Baseball

Volodymyr Zelenskyy literally left his mark on America's pastime ... the world leader autographed a baseball that's up for auction, and the sale will help relief efforts in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian President signed his last name on the baseball in two different languages ... Ukrainian cursive and English print ... with his signature right below a Major League Baseball logo.

Zelensky left his John Hancock on the ball back in September 2019, during a visit to New York. The ball comes with a letter signed by Volodymyr Yelchenko, Ukraine's Ambassador to the United Nations at the time.

The baseball is going up for sale through RR Auction ... where it's expected to fetch at least $15,000.

Randy L. Kaplan, a government affairs specialist in New York, got the ball as a gift from Yelchenko ... Randy's been collecting signed Major League baseballs from world leaders and heads of state since 1996, starting with Bill Clinton.

The auction house says the ball is in "very fine" condition and Kaplan plans to donate a portion of proceeds from the sale to a Ukrainian relief fund ... RR says they will donate their cut to the same fund.

A Boston Red Sox prospect uncorked a haymaker on a pitcher after he was beaned during a game Thursday night ... and the punch was so violent, it ignited an all-out brawl on the field.

The wild scene went down during the Portland Sea Dogs' minor league baseball game against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies ... when Sea Dogs' first baseman and Sox prospect Tyreque Reed was drilled on the arm during the third inning.

You can see in footage of the play, following the hit-by-pitch, pitcher Marcel Renteria -- a New York Mets prospect -- appeared to say something to Reed that set him off.

Reed immediately charged at Renteria ... and then socked him in the face -- sending him crashing to the grass.

All hell broke loose following the punch, with players from both teams racing in to get in on the action.

At one point during the brawl, Renteria appeared to tackle another Sea Dogs player ... but once the fracas died down -- Renteria was clearly hurt.

It's unclear if Renteria suffered any serious injuries in the altercation -- but he was replaced by another pitcher. Reed, meanwhile, was ejected for his role in it all.

The game, thankfully, went off without another hitch following the brawl -- with the Sea Dogs coming out on top, 12-5.

A college baseball pitcher looked more like an NFL linebacker on Wednesday ... absolutely pummeling his opponent during the guy's home run trot -- and the wild scene was all captured on video.

It went down just hours ago during the sixth inning of the North Central Texas College game against Weatherford in Weatherford, Texas ... when NCTC first baseman Josh Phillips hit a go-ahead homer off Owen Woodward.

It's unclear if Phillips said anything to Woodward as he rounded the bases -- but just after the slugger touched third, Woodward charged at him and leveled him to the grass.

You can see in the clip, the blow was brutal -- it flattened Phillips, causing his helmet to fly yards away from his body.

Phillips' teammates raced to the scene to pile onto Woodward -- and, somehow, Phillips was able to get up and touch home plate to give NCTC the lead.

Woodward was taken away from the area by his teammates ... and then he was, presumably, ejected from the contest.

A spokesperson for the Weatherford Campus Police tells TMZ Sports ... Woodward was not arrested, but they are investigating the incident.

As for Phillips, the spokesperson said he has "no life-threatening" injuries.

We've reached out to both schools for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

Kendrick Lamar is a man of the people -- the rap superstar hit up the Dodger game and sat with fans in the stands on Tuesday ... just days after announcing his highly-anticipated album.

The pgLang rapper has been the talk of the town since revealing he's got a new project coming next month ... and despite all the hype surrounding him, Kendrick managed to show his supporters appreciation by mingling with them at the game.

Of course, K. Dot is rarely out in public and hardly has a social media presence ... so whenever he's seen out and about, it's always a big deal for fans.

The Dodgers' broadcast made sure to highlight Kendrick's surprise appearance ... showing him on the big screen in left field as the crowd cheered for the SoCal native.

Lamar has hit up Blue Heaven on Earth in the past -- in 2015, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Carl Crawford ... and it was a much better throw than some of the recent celebs who've been tapped to do the tradition (we're looking at you, 50 Cent, Conor McGregor, and Dr. Fauci).

It's been an exciting few months for Kendrick -- he performed during the Super Bowl LVI halftime show with Mary J. Blige, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Eminem. As always, Lamar had the visuals and aesthetics on point and he performed two of his classics -- "m.A.A.d city" and "Alright."

Kendrick's next album is expected to be his last one with Top Dawg Entertainment -- the lyricist previously announced he was leaving the TDE label.

