Baseball

The L.A. Dodgers may have won their opening day game against the Arizona Diamondbacks ... but some of their fans were big losers getting into a video-recorded brawl.

All the madness began Thursday afternoon at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, but the video above surfaced Friday on Instagram, and the footage is quite eye-popping.

Check it out ... in the clip, two women and two men go toe-to-toe in the stands, wrestling each other, pulling hair and throwing punches. During the brawl, one of the men falls backward, slamming into a metal railing ... but it doesn't seem like he or anyone else was seriously injured.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' Opening Day game was an emotional one for the Vesia family ... with Alex's wife sharing a heartbreaking post about their late daughter.

Kayla Vesia was present at Dodger Stadium as the back-to-back World Series champions took on the Arizona Diamondbacks ... and she admitted it was "a very bittersweet" start to the season.

"What I would give to have my Sterling girl here, carrying her in my heart always," she said.

2:20 PM PT -- Christopher Jackson addressed the flub with TMZ Sports ... and he said it won't keep him from performing the anthem in the future.

“I’ve had the honor of singing the National Anthem countless times in Stadiums around the country. Today was a beautiful Opening Day and it was thrilling to be there!" he said.

Jackson explained singing in these types of venues is a unique and challenging experience ... but usually, it's not a problem for him.

"Today it was for about 5 seconds … and one line got away from me. I’m human. But I won’t hesitate to step up to a mic and pay tribute to those that we honor with the Anthem. Grateful to the Mets and MLB for allowing me to be a small part of the Day."

The New York Mets' 2026 season is off to a piping-hot start ... thanks to their national anthem singer, award-winning "Hamilton" actor Christopher Jackson, messing up the "Star-Spangled Banner."

Barry Bonds pulled back the curtain on one of the wildest near-misses in baseball history ... revealing he was on the verge of joining the New York Yankees before a high-pressure call from George Steinbrenner sent the whole thing off the rails.

The home run king shared the story during Wednesday's Opening Night matchup between the Yankees and San Francisco Giants … when Bonds joined the Netflix broadcast and decided to finally share how close he came to heading to the Bronx.

“George isn’t here anymore, so I can tell the truth, right?” Bonds said, before explaining how Steinbrenner personally reached out during his 1992 free agency.

At the time, Bonds was already one of the biggest stars in the game, coming off two MVP seasons with the Pirates -- and the Yankees were ready to make him the highest-paid player in baseball.

But the offer came with a major condition: Bonds said he had to agree to the deal by 2 PM that same day -- and that didn’t sit well with him.

Frank Thomas donned a White Sox uniform for 16 seasons, but now he's taking his former team to court ... TMZ Sports has learned the Hall of Famer filed a lawsuit against the club, insisting they're using his name to sell merch without permission!

Thomas filed suit last week in Illinois, and he's targeting not just the White Sox, but Nike and Fanatics, too ... and the beef is over the Sox "City Connect 2.0" jersey, which the team announced in April 2025.

In the complaint, Thomas claims his name and number 35 were featured on some of the uni tops that were put up for sale, despite never getting consent, according to Thomas.

The Big Hurt says the White Sox -- and the retailers -- likely raked in huge profits, while he says he received "no compensation" for the use of "Thomas" and his iconic number 35.

Forget name, image and likeness … this is name, name and name.

Ben Rice just secured the most perfectly on-brand endorsement in sports ... linking up with Ben’s Original rice in a partnership that feels less like a deal and more like destiny.

Ben Rice. Ben’s rice. It practically signed itself.

But this isn’t just a funny coincidence … the Yankees standout is using the collab to do some real good, teaming with No Kid Hungry to help fight childhood hunger. The effort is already getting underway, starting with a donation tied to 22,000 meals for kids in need -- a nod to Rice’s No. 22 jersey.

Opening Day is next week, but baseball fans better start making room in their stomachs now ... 'cause TMZ Sports got an inside look at menus from several teams across MLB -- and they'll have a root-root-rooting for the home team!!

The Cubs, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Marlins, Nationals, Orioles, Rays and White Sox revealed some of the specialty menu items from Levy Restaurants that will be available when the first pitch is thrown.

For those in the DMV hoping to catch a Nationals game, the DC Monument Chicken Tower has it all. Inspired by the Washington Monument ... it comes with grilled chicken, smoked bacon, mixed greens, creamy chipotle ranch and gruyère cheese on a soft pretzel bun.

Deion Sanders and Karrueche Tran are still going strong ... and the Hall of Famer isn't shy about expressing his love for his lady -- saying during a recent vacation that she's "sweet as sugar."

The Colorado Buffaloes head coach opened up on his son Deion Jr.'s vlog on Tuesday ... as everyone was enjoying a getaway in St. Croix with family, friends, and Tran.

As the couple was enjoying the weather together, his son asked him to share something about Karrueche that no one knows ... and Deion praised her warm heart and endearing personality.

