!!!"

It all went down at ESPN personality, Dan Le Batard's birthday party in Miami ... where Samson -- one of the biggest sports villains in the city -- got up onstage for a speech.

The dude -- who many blame for making the Marlins a mess and forcing city's taxpayers to foot the bill for their new stadium -- was boo'd relentlessly before he could even open his mouth.

Samson's message to his haters??

"Thank you so much. Thank you very much. Here's why I love when you guys boo me. Right? I want you guys to keep booing me. Because guess what? $1.2 BILLION! F*ck you!!!!"

Of course, Samson's reference represents the amount of cash he and former owner Jeffrey Loria were able to sell the Marlins for, to Derek Jeter last year.

For their part ... both Samson and Le Batard say the whole thing was a joke, with Samson writing on Twitter, "Actually,not at all how it happened. All on tape and all in good fun. And, all for Lebatard’s birthday. No bragging, no fleecing."

Added Le Batard, "These bleeping fun suckers. Samson was playing the heel wrestling manager. No one would seriously wear that jacket. I was booing Samson before taking the mic from him. You don’t get the show."

Don't need any more stress in your life heading into the holiday season??

Neither did we ... but thanks to Justin Turner -- we now have it.

The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar attempted the Buzz Wire Challenge on Tuesday ... and the video of him going through it couldn't cause us more anxiety.

Turner's first attempt is pretty painless ... dude barely gets a few inches before he taps out.

But, his next attempt?? That's when the white knuckles start forming.

Turner goes through the electrical maze in a painstaking 40 seconds ... nearly tapping the wire MULTIPLE times as he got through the twists and turns.

J.T. finally made it to the end (of course he did, dude hits 100 MPH heaters with steady hands for a living) ... and we all exhaled with him as he celebrated.

MLB superstar Christian Yelich says he'd be open to donating his MVP award to the Thousand Oaks bar where 12 people were murdered last month ... 'cause the tragedy hit way too close to home for him.

The Brewers outfielder went to school at Westlake H.S. in T.O. -- and tells TMZ Sports he actually used to party at Borderline Bar & Grill when he was a teenager just a few years ago.

That's why he says the tragic killing of 12 innocent people had "extra meaning" for him ... so much so, he says he'll consider donating his MVP award to the bar when it reopens.

"That's something that we'll have to talk about in the future," Yelich told us at the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year ceremony at The Beverly Hilton in L.A.

"I feel like you gotta let the grieving process play out. Let them take care of the many needs and things that they have to take care of just to get back to a sense of normalcy. And, then you can kinda see what you can do to help out."

In the meantime ... Yelich has teamed up with Ryan Braun, Rams star Jared Goff and others to not only raise money for the shooting victims but also those affected by wildfires.

"We tried to put together a California Strong charity just to raise money to help people out and get them back on their feet in any way we can. Just lend a helping hand in a time of need."

Props to Yelich and the guys ... they sold shirts, autographs and giveaways over the last month that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for victims.

Wanna live like the owner of a prestigious MLB team?? Got $25 MILLION laying around?

Awesome ... 'cause you can gobble up the insane mansion John Henry owned down in Boca Raton, Florida!!

The Sox owner -- who's also the honcho of Liverpool Football Club and the Boston Globe -- is ready to move on from the pad and just put the 41,000 square foot place on the market.

The estate is absolutely epic ... seven bedrooms, 19 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) bathrooms and unreal pool that overlooks a lake.

It's also got a library, a theater, a recording studio ... AND AN INDOOR-OUTDOOR ROOM DEDICATED ENTIRELY TO MAKING PIZZA!!!

Oh, there's also a clay tennis court, sports bar room AND an underground wine cellar that promises to keep your booze at a perfect 53 degrees -- even in a power outage!!

Unclear why John's getting rid of the spot -- dude's owned it since 1999 -- but we do know one thing for sure ... being rich rules.

[H/T TopTenRealEstateDeals.com]

Christian Yelich REALLY hated Manny Machado when the two played in the NLCS this fall ... but the MVP says he's willing to squash the beef under one condition.

IF MANNY SIGNS WITH THE BREWERS!!!

You'll remember ... Christian went off on Manny after the Dodgers star banged into Yelich's teammate at first base while running out a grounder in the October series ... callin' Manny "a dirty player."