MLB star Starling Marte wanted the #6 so badly with his new Mets squad ... his teammate, Jeff McNeil, said the outfielder gave up a pricey watch for it!

McNeil explained the trade to MLB.com writer Anthony DiComo prior to New York's game against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday ... saying after he gave away his NY #6 to Marte before the year, Starling returned the favor recently by getting him a Rolex.

McNeil had worn the number since 2019, but switched to #1 after making the deal with Marte, who signed with the Mets this offseason after playing for Oakland and Miami last year.

As for if it was worth it ... McNeil told DiComo, while grinning, that the watch was very nice.

No word on what the timepiece cost ... but most Rolexes come with a hefty four-, five- or even 6-figure price tag.

Of course, Marte signed a 4-year, $78 million contract with the Mets ... so he could certainly afford it.

Trades like these happen fairly often in sports -- but sometimes they can end up disastrous ... you'll recall, Clinton Portis and his former teammate Ifeanyi Ohalete got in such a dispute over payment for a jersey number back in the day that they actually ended up in civil court over it all.

Doesn't seem the Marte/McNeil swap has any shot of reaching that point ... especially 'cause both dudes are off to great starts this season in their new threads.

Men, you might wanna close your eyes.

Pirates pitcher J.T. Brubaker drilled Nationals shortstop Alcides Escobar in the balls ... in what will go down as one of the most painful pickoff attempts in MLB history.

The wild play went down in the fourth inning of Thursday's game between the Nationals and the Pirates ... Brubaker's throw over to first base hit Escobar square in the groin area.

In the video, you can see Escobar taking a lead off first base when Brubaker turns and fires a throw towards the bag (foreshadowing) that misses everything ... except, well, you know the rest.

Escobar immediately grabbed his marbles as he was falling backward to the ground ... and signaled with his right hand to the first base ump that he needed a few to gather himself.

Play was temporarily stopped (understandably so, if you've ever experienced that pain before) as Escobar rolled around on the ground in clear discomfort.

Fortunately, though, the veteran shortstop was able to laugh about it all as one of his coaches and the team's trainer helped him back to his feet.

Escobar would stay in to finish the game, going 1-for-4 at the plate with two strikeouts ... but the biggest hit of the day came unexpectedly, if you catch our drift.

A Phillies fan had so much beef with a Mets heckler during a game in Philadelphia earlier this week ... he straight-up tossed the dude's phone onto the field in a fit of rage.

The crazy moment was captured on video during the Mets vs. Phillies game on Tuesday night ... after a man in a Pete Alonso jersey started gloating about a play on the field.

In the footage, you can see the guy whipped out his phone and taunted a bunch of Phillies fans in his section.

But, suddenly, a fan in a Bryce Harper jersey had enough of the celebration ... and grabbed the guy's phone and hurled it into the middle of the outfield.

Much of the crowd in the section ate up the entire exchange ... with many cheering on the guy.

In the clip, you can see people rushed in to break up the skirmish, trying to escort the Phillies fan out of the area before things escalated further.

The Mets fan, meanwhile, ended up getting into a shoving match with another fan wearing a Phillies jersey, and got pushed so hard, he almost fell over several seats.

A stadium staffer finally came into the section to restore the peace ... and the tussle ended without any further significant fireworks.

The Dodgers are about to win a game over the Minnesota Twins ... but their fans are FURIOUS -- 'cause Clayton Kershaw was yanked from the contest despite being perfect through 7 innings.

The L.A. ace and future Hall of Famer was just pulled by manager Dave Roberts ... even though he was absolutely dealing.

Through the game's first 21 outs, Kershaw had 13 strikeouts ... and allowed no Twin to reach base. He seemed poised to record just the 24th perfect game in MLB history.

But, despite only throwing 80 pitches, Roberts pulled the starter before he could finish off the 8th and the 9th innings.

And, to make matters worse, Kershaw's replacement -- reliever Alex Vesia -- gave up a knock in the 8th to ruin any shot at a combined perfect game.

Roberts, though, was just trying to protect his stud pitcher by removing him -- because, after all, Kershaw had a shortened spring training and he's had a history of injuries.

Still, fans are livid that the 34-year-old didn't at least get the chance to make history -- with many taking to social media to blast Roberts for the call.

Kershaw, meanwhile, didn't seem too pissed ... he was smiling in the dugout after being pulled.

