Baseball

Johnny Damon says he LOVES how President Trump has been performing since taking office -- and when asked for a specific reason ... he told us, "Well, do you like having more money in your pockets?"

The ex-MLB star was recently appointed to the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition --- and spent his Wednesday visiting the White House.

And since Damon's been getting a lot of online hate from anti-Trumpers on Twitter ... we asked how he's handling the criticism.

"That's all right," Damon said ... "Half the people aren't supporters, but he's doing a great job."

He also fired off his top reasons why he's still Team Trump -- from his tax plan to his pro-life stance.

The couple that does sweaty yoga together, stays together??

Seems to be the case with Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez ... who hit up a group Hot Pilates workout class at TruFusion in the Miami area -- and put in that work!

J-Rod seemed to enjoy it ... doing breath exercises, chopping moves, dancing and posing for selfies with everyone in the class.

They also threw fake money to promote J Lo's new song, "Dinero," with Cardi B and DJ Khaled.

The people in the class loved it -- and gave the couple an ovation after the workout. J Lo rewarded the group with a little dance number.

Here's a picture that's as adorable as the Miami Marlins are terrible ... both courtesy of Derek Jeter.

The MLB legend took some time away from his atrocious baseball team to hang with his wife, Hannah Jeter, and their baby, Bella Raine, in New York City.

Props to Jeter for stepping away from his job as the CEO of the Marlins for a little while to squeeze in some quality family time ... but ya gotta wonder when he's gonna start freaking out about how bad his team is playing.

The Marlins are 11.5 games out of 1st place in the NL East with no hope in sight (Fun Fact: the Marlins have scored the least amount of runs in all of MLB baseball).

Good news Mets fans ... you don't completely suck this year -- so says Carlos Beltran, who says his former squad has a real shot to make a run this season.

Of course, the Mets were absolute trash last year -- racking up a pitiful 70-92 record ... 27 games behind first place in their division.

So, when we saw Beltran -- a 9-time All Star -- leaving Capitale in NYC, we asked if there's any real hope for success in MetLand.

"I think that the Mets are going to be okay," Beltran tells TMZ Sports ... "I think that the season is early, I think that they have a lot of talent so there's no doubt that they have the talent to bounce back."

"The pitching staff looks great, the most important thing right there is to try to keep this guy healthy, and I think they have a good manager who was able to manage the starting pitcher in Cleveland and I think he's going to do a pretty good job for them."

No, this ain't a clip from 2005 ... Rafael Palmeiro really took a pitcher YARD in an independent minor league baseball game this week -- AT 53 YEARS OLD!!

It all went down Monday night in the fifth inning of the Cleburne Railroaders' tilt with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks -- when Palmeiro hit a BOMB off a pitcher 25 years younger than he is.

Remember, the former Baltimore Orioles All-Star signed with Cleburne earlier this month in what seemed like a PR stunt for Rafael to get some quality time with his son, Patrick, on the baseball diamond.

But, Palmeiro's been ballin' despite being about three decades older than everyone on the field, recording two hits in his third game of the season on Monday.

From one Oriole to another ... MLB star Adam Jones just bought Cal Ripken Jr.'s insane $12.5 million Maryland estate!!

As we previously reported ... Ripken's been trying to part ways with the 24-acre estate since 2016 -- initially asking for $12.5 mil before knocking it down to $9.75 milli back in April 2017.

The Hall of Famer found a buyer in the current Baltimore slugger ... and according to Seth Rosenthal of The Athletic, Jones -- a real estate enthusiast -- couldn't pass up the sweet deal.

Jones' new crib comes with 6 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms, a home theater, 10-person spa, private hiking trails, pool, baseball field, indoor basketball court, full gym and a private fishing pond!!

While the final selling price has not been made available, the 32-year-old has made nearly $100 million during his long career ... so yeah, just a drop in the bucket for Jones.

Time to bring back funky buttloving?!

That's what Thomas Ian Nicholas wants ... the guy who played Henry Rowengartner in "Rookie of the Year" thinks it's time for a reboot -- and he's ready to rally the original cast back together!

With one exception ...

"Maybe not Gary Busey ... he's crazy!"

37-year-old Nicholas has a pretty solid resume -- with the "American Pie" movies and 'Rules of Attraction' -- but says the fans are always asking him to bring back the baseball flick about the kid with the rocket arm.

"A lot of people would be very interested in a 'Rookie of the Year' reboot or a sequel," Nicholas tells us ... explaining that his 1993 flick is always the talk at the movie conventions he attends.

Seattle Mariners superstar Robinson Cano -- one of the best players in baseball --has accepted an 80 game suspension after testing positive for a banned substance.

