Baseball

The New York Yankees shocked the baseball world on Friday -- the team dropped their longstanding facial hair ban ... paving the way for players to grow out their beards!!!

Team owner Hal Steinbrenner made the announcement a few minutes ago, saying he has recently spoken with current and former Yankees regarding the organizational longstanding policy AGAINST beards.

"Ultimately the final decision rests with me, and after great consideration, we will be amending our expectations to our players and uniformed personnel to have well-groomed beards going forward," Hal said.

Former Major League Baseball pitcher Scott Sauerbeck has died at the age of 53, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Thursday.

Details surrounding his passing have not been revealed.

Sauerbeck was selected by the New York Mets in the 23rd round of the 1994 draft. After spending time in New York's farm system, Pittsburgh then scooped up the Miami University (Ohio) product as part of the Rule 5 Draft in 1998.

Juan Soto's only been a Met for a few weeks, but he's already proving he's a helluva teammate ... as he just thanked Brett Baty for a kind gesture -- with a new car!!

Baty gave up his No. 22 jersey to Soto after the outfielder inked a massive 15-year, $765 million with New York in December ... and on Thursday, Soto surprised the 25-year-old with a Chevy Tahoe as an expression of gratitude.

The ride featured "Thanks For #22" written on the back ... and when Baty saw it, he was in love.

The world has finally found something Shohei Ohtani is mediocre at ... parallel parking!!

Check out video TMZ Sports obtained of the Dodgers superstar trying to land his Porsche tight to a curb on Monday night -- it's quite the show.

The Los Angeles pitcher and designated hitter was on his way to attend an eating contest with some of his teammates at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Glendale, Ariz. ... but it took him around a minute to get his ride into a space near the establishment.

MLB legend Wade Boggs took home a win bigger than any in his career ... as the 66-year-old rang the ceremonial bell in honor of beating prostate cancer!!

Boggs posted the special moment to his X account Monday morning ... showing him celebrating the victory in his cancer journey while "Smoke On the Water" by Deep Purple played in the background.

The 1996 World Series Champion was first diagnosed back in September 2024 ... making the announcement by posting a photo of a patient's guide to prostate cancer.

The feud between Patrick Mahomes Sr. and John Rocker clearly didn't end after they were separated on Bourbon St. last week ... as the two spent most of their Tuesday nights hurling insults at one another.

The barbs came just a few hours after video of the guys getting in a heated shouting match in New Orleans went viral.

First, it was Rocker who stated he wished he had "ruined" Mahomes' "bulls*** weekend even more" by punching him during their dust-up. Then it was Mahomes Sr. replying that he wanted Rocker to "keep my name out your loud mouth."

Robinson Cano's 42 years old, but he's adamant he could still be effective in the MLB ... telling TMZ Sports he could "for sure" still get some knocks in the Big Leagues.

The former New York Yankees superstar hasn't logged an official at-bat in The Show since the 2022 season, although when we asked him this week if he still believes he has pro juice left in him ... he didn't mince words.

"Oh," he said with a smile. "For sure. For sure! Yes!"

Ippei Mizuhara was officially sentenced to 57 months in prison on Thursday ... after fessing up to swindling millions from Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani.

Mizuhara's fate was determined in a Santa Ana, California court just minutes ago -- not only has he been sentenced to four years and some change behind bars, but he was also ordered to pay $18 million in restitution -- nearly $17 million to Ohtani and another $1.1 million to the IRS.

The former Angels and Dodgers employee pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of tax fraud back in June 2024 ... owning up to taking the money from Ohtani's bank account to clear his debts with bettors.

Aaron Judge ain't just a two-time MVP and a six-time All-Star ... he's now a dad!!!

The New York Yankees slugger announced Wednesday his wife, Samantha, gave birth to the couple's first child last week.

Judge said the little bundle of joy officially entered the world on Jan. 27 ... and she'll go by Nora Rose Judge.

8:30 AM PT -- A spokesperson for the Washington Wizards tells TMZ Sports they're planning to honor the crash victims with a moment of silence before their game against the Lakers in D.C. later Thursday.

D.C.-area sports teams are sending their thoughts and prayers to the dozens of people who are believed to have lost their lives in a midair plane crash Wednesday night.

The Nationals said in a statement they were "devastated" by the fatal collision that occurred when a Black Hawk helicopter seemed to fly into an American Airlines jet just above the Potomac River.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their loved ones," the MLB org. wrote.

Chicago Cubs owner Thomas Ricketts is used to getting an earful from fans about his baseball team ... but now he's even drawing the ire of LITTLE KIDS -- 'cause a six-year-old child called him cheap straight to his face!

TMZ Sports obtained the hilarious clip shot last weekend at the team's annual fan summit called "Cubs Convention." In the clip, Ricketts, owner and team chairman, was making the rounds signing autographs and chatting it up with supporters ... when he encountered the disgruntled young boy.

We're told the plan was for the kid to ask Ricketts to sign a bat inscribed with "The cheapest owner in Baseball" ... though TR obviously didn't play along.

Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, impersonated the MLB superstar on a phone call with a bank in order to swindle the Dodgers' designated hitter out of $200,000 ... newly released audio reveals.

The three-and-a-half-minute conversation was put out by federal prosecutors on Thursday, and in it ... you can clearly hear Mizuhara pretending to be Shohei.

In fact, after the bank's phone operator asks Mizuhara straight up "Who am I speaking with?," Ippei says without hesitation, "Shohei Ohtani."

Ichiro Suzuki is a very forgiving person ... 'cause the baseball superstar, who fell one vote short of being the second-ever unanimous Hall of Famer, has extended an invite to the foolish writer -- let's grab a drink!

Suzuki -- along with CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner -- met with the media on Thursday in Cooperstown to discuss all things baseball. Ichiro expressed gratitude for the writers who voted for him ... and acknowledged the one person who didn't think he was worthy of the selection.

"I would like to invite him over to my house," Suzuki said through a translator. "We'll have a drink together, and we'll have a good chat."

Ichiro received 393 out of 394 votes (Derek Jeter also missed out on being a unanimous selection by a single vote).

It was the 9th inning, bases loaded, full count for Billy Wagner's Hall of Fame hopes on Monday -- his last chance for enshrinement in Cooperstown -- and when the 7x All-Star got the call he finally made it, he was overcome with emotion!

The 16-year veteran -- who narrowly missed out on making the hall last year -- was in his final year of eligibility on the ballot. Unlike the nine other times ... the tenth time was the charm for Wagner, earning 82.5% of the 75% needed to earn his spot among baseball royalty.

The emotion was palpable for the 53-year-old ... as he could only muster a "Thank you" to the person on the other end of the line. His wife, Sarah Quesenberry, was there to support her man -- but luckily, this go-around was great news.

Roki Sasaki is getting a warm welcome in Los Angeles ... with the Dodgers' new star pitcher landing a personal meet-and-greet with LeBron James at the Lakers game!!

The 23-year-old Japanese athlete was front and center at the Purple and Gold's home win over the Washington Wizards ... getting a courtside view of King James' triple-double performance in the 111-88 victory.

The 40-year-old made sure to take a second to chop it up with the flamethrower ... shaking his hand as they exchanged pleasantries during shootaround.

The Paul Skenes rookie card that baseball fans everywhere have been itching to get their hands on has just been found!!

Topps reported Tuesday morning an 11-year-old from Los Angeles pulled the ultra-rare 1-of-1 from a pack -- and now, the young collector will have some big decisions to make.

Auction houses -- including Goldin -- have been desperately trying to be the arbiter of its sale ... believing it could net a life-changing fortune.