San Francisco Giants first base coach Antoan Richardson claims he was ejected on Tuesday night for confronting a Padres coach over what he says was a comment that "reeked" of racism.

Richardson, who's Black, made the allegations following SF's win over San Diego ... saying it all started in the third inning, when Padres coach Mike Shildt, who's white, picked a fight with him while he was in the Giants' dugout.

Richardson told media members that Shildt was looking for someone in the Giants' dugout ... and when he asked who he wanted, Shildt got snippy.

"At this time, he's walking toward our dugout," Richardson said of Shildt. "And then he says, 'Hey. I was looking for Alex Wood.'"

Richardson says the exchange of words got so heated, SF manager Gabe Kapler came over to defuse the situation. Then, that's when he claims Shildt unleashed a comment that he believed dripped with "undertones of racism."

"He yelled, 'You need to control that motherf***er,'" Richardson said.

Richardson said he was so taken aback by the comment, he stepped toward the top of the dugout to confront Shildt -- and was ultimately ejected for the action.

"His words were disproportionality unwarranted," Richardson said of Shildt. "And reeked of undertones of racism. When he referred to me as 'that motherf***er,' as if I am to be controlled or I'm a piece of property or enslaved."

Richardson then ripped MLB umpire Greg Gibson for ejecting him ... saying, "Me being tossed by that umpire empowered this coach to continue to have conversations like that with people like me. And that's really unfortunate that that's what happened tonight."

Shildt -- who managed the St. Louis Cardinals last year -- and Padres manager Bob Melvin did not comment on the incident following the game.

While it was all a disturbing situation for Richardson, his ejection did lead to some MLB history -- Alyssa Nakken took over his coaching duties on the field ... and became the first woman in MLB history to ever do so.

"I'm really excited that Alyssa (Nakken) got her opportunity to make her Major League debut and I'm very proud of her," Richardson said. "I think she did a really wonderful job and we got a win, so that's the most important thing."

Kapler, meanwhile, addressed the incident following the game and said he believes Richardson's side of the story to be true.

"I trust Antoan's judgment 100 percent. I trust Antoan's judgment on the matter and I know that Antoan was not out of control at all and that anything that was said to insinuate that he was is totally inappropriate."

"He didn't instigate any part of this."

Joey B Baby and the "B" stands for baseball??

NFL superstar Joe Burrow isn't just great at throwing the pigskin -- the Bengals QB took the mound to throw the first pitch at the Reds' Opening Day game ... and it was a strike right down the middle!!

The AFC champ was a VIP guest at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati on Tuesday ... meeting and hanging out with Joey Votto and others before the Reds' matchup against the Cleveland Guardians.

But, it was #9 who displayed his skills first ... as he took the mound to throw the ceremonial toss, with Bengals head coach Zac Taylor lined up behind the plate as his catcher.

Joey looked calm as ever as he prepared for the throw ... and naturally, it was a perfect strike.

The crowd, of course, cheered for their QB ... after all, the dude's got the whole city in the palm of his hand after taking the Bengals to the Super Bowl in just his second season in the league.

A youth baseball umpire was attacked on the field during a game over the weekend and was forced to go to the hospital ... after he says a coach disagreed with some of his calls.

Sam Phelps was behind home plate for a boys baseball game on Saturday in The Colony, Texas ... when he claims a few of his out/safe, balls/strikes decisions pissed off a coach on the field.

Phelps explained the situation to FOX4, saying it all came to a boiling point in the third inning ... seconds after he called a kid safe at home.

Phelps says the coach walked out of the dugout, mocked him and then shoved him to the ground after Phelps ejected him.

Video from the diamond shows the coach put his hands near the umpire's face, pushed him hard -- and caused the man to hit the dirt with force.

Phelps says he went to a nearby medical facility in an ambulance and was checked for head injuries, before he was ultimately released later in the evening.

Phelps said he's now looking to press charges against the coach -- explaining he believes punishment is necessary in order to protect everyone involved at games going forward.

"I don't want to destroy anyone's life," Phelps said. "But, I would like this to be a learning opportunity to get this out there."

We reached out to The Colony Police Dept. ... and a spokesperson told us officers did respond to the scene and did take a report. The spokesperson added an investigation is underway.

As for the coach's future at the baseball park, the org. that hosted the game Saturday told FOX4 it's banned the man and his team from all future events.

Here's a video that'll surely wake up the "baseball's boring" crowd ...

