Baseball

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Brooks Raley says the shooting in Texas on Tuesday hit very close to home for him ... revealing Wednesday he actually attended Robb Elementary School as a kid growing up in Uvalde.

"I walked those halls," the 33-year-old reliever told media members at his locker. "I can't imagine what they experienced yesterday."

Raley said he learned that a gunman had killed 19 students and two teachers at the school from family and friends who still live in the city ... and called it all an absolute tragedy.

"Obviously growing up there, going to that school, it kind of hits home," said Raley, whose parents and brother still live in Uvalde. "Having young children myself, you just feel for those families."

"And you pray for them, and your thoughts are with them."

Raley -- who moved out of Uvalde as a teenager to go to college at Texas A&M -- called the community surrounding Robb Elementary "small" and "close-knit" ... and added that he's really feeling for them.

Tom Brady is proving, yet again, he's great at everything ... revealing on Tuesday during a batting practice session with Rob Gronkowski that he's got a buttery smooth baseball swing!!

The 44-year-old hit up a diamond in what looked like South Florida with Gronk and his longtime trainer, Alex Guerrero, and took some sweet hacks from a left-handed stance.

Brady crushed two balls in the clip -- and looked every bit like he belonged in the batter's box.

"Got some cuts in this morning," said the 7-time Super Bowl champ, who was actually drafted by the Montreal Expos way back in 1995. "Wonder if that Expos offer is still on the table…"

In the clip, TB12 said it had been "a long f***ing time" since he last swung a bat ... but his deep fly balls to center and right field showed he's still got magic in his hands.

Brady -- who's a right-handed QB -- seemed to be impressed with his work ... joking with a fan on his TikTok page that he was "raking" with the bat.

Josh Donaldson was hit with a 1-game ban on Monday ... after the Yankees star made a Jackie Robinson reference toward Tim Anderson during a game.

The incident happened during New York's matchup with the White Sox on Saturday ... when JD said, "what's up, Jackie?" to Anderson, who is Black.

Sox manager Tony La Russa called the jab "racist," but Donaldson later claimed he was referring to a 2019 Sports Illustrated article, in which Anderson said he felt like "today's Jackie Robinson" ... and claimed he's joked with Anderson about it in the past.

Anderson was clearly pissed over JD's comment ... saying it was uncalled for and he'd "never sleep this off."

As a result of Donaldson's words, he's now been suspended one game ... which he'll appeal.

MLB's senior VP for on-field operations Michael Hill released a statement on the decision ... saying, "MLB has completed the process of speaking to the individuals involved in this incident. There is no dispute over what was said on the field."

"Regardless of Mr. Donaldson's intent, the comment he directed toward Mr. Anderson was disrespectful and in poor judgment, particularly when viewed in the context of their prior interactions."

A Texas Rangers farmhand completely befuddled a Houston Astros prospect with a perfectly executed hidden ball trick on Thursday ... and the epic play was all captured on video!

The trickery happened in the third inning of the Corpus Christi Hooks game against the Frisco RoughRiders -- after 'Stros prospect Justin Dirden knocked a base hit into right field.

As Dirden was celebrating the feat with his first base coach, Trey Hair devised a plan. The Rangers prospect hid the ball in the back of his glove and slowly made his way to Dirden.

In footage of the play, you can see Hair made a swipe at the bag, which caused Dirden to leave it -- and then he casually tagged the runner out.

Dirden was left perplexed, and questioned the umpire about the call. But, it turns out the ump said everything was legal -- and Dirden was ruled out!

Major League Baseball reporter Kelsey Wingert was drilled in the face by a line drive earlier this week ... and in a new photo she posted on Wednesday, you can see the ball did some serious damage to her forehead.

The incident happened during the ninth inning of the Colorado Rockies vs. San Francisco Giants game in Denver on Monday ... when Austin Slater belted a foul ball into the Rockies' dugout area.

The 95 MPH shot made a beeline right at Wingert, a Rockies reporter, and, unfortunately, she wasn't able to move out of the way.

The aftermath of the strike was caught on video -- and you can hear in the clip, one TV broadcaster was very concerned and asked, "Kelsey, you okay?"

Wingert was able to walk out of the dugout and did give a thumbs up ... but in an update on Wednesday, she revealed the strike caused a gnarly injury.

The 29-year-old said she had to spend five hours at a local hospital and needed several stitches to close the wound. She added that she required a CT scan as well.

Thankfully, Wingert said the testing went well and she's now doing OK -- and thanked the Rockies and her colleagues for all of the support in the wake of the incident.

"I've never experienced support like this," she said. "Thank you for the prayers."

