Baseball

The Los Angeles Dodgers may be without one of their best bullpen pieces for the World Series ... because Alex Vesia is taking a step back from the team to deal with what the team is calling a "deeply personal family matter."

The organization announced the news via a public statement Thursday afternoon ... writing that Alex and his wife Kayla are navigating this difficulty. The team is sending thoughts to the Vesias during this troubling time.

While the Dodgers didn't say what the personal matter is, we do know Kayla's pregnant with the couple's first child -- with Kayla looking ready to give birth any day in photos taken on the field after the Dodgers advanced to the World Series. It's unclear if that is at all related to his absence from the team.

The Yankees might have missed out on making the World Series this year, but rich New York supporters can fill the emptiness in their hearts with some unbelievable pieces of memorabilia -- including a game-worn jersey from one of Yogi Berra's first-ever MLB appearances!!

Grey Flannel Auctions tells TMZ Sports ... its newest lot features the Hall of Famer's rookie jersey, which was photo-matched to his second-career game in 1947 -- the same year the Yankees won the World Series.

The threads feature all the classic details, including the Spalding label and Berra's name tag. He also left his autograph under the Yankees logo in blue marker.

It looks like Kurt Suzuki's going to be putting on a Los Angeles Angels uniform again ... because he's reportedly set to serve as the team's next manager.

Sources spoke to ESPN and claimed the athlete has been called up to lead the team, which hasn't made it to the postseason since 2014.

Kurt spent a total of 16 seasons playing catcher in the MLB, and he was part of the Washington Nationals when they won the World Series in 2019.

The athlete spent his final two years as a player with the Angels, and he was later hired as a special assistant to the team's general manager, Perry Minasian.

Although former Angels Albert Pujols and Torii Hunter were reportedly in consideration for the gig, Kurt apparently came out on top.

He'll be replacing Ron Washington, who had to sit out much of the 2025 season to deal with health issues.

The Toronto Blue Jays didn't need to fly to Vegas after beating the Seattle Mariners and punching their tickets to the World Series -- they brought the nightclub vibes right to their locker room with an epic party for the ages!!

The Jays understood their assignment as soon as manager John Schneider told the team to enjoy the moment as they "earned the f*** out of this" ... 'cause the clubhouse was damn near unrecognizable just seconds later.

Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Game 7 hero George Springer were soaking it all in ... celebrating the moment before focusing on their impending showdown with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Six on Friday.

Those lucky enough to grab one of the three home run balls Shohei Ohtani belted last Friday night might be needing some bigger wallets soon ... 'cause one prominent auction expert tells TMZ Sports they could each be worth millions!

David Kohler, founder of SCP Auctions, said on Monday if he had one of the historic Ohtani mementos on his block ... he would anticipate it selling for "$3 million or more."

It's a staggering number, but Kohler said it's not far-fetched at all ... considering the famous 50/50 home run ball Ohtani smacked last year ultimately sold for $4.39 million.

Drake went from zero to 100 real quick after his beloved Blue Jays secured a date with the Dodgers in the World Series ... losing his absolute mind as soon as Toronto won Game 7 of the ALCS on Monday.

Drizzy -- the self-proclaimed 6ix God -- documented his watch party as Jeff Hoffman struck out Seattle Mariners superstar Julio Rodriguez in the top of the ninth inning ... and naturally, the vibes were high in the room.

"BIG SHOW ITS UP 6'ERRRRRRRS" Drake captioned the vid ... which featured him dropping some F-bombs as the final out was recorded.

The Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers fans involved in the "Call ICE" incident at American Family Field during the NLCS have been banned from the stadium ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Milwaukee addressed the viral video from the seventh inning of Game 2 ... saying, "The Brewers expect all persons attending games to be respectful of each other, and we do not condone in any way offensive statements fans make to each other about race, gender or national origin."

"Our priority is to ensure that all in attendance have a safe and enjoyable experience at the ballpark."

Forget the Ghostbusters ... the MLB should give Zak Bagans a call if the Milwaukee hotel players stay at is indeed haunted -- 'cause the "Ghost Adventures" star tells TMZ Sports he'll rid the place of any ghouls and goblins if they're there!!