However, Cano insists he did NOT take steroids or any other performance enhancing drug ... he insists he made a simple mistake when taking a prescribed medication.

"Recently, I learned that I tested positive for a substance called Furosemide, which is not a performance enhancing substance," Cano said in a statement.

"Furosemide is used to treat various medical conditions in the United States and the Dominican Republic."

"This substance was given to me by a licensed doctor in the Dominican Republic to treat a medical ailment."

"While I did not realize at the time that I was given a medication that was banned, I obviously now wish that I had been more careful."

The issue ... Furosemide can be used as a masking agent to hide PEDs -- and that's why it's banned.

The 35-year-old is currently nursing a broken hand which he suffered Sunday when he was hit by a pitch while playing against the Detroit Tigers.

MLB says he will be allowed to start serving his suspension immediately, despite the injury.

The 2nd baseman -- an 8-time All-Star -- is in the middle of a 10-year contract worth $240 MILLION. Many people believe he was headed to the Hall of Fame ... but this could derail that.

Ex-MLB pitcher Matt Mantei was convicted of domestic violence after roughing up his wife, but he ain't gonna spend a minute behind bars ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... Mantei -- who was known for his 100 MPH heater during his 10-year career in the big leagues -- was arrested April 17 in Michigan after his wife told cops Mantei got physical with her while arguing over a cell phone.

She claimed the closer grabbed her, threw her to the floor, and held her down ... before letting her up and shoving her -- causing minor injuries.

Mantei appeared before a judge in Berrien County last Friday ... and pled no contest to 1 count of misdemeanor domestic violence. But, we're told the judge reviewed the evidence and found that Mantei committed the offense of domestic violence, according to prosecutor Michael Sepic.

With the conviction, comes punishment ... but no jail and no probation.

To the victor go the shears!

Cleveland Indians star shortstop Francisco Lindor had made a bet with his old high school baseball team ... you guys go undefeated, I'll shave my entire head!

Well, guess what ... the Montverde Academy squad in Florida went 25-0 -- and Lindor let the guys 86 his locks!!

The 24-year-old surprised the Eagles at a school assembly and let the players take turn shaving off his blonde curls.

Hope it works out for the players in baseball, because they're TERRIBLE barbers.

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.

J Lo and A-Rod's one-of-a-kind matching Met Gala outfits are going from the red (and white) carpet to an auction to raise money for (RED)'s fight to end AIDS.

The couple slayed Monday night in custom-designed Balmain looks from the creative director ,Olivier Rousteing. The theme was "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination," hence the cross on J Lo's chest.

Her dress took over a month to make ... the jewels on the feathers were sewn on by hand, which explains the $5k starting bid. A-Rod's tux starts at $1,500.

The auction is a cool concept ... if you can rationalize spending that much on clothes, and also considering there's zero chance they would re-wear this stuff. Rousteing's other designs from the night for 'Daily Show' host Trevor Noah, Juliette Binoche and more are also up for auction.

He's 3 years older than the AARP minimum age, but 53-year-old Rafael Palmeiro is still playing pro baseball -- signing a new deal with an independent league team in Texas!

The 4-time MLB All-Star has agreed to play for the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.

What's really cool ... he'll be teammates with his 28-year-old son, Patrick!

Palmeiro REALLY wanted to get a shot with an MLB team, but since that didn't happen ... he signed with the Railroaders.

"Nobody gave me a chance to go to spring training," Palmiero said in a text message to the Dallas Morning News ... "so I will just take this path."

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."

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Roberto Osuna was arrested for assaulting a woman Tuesday morning ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ Sports.

Our sources say cops got an emergency call during the alleged attack and raced to the scene.

Once they got there, Osuna was arrested for assault -- we're told the alleged victim is in a relationship with the MLB star.

Osuna has since been released from custody -- he's due back in court on June 18.

The 23-year-old was an All-Star in 2017 and was a prodigy as a child.

He signed with the Blue Jays when he was only 16 years old and became the youngest pitcher in team history to appear in an MLB game.

Pete Rose owes more than $1 MILLION to the IRS ... but you wouldn't know it by looking at his car -- 'cause the ex-MLB star is still pushing a very expensive Rolls-Royce!

TMZ Sports has obtained pics of Rose's Rolls-Royce Wraith -- a car that usually costs about $300,000!

And to make sure people know it's HIS car, Pete got a custom license plate bearing his nickname, "Hit King."

Remember, Rose has admitted in court docs he fell WAY behind in federal taxes and is working to repay Uncle Sam the 7-figure debt he's racked up over the years.

But even debtors gotta BALL OUT IN VEGAS, right?!