A tight MLB game on Wednesday got a whole lot more interesting in the later innings ... when a fan ran onto the field, and, for a while, evaded security guards like an NFL running back.

The moment just happened in the Braves vs. Brewers game in Milwaukee.

Video shot by spectators inside the stadium shows a fan made it down to the field, and then began dancing in center field.

The guy shook his booty for quite a while before security eventually realized he was there -- and then, he evaded the guards who were trying to take him down for several seconds.

The man then sprinted from the outfield to the mound, before eventually making it to home plate ... all while juking stadium officials in the process.

Toward the end of his jaunt, the guy tried to get a high-five from a Milwaukee batter, but after the Brewer left the man hanging, security finally corralled the fan and got him off the diamond.

Former MLB star Matt Harvey -- who just recently signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles -- has been suspended by the league following his bombshell admissions while on the stand in the Tyler Skaggs trial.

Harvey has been banned 60 games, dating back to April 29 -- the MLB just announced.

The league says the 33-year-old right-hander participated "in the distribution of a prohibited Drug of Abuse" -- which violated the league's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

The suspension comes three months after Harvey admitted in a courtroom that he did give Skaggs Percocets while the two were teammates together with the Los Angeles Angels.

During his testimony -- which was part of the trial related to the 2019 death of Skaggs -- Harvey also admitted to taking painkillers while in the clubhouse. He also said he had previously been a user of cocaine.

Super sweet moment at Camden Yards on Monday ... a young Baltimore Orioles fan was able to get his souvenir home run ball back after he threw it onto the field.

The adorable scene happened in the eighth inning of New York's game against the O's ... when a youngster received a ball that had been smacked into the seats by Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton.

The kid was pumped to get the baseball -- but not knowing its true value ... he ended up hurling it onto the field just seconds after he was given it!!

The kid's dad was in disbelief at what happened ... shaking his head and laughing.

Good news, though -- after Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks spotted the ball and threw it back into the crowd ... the fans returned it to the toddler!

The kid -- who was wearing an Orioles jersey -- was all smiles, and so was his father, who actually lifted up his son with the baseball in hand -- much to the delight of the fans in attendance.

New York Yankees star Nestor Cortes has shut down his Twitter page and is issuing a mea culpa ... after some of his old tweets containing racial slurs were exposed this weekend.

While the Yanks were playing the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, more than a dozen old tweets from Cortes' account resurfaced ... showing the pitcher using the n-word several times in posts between 2012 and 2013.

Cortes was 17 or 18 years old when he wrote the tweets. One of the tweets seemed to be lyrics from French Montana's song, "Ain't Worried About Nothin."

The now-27-year-old baseball player apologized vehemently for it all on Monday ... and deactivated his account.

"It's unacceptable," Cortes told the New York Post prior to the Yankees' game against the Orioles on Monday. "I could have managed myself better and said stuff differently."

He added, "Those aren't the messages I want to send out. I deleted my Twitter to clean stuff up. Hopefully, I can make a better impact in the world for the people that look up to me to give a better example."

Cortes vowed to eventually return to Twitter "in the next few days" and keep his messages and interactions with fans positive.

Steve Aoki might be able to throw a cake with pinpoint accuracy -- but he sure as hell can't do the same with a baseball, 'cause he absolutely airmailed the ceremonial first pitch at the Red Sox game on Monday night ... and it was truly awful.

The DJ took the mound just minutes before Boston faced off with the Astros at Fenway Park ... and, given the results of the pitch, he's honestly probably wishing he hadn't.

Aoki warmed up his left arm, toed the rubber -- and then heaved a ball that went roughly 20 feet over his catcher's head. It was actually so bad, it rolled over the net behind home plate and fell into the crowd.

Video shot by people in the stadium shows fans were laughing at the pitch -- because it was seriously just that bad.

To his credit, Aoki had fun with the moment ... tweeting after the heave, "i’m gonna stick to throwing cakes."

Of course, Aoki is far from the first celeb to embarrass himself on an MLB diamond ... you'll recall, 50 Cent is known for the worst ever, throwing one sideways in 2014.

And, it ain't like Dr. Fauci's toss in Washington was much better in 2020.

Bills safety Micah Hyde is helping the Buffalo community after a mass shooting left 10 people dead and three others injured ... by committing to donate proceeds from his charity softball game over the weekend.

Hyde, a member of the Bills' org. for five seasons, had originally planned to host the softball game at Sahlen Field -- the Buffalo Bisons' minor league stadium -- to benefit his Imagine for Youth Foundation.

But, Micah almost canceled the event due to the horrific shooting at a Tops supermarket on Saturday ... although he ultimately decided to still hold it, and use it as a way to help victims of the tragedy.

