Baseball

A college baseball player allegedly ambushed an elderly man in a California bar, knocking the HELL out of him during a drunken altercation that was all caught on video.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Owen Hayes, 21, allegedly got into a heated confrontation with an 84-year-old man inside a Santa Clarita dive bar -- and the tensions soon turned violent.

Check out video, obtained by TMZ, which shows the fight that took place in the early morning hours of February 28. It starts with one guy arguing with the geriatric customer, as another man eventually steps between them.

A brawl broke out during the Jackson State and the Prairie View A&M baseball game in Texas over the weekend -- with benches clearing amid the chaos ... and now both sides are left dealing with the consequences.

It all went down on Saturday after senior Trenton Bush hit a walk-off RBI for the Panthers -- as the winners were celebrating at second base, a Tigers player sprinted from left field and into the huddle ... and that's when things took a turn.

As coaches tried to break up the athletes, a Panthers player fell to the ground near second base ... but he was eventually helped up to his feet.

Shohei Ohtani made his long-awaited return to the baseball diamond in Japan ... and he rocked some special cleats for the occasion -- which prominently featured his beloved pup, Decoy!!

Ohtani gave fans a close look at the footwear following his Los Angeles Dodgers' 4-1 win over the Chicago Cubs ... showing off the popular pooch stitched into the heel of his shoe and painted on the bottom.

He also displayed some tasty treats his wife, Mamiko, got from Ete ... which is an exclusive restaurant in Japan that says they only serve one group per day!

The MLB officially kicked off its 2025 season in Japan on Tuesday morning ... and plenty of celebs caught lengthy flights to check out the action in person -- including Bill Murray!!

The diehard Chicago supporter was joined by Billie Jean King, Ken Griffey Jr. and a host of other legends to catch Game 1 of the Cubs vs. Dodgers Tokyo Series ... and the action both on the diamond and off of it didn't disappoint.

Shohei Ohtani starred, recording two hits and scoring two runs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga each pitched great games, too.

Shohei Ohtani and Takashi Murakami teamed up to autograph some highly coveted baseball cards ahead of the MLB Tokyo Series ... and it goes without saying, these pieces of cardboard are going to be insanely valuable.

The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar and famous Japanese artist got together on Monday ... where they opened several boxes of the exclusive Topps x Takashi Murakami MLB Tokyo Series collection.

They appeared on Fanatics Live and signed "redemption cards" for two Topps sets created by Murakami ... which will surely be highly coveted by any collector.

The Dodgers will kick off the 2025 campaign without their star shortstop ... Mookie Betts will miss the opening series with an illness -- which was so bad the former A.L. MVP dropped 15 lbs!

Manager Dave Roberts made the announcement Monday in Tokyo ... saying that while Betts has begun to feel better, he's still trying to get his strength back, and rehydrate from the couple of days he was ill.

"When you're dehydrated, that's what opens a person up to soft tissue injuries. We're very mindful of that," the skipper said, making it clear he didn't want to risk injury with Mookie.

MLB Opening Day is going to be a bit sweeter than usual this year ... as several teams are offering up some decadent dishes for the big baseball holiday -- including s'mores quesadillas!!

The Philadelphia Phillies are the ones who will serve up the crispy flour tortilla treat at Citizens Bank Park -- revealing Monday the stomach fodder will have Nutella, mini marshmallows and graham cracker crumbles inside of it.

Over at Coors Field in Colorado, the Rockies, too, have some sugar on their OD menu, putting out dessert nachos for their fans. They'll feature cinnamon, berries, caramel and more.

2:59 PM PT -- Mitch Voit is expressing regret over his viral celebration ... saying his actions do not reflect how he was raised, his character or the school.

"I made an immature decision in the heat of the moment," Voit said in a statement.

"I take full responsibility for what I did, and I am truly sorry to all those who I have negatively impacted by doing this."

Mitch Voit gave a whole 'nother meaning to "line" drive during Sunday's USC vs. Michigan baseball game ... after he hit a big RBI triple, he appeared to pretend to snort cocaine!!

The wild scene all unfolded during the second inning of the Wolverines' tilt with the Trojans in Ann Arbor, after Voit roped a pitch to center field.