"It's a dirty play by a dirty player," Yelich said at the time ... "That's what it is."

Fast forward to this week -- with the sweepstakes to land Manny in free agency at an all-time high -- and Christian was singin' a little bit of a different tune to TMZ Sports.

"Listen, emotions run high in those series, things happen," Yelich said at the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year ceremony at The Beverly Hilton in L.A.

"If we ended up crossing paths -- being on the same team again -- I'm sure we'd be able to work that out no problem."

Bad news for Yelich, Milwaukee and fans of beef-squashers?? Machado reportedly ain't interested in playin' for the Brew Crew.

12:40 PM PT -- Venezuelan authorities believe Valbuena and Castillo may have been victims of robbers who throw rocks onto roads to cause cars to crash and then steal from people inside the vehicle.

Yaracuy governor Julio León Heredia announced 4 suspects have been arrested after they were found with the players' belongings.

MLB infielders Luis Valbuena and Jose Castillo were killed in a car crash in Venezuela on Thursday ... after a car they were riding in veered off the road.

According to local reports ... 33-year-old Valbuena and Castillo, 37, were leaving their Venezuelan league game with Cardenales de Lara in Yaracuy when their driver either hit or swerved to avoid a rock ... and drove off the road.

The man driving the car was the chauffeur of their teammate, Carlos Rivero -- who survived the crash.

Photos of the accident have surfaced ... showing the van totally damaged and flipped on its side.

Valbuena -- who most recently played for the Angels this past season -- has been in the majors since 2008 ... and has also played for the Astros, Cubs, Indians and Mariners.

Valbuena hit 25 home runs with Houston in 2015.

Castillo played 5 seasons in the MLB with the Pirates, Giants and Astros.

The MLB released a statement Friday morning, saying, "We are saddened by the tragic news that Luis Valbuena and former major leaguer José Castillo have died in a car accident."

#RIP

Bernie Williams tells TMZ Sports the Mets trade for Robinson Cano is great for the 2nd baseman ... but not so much for his ex-team -- 'cause Bernie says Yankees fans are gonna hate it!!

Remember, Cano used to be a beast for the Yanks ... but took a big-money deal back in 2014 to play for the Mariners.

But, Robinson was just dealt from Seattle back to NY in a trade with the Mets -- and Bernie says while the move is huge for the 8-time All-Star -- it's bad for pinstripe faithful!!

"I think it's going to be good for him to be back in New York. But, I don't know if Yankees fans are gonna like that, though!!"

As for Cano's game ... Bernie says he's got no doubt the dude will be able to re-energize his career after a season marred by an 80-game PED suspension.

Good news, Cardinals fans ... Nelly's gonna get Bryce Harper to join the squad!!!

At least, that's what the rapper says -- 'cause when he grabbed baseball's top free agent backstage at the Florida Georgia Line concert Saturday ... he gave his best St. Louis pitch.

"Listen, Bill, Mr. DeWitt, call me! I got this. Alright? I'm doing all the negotiations. He just need a little convincing, man! That's all!"

Bryce's response -- he didn't say no!!

Of course ... Bryce has a TON of suitors these days -- even ones just as famous as Nelly ... 'cause when he hit the FGL concert with his old pal, Kris Bryant -- you know Cubs talk went down there too.

Bryce is playing his free agency card close to the vest -- with the Nationals, Phillies, Cubs, Cardinals, Yankees and more all being rumored to be his next spot.

We spotted Harper in L.A. a few weeks ago and he hinted that the Cubs and White Sox could have an edge because Chicago is his favorite city ... when it comes to restaurants!

The Red Sox should ABSOLUTELY take their championship trip to the White House ... so says ex-MLB star Brad Penny, who says the team needs to support Donald Trump regardless of their opinions of him.

It's up in the air whether Boston will make its post-World Series visit to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave ... especially after manager Alex Cora publicly criticized the President in September.

But, Penny says it would be a huge mistake to not go ... telling TMZ Sports the team should be there.

"You gotta go," the ex-star pitcher says ... "You support the President whether you voted for him or not ... I think they just gotta go."

Penny knows a thing or two about those trips ... the 2-time All-Star went to George W. Bush's White House after his Marlins won it all back in 2003.

He says the trip was unforgettable ... and Red Sox players would regret not making it.

In fact -- Brad tells us he thinks Boston can send a strong message to those protesting Trump by going.