Before the game, Hyde's org. received a $200,000 check from the event's sponsors ... and he announced a portion of those proceeds would go to victims' families.

Additionally, Hyde said money raised from a silent auction at the event would also support the loved ones of those who died in the mass shooting.

The 31-year-old Bills defensive back said he couldn't believe what happened ... and expressed one of the ways to eradicate hate in the world is by showing love to the youth and the community, like what he's doing with his charity softball game, which saw over 10,000 people attend.

The Bills tweeted out that they were praying for the Buffalo community ... and would be meeting Monday to discuss ways the team can help those affected by the senseless violence.

During an interview at the event Saturday, Bills star quarterback Josh Allen said he was "sick to his stomach" and that the incident "hits home" for him and his teammates.

An incredibly rare baseball signed by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky just sold at auction ... and a portion of the proceeds are going to a relief fund for the country.

The winning bid for the autographed baseball came in at $50,103 ... according to Boston-based RR Auction, which will be donating their cut of more than $15k to relief efforts in Zelensky's war-torn country.

The sale price is higher than expected ... remember, the ball was projected to go for $15k, and now that's the figure that's being donated.

Zelensky signed his last name on the baseball in two different languages ... Ukrainian cursive and English print ... with his signature underneath an MLB logo.

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

Randy L. Kaplan, a government affairs specialist in the Big Apple, got the ball as a gift from Yelchenko ... and he's been collecting signed Major League baseballs from world leaders and heads of state dating all the way back to 1996 with Bill Clinton.

We're told there were 35 bids entered and the buyer wishes to remain anonymous.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. just did his best Bo Jackson impression ... completely -- and easily -- destroying his bat over his leg following a tough strikeout.

The Toronto superstar turned his personalized lumber into kindling in the fifth inning of the Blue Jays' game against the Yankees ... when he struck out on a Jameson Taillon cutter.

Guerrero Jr. was so mad at himself for waving at a pitch that ended up outside of the zone -- he slammed his bat to the ground ... and then snapped it over his right quad.

Video shows the thing didn't stand a chance against the wrath of the 6'2, 235-pound first baseman ... it splintered all over the batter's box.

If you're wondering, there's no MLB rule against snapping a bat in frustration ... so Vladdy won't face any penalty over the temper tantrum.

As for the game ... the Jays are currently down 5-2 -- but Vlad's gotten another bat and is scheduled to come up again shortly.

It's 2022, but COVID is still finding ways to affect baseball ... the MLB just announced the Cleveland Guardians' game against the White Sox on Wednesday has been postponed due to a virus outbreak.

In a statement released just hours before the first pitch was scheduled to go down at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, the league said the game will not go on because of "multiple" positive COVID tests in the Guardians' org.

This is the first time in the 2022 season that an MLB game has been postponed over coronavirus.

Unclear which players tested positive for the virus ... but the Guardians did reveal prior to the game's postponement that manager Terry Francona had contracted COVID.

Scary moment on the MLB diamond Tuesday ... A's shortstop Elvis Andrus hit Chad Pinder in the face with his knee in a violent collision during Oakland's game against Detroit.

Thankfully, both guys were somehow OK.

The horrifying moment just went down in the fifth inning of the A's vs. Tigers afternoon matchup ... when Andrus attempted to leave the infield to catch a short pop-up that was dropping in left field.

Pinder raced in from deep in left to also try to catch the ball -- and as he dove to make the grab, Andrus accidentally hit him with full force.

Video shows Andrus' knee hit Pinder's face hard -- and the two stayed down on the grass for several minutes.

Trainers eventually came out to check on the Oakland duo -- and, wildly, both guys ended up being fine and stayed in the game.

Guardians first baseman, Josh Naylor, made history Monday night ... and then he celebrated like a madman, cussing up a storm and throwing his helmet -- and video of the scene is EPIC.

Naylor logged EIGHT RBIs in his final three at-bats of Cleveland's wild 12-9, extra-innings win over the Chicago White Sox ... and following his last AB -- one in which he hit the go-ahead three-run homer -- he completely lost it on his way to the dugout.

Video shot by a fan in the stands shows Naylor dropped F-bombs, hurled his helmet into a wall, pounded his chest and screamed, "You can't f***ing beat me!" over and over again.

Naylor also yelled about wanting "all of the smoke" constantly as he charged through his teammates.

The celly was a wild one -- but it's clearly warranted. In his last three at-bats of the Guardians' win, he had a double, a grand slam and a three-run homer. And, according to ESPN, Naylor became the first player in over 100 years to log eight RBIs in the eighth inning and on during a game.