He rounded second and slid head-first into third ... and when he realized his bat just plated three runs for his Michigan squad, he put his nose to the nearby chalk line and took a big sniff.

The Tokyo Dome was PACKED with fans wanting to get a glimpse of the Dodgers in action ... but the crazy part is it wasn't even for a game -- it was just a workout!!

More than 10,000 fans filed into the stadium to catch local heroes Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki and their Dodgers teammates take the field for practice ahead of their two-game tilt against Chicago in the MLB Tokyo Series starting on Tuesday.

For spectators who wanted an early preview of the World Series champs, the get-in price for the workout was ¥2,000 -- or about $13 here in the States. Tickets reportedly sold out in about an hour.

The Tampa Bays Rays' plans to build a brand new ballpark in St. Petersburg have been scrapped ... the team announced it's now shifting its focus to restoring its current Tropicana Field home for the 2026 season.

The team released a statement on social media Thursday morning ... saying after careful deliberation, "We have concluded we cannot move forward with the new ballpark and development project at this time."

"A series of events beginning in October that no one could have anticipated led to this difficult decision."

Opening Day is still over a week away for most MLB teams, but baseball fans better start saving up room in their tummies now ... 'cause several squads just unveiled some new dishes for their special afternoons -- and most are HUGE!!

The Cubs, Orioles, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Nationals and Marlins all revealed what they'll be serving to their supporters at their home games over the next few weeks ... and the items look delicious -- and calorically dense.

At Wrigley Field, they'll offer up a vegetarian burger topped with kimchi -- plus a roast beef sandwich that's held together by some fried plantains.

A Texas Rangers ballcap was pulled from online shops this week ... after fans were outraged that it looked like it spelled out a Spanish vulgarity for a woman's breasts.

The hat featured the Rangers' "T" logo superimposed over the word "Texas" ... and while it initially seemed innocent -- social media users were quick to point out that it actually appeared to say "Tetas."

Many took to X to poke fun and complain about the lid ... and, by Monday night, after the cries grew so loud, it was no longer available for purchase.

The walk-off Grand Slam baseball that Jason Giambi blasted into the Yankee Stadium bleachers in 2002 -- his first huge moment as part of the Bronx Bombers -- just hit the auction block!

Baseball fans will remember. Giambi was fresh off inking a deal that despite sounding like a downright bargain in 2025, was huge in the early 2000s (7 years, $120 million). The Yanks new slugger wasn't slumping to start the long season, but wasn't exactly off to a hot start, either.

It was May 17, 2002, and the Twins were in NYC to face the Yankees. Bernie Williams hit a game-tying, solo homer in the 9th to push the game to extra innings.

Politics ain't the only thing Johnny Damon and Donald Trump agree on ... the former MLB star tells TMZ Sports POTUS is right when it comes to Pete Rose's Hall of Fame candidacy as well.

Trump took to his Truth Social page on Friday night to demand MLB "get off its fat, lazy ass" and put Rose into Cooperstown ... and when we spoke with Damon about the opinion on Monday, he told us he concurred.

The ex-Red Sox outfielder -- who actually served on the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition during Trump's first term in D.C. -- said the game's climate has changed so much since Rose was first given a perma-ban for gambling on baseball that he now thinks it's about time to get the MLB's Hit King into the HOF.

A special piece of Jackie Robinson memorabilia is about to hit auction ... and TMZ Sports has learned it could fetch over $400K!!

The 1948 Leaf card is regarded as Robinson's true rookie card ... and Heritage Auction has acquired one of only eight that has received a "superior assessment."

The card has an image of Robinson wearing his Brooklyn Dodgers cap in front of a yellow background ... and it's graded a PSA NM-MT 8.

Former Milwaukee Brewer Willy Adames faced off against his old squad for the first time since legendary broadcaster Bob Uecker's death on Friday ... and after the game, he opened up on just how much the loss affected him.

The shortstop spoke with the media following the Giants' 9-2 win at Spring Training ... and he was clearly emotional talking about the commentator.

Adames said he was hoping to attend Uecker's funeral ... but wasn't able to as his family elected to keep it private.