Team USA got their silver medals … and then made it clear they didn’t want ‘em.

Seconds after a crushing 3-2 loss to Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic final, multiple U.S. stars were seen pulling the medals right off their necks -- some before they even reached the dugout.

Cameras caught guys like Mason Miller, Kyle Schwarber, Logan Webb and Bobby Witt Jr. ditching the hardware almost instantly in a moment that’s now blowing up online.

The scene couldn’t have been more split.

Venezuela is on top of the baseball world after toppling Team USA in the finals of the World Baseball Classic ... and the players and fans were loving every second of it -- celebrating from the moment they scored the final out!

Fans were going wild in Alfredo Sadel Square, located in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela ... where they were throwing drinks and jumping for joy after Daniel Palencia struck Roman Anthony out to win the country's first-ever title in the tournament.

While supporters were partying in Venezuela, back stateside, Venezuelan fans were living it up inside LoanDepot Park in Miami. The stadium concourse was filled with fans chanting and using noisemakers -- a celebration that lingered in the area for an hour.

USA baseball is looking to channel a little Olympic magic ahead of the World Baseball Classic final against Venezuela ... as the team pulled up to the ballpark rocking game-worn sweaters from the gold medal-winning men's hockey team!

Each member of the squad got to rep a different player as they made their way to the crucial matchup ... and it was all thanks to Fanatics.

The captain of Team USA baseball, Aaron Judge, was handed the jersey of Auston Matthews -- who captained the men's hockey team during the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Other players spotted in the Red, White and Blue included Mason Miller, David Bednar, Logan Webb and Bryce Harper.

Pete Crow-Armstrong made it clear he called dibs on "his boy" Jack Hughes ... adding they wanted to show how the men's hockey team winning it all has inspired them during their WBC run.

If Italy needed any more motivation to win their World Baseball Classic semifinal matchup with Venezuela ... here's a stunning model wearing nothing but lingerie and a jersey to show support for her home country's team ahead of Monday's crucial game!!

The folks at Eats are capitalizing on all the action going down in the tournament ... and they joined forces with Ines Trocchia to pay tribute to Italy and their epic home run celebration.

The clip is really well done -- Ines takes several sips from a cup as she salutes the team ... and even kisses a baseball for good measure. It's a bit too sexy to share on our site -- but here's the link. You're welcome in advance.

Shohei Ohtani is taking the blame after Team Japan’s shocking exit from the World Baseball Classic … posting an emotional message to fans apologizing for falling short.

The Japanese superstar shared the note on Instagram after Japan’s title defense came to an abrupt end ... thanking supporters for backing the team -- while admitting he feels responsible for the disappointing finish.

“To all the fans, thank you for your support,” Ohtani wrote. “Your cheers pushed us forward every single day. We couldn’t reach the result we hoped for, and I strongly feel my own shortcomings.”

Japan entered as the defending champs after winning the 2023 WBC … when Ohtani famously struck out Mike Trout in the championship game to seal the title and take home MVP honors.

Team USA is heading to the World Baseball Classic final … and Derek Jeter says the controversial ending is exactly why baseball may need to change how these moments are handled.

The Americans beat the Dominican Republic 2–1 Sunday night, but the semifinal ended with a debated called strike three from closer Mason Miller to Dominican shortstop Geraldo Perdomo -- with the tying run standing on third base.

Perdomo watched the pitch sail low -- seemingly thinking he had drawn a walk -- but home-plate umpire Cory Blaser rang him up to end the game instantly. Replays appeared to show the pitch below the strike zone, sparking immediate debate.

Jeter, who was on the FOX postgame show, suggested the moment highlights why the tournament may eventually adopt an automated challenge system.

Team Japan is set to take the field on Saturday against Venezuela in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic in Miami ... and Yoshinobu Yamamoto and his teammate -- L.A. Angels pitcher Yusei Kikuchi -- gave folks at the park an up-close look at their arms!!

TMZ Sports obtained footage of the duo hitting a nearby park not long after they landed in the 305 earlier this week ... which shows them working on their mechanics as they get set not only for more WBC action -- but also for the upcoming MLB season.

Luckily for the two, they seemed to avoid drawing any crowd as they did their thing -- perhaps the parkgoers were oblivious to the star power in their presence.

Team USA manager Mark DeRosa tried to clear up his World Baseball Classic controversy -- but in doing so, he accidentally added another mix-up to the pile.

The skipper was already under fire after suggesting the U.S. clinched a quarterfinal spot before its matchup with Italy -- a comment that looked even worse after the Americans were stunned 8–6.

When DeRosa addressed the situation publicly on Thursday, he owned the original comment he made during a TV appearance on MLB Network after a big win over Mexico in the game prior.

But while explaining the situation, DeRosa misspoke again -- saying both teams entered the matchup 2–0, when in reality the U.S. was actually 3–0 heading into the game.