"All those protests and stuff, to me, we want everybody who's in office to do good ... I feel like a lot of people want Trump to fail and it's unfortunate."

Unclear whether Red Sox players will listen to Brad ... but we know at least one of their pitchers is on board.

Sammy Sosa clearly ain't bitter at his broken relationship with the Cubbies ... 'cause the Chicago legend tells TMZ Sports he's still rootin' for the team to make the World Series!!

Sosa's been blackballed from the Cubs organization since he retired -- with owner Tom Ricketts saying Sammy's gotta come clean regarding his alleged PED use before they welcome him back.

But, Sammy clearly ain't offended by all that ... 'cause he tells us he's not only keeping up with the team -- he's hoping they get a chance to win another ring!!

"Chicago, they've been playing for the last few years very, very nice, so I have to give that to Chicago, and I hope they continue to play like that and I hope next year they can go to the World Series!"

As for the Cubs' recent controversial move to trade Tommy La Stella ... Sosa weighed in on that for us.

Donald Trump's personal check that bought POTUS rare baseball photos is hitting the auction block ... and TMZ Sports has learned it could go for over $15,000!!!!

Sources tell us a $909.99 check made payable to Steiner Sports Memorabilia back in 2011 bought D.T. a signed Hank Aaron pic and two photos of Yankees teams from the '50s.

We're told POTUS used to buy memorabilia like that all the time as gifts for clients ... and now, the check he personally signed could be the perfect present for you -- if ya got the cash.

According to RR Auction ... the check is ultra rare -- the first known Trump one to hit the auction block -- and could go for more than what similar modern president checks have sold for recently.

The minimum bid was $500 ... but it's already up over $3,000 -- and still has a nearly a week left on the block.

MLB players everywhere are rootin' like hell for Bryce Harper to ink the richest free-agent deal of all-time ... 'cause it means they'll get PAID eventually too -- so says Anthony Rendon.

Harper's (ex?) Nationals teammate tells TMZ Sports if Bryce signs the rumored $400 MIL deal he's expected to be offered -- players will have HUGE bargaining power over teams.

"Obviously if he drives up the free agency market, then I think it's going to help a lot of the players that are going to become free agents later on down the road. So, he's going to help other guys."

Of course ... that means Rendon is about to be the BIGGEST Harper cheerleader -- 'cause the 3rd baseman is set to be a free agent next offseason ... and could be the biggest fish available.

Kyler Murray's making the right call picking baseball over football ... so says Dave Winfield, who made the same choice more than 40 years ago and had things work out PRETTY well.

Of course ... D.W. is one of only six dudes to ever be drafted by THREE different pro sports -- but he chose the diamond over them all -- and says he's glad Kyler's doing the same.

"It's pretty intelligent to play baseball," the MLB Hall of Famer tells us ... "You don't get hurt as much."

Murray's a superstar QB at Oklahoma who some think could be the NFL's next Lamar Jackson ... but the kid was also drafted in the first round by the Oakland A's last summer.

Kyler says his plan -- as of now -- is to hang up the football cleats for the baseball diamond ... and Dave says that's a great call.

"Any football players you know play 22 years!?"

Tim Tebow thinks his NFL career ended prematurely ... 'cause the ex-Heisman Trophy winner says when he watches football now, he still thinks, "I can totally do that!"

Speaking about how hard it was to give up his pigskin career on the "Journeys of Faith with Paula Faris" podcast ... Tebow said it's STILL difficult to swallow, 'cause he thinks he can still ball.

"It's still hard sometimes when I watch games and I'm thinking, 'I can totally do that.' Or, 'I can be doing this or playing here or crushing that!'"

Of course ... Tim's tenure in the league officially ended back in 2015 after he completed just 47.9 percent of his career pass attempts.

But -- Tebow ain't bitter about the whole deal ... saying that while "the NFL didn't go at all as planned" -- he thinks it paved the way for his baseball career.

"I think God used the highs and the lows for a purpose and you try to embrace that and say, 'OK, God, what do you want me to do with this?' And he opened up baseball as an avenue."

Tebow seems to be better off ... dude's killin' it in the minor leagues -- and there's some talk the New York Mets could call him up to the Big Show next season.

As for that whole football thing ... most would disagree with Tim's take -- but, then again, have you seen Nathan Peterman throw the football these days?!