Talk of the Cream City's potentially haunted B&B cropped back up again this week ... when Dodgers star Teoscar Hernandez ditched his teammates at the legendary Pfister Hotel over claims the place was jinxed.

Hernandez said his wife had heard all the horror stories of baseball players being toyed with by ghosts at the establishment -- so he had to find other lodging for L.A.'s NLCS road matchups against the Brewers.

The Chicago White Sox just heaped praise on Pope Leo XIV ... after he blessed their timeline with some Cubs shade!!

The head of the Catholic Church threw a quick quip at the North Siders on Wednesday while at the Vatican ... when he responded to a fan who shouted "Go Cubs" at him.

"Han perdido!" he fired back. "They lost!"

Mariners fans could have a whole new way to show support for Cal Raleigh soon ... as a porn site tells TMZ Sports it's aiming to give away butt plugs to Seattle fans at Wednesday's ALCS Game 3 in honor of the star catcher.

A spokesperson for CamSoda says as Raleigh and his famous nickname -- the "Big Dumper" -- keep shining in the postseason, it wants to capitalize on the craze by doling out sex toys ahead of the Ms' huge tilt with the Blue Jays.

The site tells us if Seattle officials allow it, it's looking to pass around thousands of CamSoda-branded butt plugs at T-Mobile Park just before first pitch.

Sandy Alomar Sr. -- the father of ex-MLB stars Roberto Alomar and Sandy Alomar Jr. -- has passed away at 81 years old.

The league confirmed the news on Monday ... after a local outlet in Puerto Rico reported the former California Angels star suffered a medical incident just a week prior to his 82nd birthday.

Alomar Sr. spent 15 years playing in the big leagues ... suiting up for six different teams. He finished his career with a .245 average, 13 home runs and 282 RBIs. While he didn't have much pop, Alomar Sr. was a threat on the basepath, stealing 227 bases during his career.

The Dodgers are still a few wins away from a World Series title, but they sure partied like they had just won the whole shebang on Thursday night ... celebrating their NLDS win with a wild beer and champagne party.

Just minutes after L.A. beat the Phillies on a walk-off error at Dodger Stadium ... they hit their locker room to delete a bunch of bottles of Budweiser and bubbly.

The guys sprayed the booze in epic fashion -- dousing one another for several minutes.

Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet's date night in the Bronx ended in heartbreak -- the couple watched the New York Yankees lose to their AL East rivals in the playoffs, ending the Yanks' season ... and the couple looked crushed!

The celeb couple was front and center for Game 4 of the Blue Jays and Yankees ALDS game, sitting not too far from where Bad Bunny sat the night before.

Chalamet -- a proud New York sports fan -- was super lit on the Yankees jumbotron during the ballgame, throwing up five fingers, saying "Yanks in 5" ... but it didn't age well.

Start spreading the news, the Toronto Blue Jays are on to the ALCS after defeating the New York Yankees Wednesday night in the Bronx ... and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and his teammates let it all out during their celebration, trolling their division rivals!

The team from up north popped the champagne bottles at Yankee Stadium not long after the 5-2 victory, and Guerrero Jr. was loving the fact that he sent Aaron Judge and the rest of the Yankees home for the winter.

Speaking with David Ortiz during the postgame show, Vlad let out Big Papi's iconic "Da Yankees lose" catchphrase multiple times ... much to the chagrin of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.

Bad Bunny raised eyebrows at the New York Yankees game Tuesday night ... choosing not to stand during the singing of "God Bless America."

During the 7th inning stretch, the crowd mostly stood and sang during the rendition of "God Bless America." In a live photo obtained by TMZ, you hear the crowd singing "guide her" ... as in the verse "stand beside her and guide her," which is toward the beginning of the song.

The Grammy winner was snapped taking in the game alongside friends during the Bronx Bombers' 9-6 rout of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Give Yankee Stadium security a tryout with the New York Giants ... 'cause staffers perfectly executed open field tackles on two fans who stormed the ALDS!!

The chaos occurred in the fourth inning of Game 3 between the Blue Jays and Yankees -- right when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was at the plate.

The first fan, who seems to be holding an Aaron Judge jersey, rushed the outfield ... only to get leveled by a security guard who charged all the way from first base.