An amateur league player lit his bat on fire during a game and then smoked a line drive single with the piece of lumber ... and footage of the play is awesome!!!

The wild scene all went down in a recent Savannah Bananas vs. Savannah Party Animals game in Georgia -- when Zak Whalin came to the plate with his bat ablaze.

In broadcast video from the game, you can see Whalin's bat was completely engulfed in flames as he was taking pitches.

At one point during the AB, though, Whalin was able to crack a single with the smoking bat -- barely beating out the throw from centerfield to reach first base safely. Yeah ... awesome, right?!

If you're unfamiliar -- plays like these happen quite often in Bananas games ... some have called the team the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball, despite being members of the Coastal Plain League, a respected collegiate summer baseball league.

In fact, the team has been known to do TikTok dances mid-play before!!

Can't imagine the Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees doing anything like this on the diamond anytime soon ... but if they did, who'd be all that mad about it?!

Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm said out loud during his game in Philadelphia on Monday that he "f***ing hates" playing in the city ... but afterward, he quickly apologized and swore he didn't mean it.

Bohm unleashed the quick tirade amid a brutal night on the field against the New York Mets ... with cameras capturing the 25-year-old saying to a teammate, "I f***ing hate this place."

Bohm had just committed three errors in the game -- and after he finally made a good play at the hot corner, fans sarcastically cheered ... which clearly pissed him off.

He unleashed the quick barb while looking at Didi Gregorius -- but following the game, he said he was deeply sorry for the comments.

"Emotions got the best of me," said Bohm, who was a former top prospect who's struggled since becoming an everyday player for the Phillies. "I said it. Do I mean it? No."

"It's [a] frustrating night for me. Obviously, I made a few mistakes in the field. Look, these people, these fans, they just want to win. And, you heard it. We come back. They're great. I'm sorry for them. I don't mean that. Emotions just got the best of me."

Bohm then said he actually loves playing in Philly.

A man in a Colorado Rockies hat punched several women in the face in a crazy altercation outside of Coors Field over the weekend ... and TMZ Sports has obtained video of the brutality.

The incident went down shortly after the Rockies vs. Dodgers game in Denver on Friday -- just a few blocks away from the stadium -- when a man jumped into an altercation between women who appeared to be feuding with each other.

You can see in the footage, as several of the women were fighting -- the man stepped in and began unloading haymakers.

The guy punched several of the women in the face -- with one blow landing so flush, it appeared to knock one of the females out.

Later in the fight, the man punched another woman in the face while she was on the ground.

A police officer showed up and appeared to break up the scuffle, though it's unclear if any arrests were made. We've reached out to cops for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

A fan attending the Toronto Blue Jays game on Friday was arrested ... after cops say she socked an officer in the face during an altercation in the crowd.

The incident happened during the Jays' contest against the Texas Rangers at Rogers Centre ... when cops say a female fan became enraged with law enforcement after they tried to boot her from her seat.

The Toronto Police Service says the woman and another man were involved in a fight with others in the area -- and officers were attempting to deescalate the situation by removing the two from the section.

But, in footage of the incident, you can see as the two were being escorted out ... the woman quickly turned and launched a right hand into the cheek of a female officer.

Video shows the woman was then taken to the ground immediately after the punch ... and was ultimately put in handcuffs.

Cops say the woman, ID'ed as 27 years old, was eventually arrested and charged with assaulting a police officer and being intoxicated in a public place.

You knew this was coming ...

Alex Rodriguez was epically teased over his ex, Jennifer Lopez, getting engaged to Ben Affleck ... with Michael Kay hinting at it during the Yankees vs. Red Sox game -- and the moment is hilarious.

The ex-MLB slugger was chopping it up with his co-host during the "KayRod" broadcast of "Sunday Night Baseball" on ESPN 2 ... when Kay decided to poke some fun.

"It's a great time in sports," Kay said in the 9th inning. "You have a new Masters champion, NBA playoffs are about to start, baseball's in full swing, people getting engaged. I mean, it's a happy time in the world."

A-Rod's reaction is priceless -- he awkwardly plays along and says, "Happiness and world peace is what we're looking for."

The best part -- after 2 seconds of piercing silence, A-Rod returned his focus to the game ... saying, "The 2-1 pitch."

Remember, J-Rod started dating in 2017 ... and were engaged in 2019. They never made it to the alter, as they broke up in 2021.

As for Kay and Rodriguez, they didn't always have the greatest relationship ... but it seems like they're all good now.