Baseball

Police are investigating the alleged attempt to poison a college baseball team by spiking their water jug with paint thinner ... and now cops are trying to get to the bottom of the wild claims.

In police docs we obtained, Kansas Wesleyan University filed an incident report with Lindsborg PD in Kansas ... where multiple unnamed people from the school are listed as victims.

In the report, several offenses are listed: criminal threat; contaminated food/water sources, battery; knowing/recklessly causing bodily harm, criminal damage to property.

On Sunday, a Twitter account (not affiliated with Kansas Wesleyan University or Barstool Sports) posted a picture of a water cooler that appears to show an unknown substance.

"Putting PAINT THINNER in our water coolers to get our baseball players sick and still getting toasted by 31 runs is WILD. Stay classy! Glad all our players are okay #buckfethany," the tweet read.

Important to note ... Bethany College, nor anyone from the school, is named in the police report.

The best play in the Padres vs. Reds game Tuesday night didn't belong to anyone actually ON the field ... no, it happened in the stands -- when a fan caught a foul ball while feeding a baby!

The awesome scene went down in the fifth inning of Cincinnati's tilt with San Diego at Great America Ball Park ... when Luis Campusano hit a foul ball up the third baseline.

The baseball ricocheted off some seats -- and then made a beeline for a dad who was quite occupied with a little baby in his arms.

You can see in the broadcast video from the stadium -- the dad, despite having a bottle in the baby's mouth, reached up over another fan, snagged the souvenir and didn't once disturb the toddler!

Everyone watching was shocked -- and the game's broadcasters couldn't help but gush over the dude's incredible dad feat.

"Nice job!" one of the announcers said. "Holds the bottle, no spillage! Baby in perfect bliss!"

Terrifying scene at a youth baseball game in South Carolina on Monday night ... a flurry of gunshots erupted near the diamond -- sending kids running in fear.

The incident -- which happened at around 8:44 p.m. at a local park in North Charleston -- was captured on video sent to ABC News 4 from a viewer ... showing as kids were playing in a game, dozens of gunshots rang out from a nearby parking lot.

According to the North Charleston Police Department, witnesses said the gunfire happened shortly after a large group of teenagers got into a fistfight in the area. Cops say the teens opened fire on each other following the physical altercation, but fled the area before officers arrived.

Police say three cars were hit by bullets during the incident ... but somehow, no one was injured.

As for the baseball game, you can see in video, coaches and players were horrified by it all -- with kids hitting the ground in an attempt to avoid any stray bullets.

A spokesperson for the NCPD said Tuesday morning the gunfire had nothing to do with the game ... adding that the mayor of North Charleston was "appalled by what he heard and saw."

The spokesperson said an investigation into the incident is underway ... explaining, "We will leave no stone unturned in bringing these suspects to justice."

Cops also said they're looking into ways they can make parks and playgrounds in the area safer -- and are providing resources to the kids who were affected by the terrifying incident.

Cleveland Guardians outfielder Myles Straw got right up in a Yankee fan's face and told him to "hit me, motherf***er" in the middle of a game over the weekend ... an altercation that resulted in spectators chucking trash in his direction.

The incident went down during the Yankees' walk-off win over the Guardians on Saturday ... after home fans allegedly mocked Steven Kwan for diving head-first into the outfield wall.

Straw was visibly upset with one of the fans in the front row ... climbing up on the fence and jawing at him.

A new video shows what exactly Straw said during the exchange ... in which he yelled, "hit me, motherf***er" repeatedly.

Of course, fans went after Straw again on Sunday ... calling him a "crybaby" and "Peter Parker" in reference to his wall climb.

Straw went off on Yanks fans in the locker rooms after the game ... referring to them as "the worst fan base on the planet."

No word on whether Straw will face any punishment for the altercation -- but bad interactions with fans are usually a big no-no.

Things got real between the L.A. Dodgers and San Diego Padres fans this weekend ... a bunch of brawls popped off at Petco Park, and the action was caught on video!

The series went down from Friday to Sunday ... and several fights broke out around the stadium. Men, women ... everyone partook in the fisticuffs.

In one of the more violent videos, you see two men wearing Padres attire goin' at it with two other guys rockin' L.A. gear -- as the men just tee off on each other.

Things took a scary turn at one point ... one of the guys seemingly slammed the back of his head on a metal bench.

Another showdown happened involving a big group of people ... and it was captured from two different angles.

Thankfully, stadium security eventually arrived and order was restored before the fight got any worse.

FYI, the Dodgers beat the Padres two out of three games ... and (thankfully) don't see each other again until 4th of July weekend.

This is awesome.

Tampa Bay Rays minor leaguer Tyler Zombro was met with cheers throughout the stadium on Sunday ... when he took the mound for the first time since his terrifying head injury last June.

Remember, 27-year-old Zombro was hit by a line drive during a minor league game for the Triple-A Durham Bulls ... requiring 16 plates and 32 screws to be installed into his head.

After nearly a year of recovery, Zombro made his big comeback on Sunday ... throwing a scoreless inning against Norfolk.

A welcoming message was displayed on the scoreboard as Zombro took the mound ... and players and coaches from both teams stepped out of the dugout to give the pitcher a standing ovation.

Zombro spoke about his comeback after the game ... saying, "I think it all came kind of full circle there and definitely was a symbol of me 'completing the journey' to be back to performing in Triple-A," according to MLB.

"It stirred up emotions in terms of everything that my support system has done for me -- Rays front office, Durham staff, wife, family, friends, teammates, etc."

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.