Baseball

MLB great Pete Rose will be laid to rest in November ... with his family hosting a 14-hour visitation for fans at the Cincinnati Reds' Great American Ball Park.

The team revealed the plans on Thursday ... stating it will be an all-day event -- from 7 AM to 9 PM, symbolizing Charlie Hustle's jersey number.

It will be free and open to the public ... with the Reds saying they would like fans to "come together, honor his incredible legacy, and say their goodbye."

Traffic is always a nightmare in Los Angeles -- and it's expected to be even worse with a full slate of events throughout the city this weekend ... but TMZ Sports has learned the local public transit system is taking action to mitigate as many headaches as possible.

It's a fully stuffed few days for the City of Angels -- especially Friday, with the Dodgers, Lakers and USC all in action ... as well as concerts being held at the Intuit Dome and Forum.

L.A. County Metro tells TMZ Sports the service is bracing for the big weekend by increasing service on the rails ... mainly the A, B, D, and E lines.

If some pooches are looking a little blue in Los Angeles this week, don't be alarmed -- Dodgers fans are just coloring their dogs in the hopes it brings their team some good luck in the upcoming World Series.

Reporters over at NBCLA hit up a bunch of groomers in Southern California this week ... and found out Angelinos are flocking to shops to dye their pups' coats in an effort to support the boys in blue as they gear up to take on the Yankees.

All over Los Angeles County, paws, ears, and tails are getting dipped in Dodger blue ... but, don't worry, the groomers insist it's all "non-toxic" and "perfectly safe" for their fur babies.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will honor the late Fernando Valenzuela when they take the field for the World Series -- the team just announced it will pay tribute to the legend with a jersey patch.

The Dodgers shared visuals of the uniform tribute on Thursday ... which is a circle featuring Valenzuela's name and number placed on the left sleeve.

On top of the Fall Classic, the Dodgers said players will also wear the patch throughout the 2025 season as well.

BTS member J-Hope is wasting no time getting back in the spotlight after completing his military service ... throwing out the first pitch at a KBO Korean Series game!!

Hobi was a special guest for the matchup between the KIA Tigers and Samsung Lions ... taking the field in an EV9 SUV and embracing the crowd before the ceremonial toss.

The fans in attendance let out a loud cheer for the singer and rapper as he took the mound ... and fittingly, he had a purple custom glove with his name stitched into it.

Shohei Ohtani's historic 50/50 ball has a new owner -- the highly coveted piece of baseball memorabilia just sold for a whopping $4.39 MILLION at auction ... making it the most valuable ball in sports history.

Bidding on the item -- which was cosigned with Goldin Auctions -- ended on Tuesday ... and the final number far surpassed the $3 million paid for Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball from 1998, the previous record holder for balls sold at auction.

The winning offer was $3.6 million ... but including the 22-percent buyer's premium, it reached a staggering $4,392,000 price tag.

MLB fans better start warming up the hot dogs and buttering the popcorn ... because according to Alex Rodriguez, the impending Yankees vs. Dodgers championship matchup will be absolutely must-see TV!!

"It's going to be a great World Series," the former Yankees superstar told TMZ Sports while leaving Craig's in L.A. on Monday night. "The best in 25 years!"

Of course, you won't find many in the baseball world who will disagree ... as the New York vs. L.A. series does seem to have it all.

MLB fans looking to own Shohei Ohtani's historic 50/50 home run ball might need to break a few more piggy banks for it than they initially expected ... 'cause Ken Goldin just revealed to TMZ Sports it wouldn't surprise him if the baseball sold for over $10 MILLION later this week.

Currently, the memento -- which Ohtani smacked over a left field wall during a never-before-seen performance against the Marlins back on Sept. 19 -- is a few mil away from getting to eight figures ... but Goldin says it's totally possible it reaches the plateau by the time the final gavel drops on bidding on Tuesday night.

According to the auction expert -- whose auction house is actually overseeing the sale -- most bids usually come in the final hours ... and with it already being up over $2 mil, it can threaten the $10 mil threshold for sure.

John Mayer poured his damn heart out reflecting on his beloved Mets 2024 season -- penning an emotional message thanking the team and star shortstop, Francisco Lindor, for being a source of inspiration to him this year.

The legendary musician collected his thoughts a day after the Mets lost in the NLCS to the Los Angeles Dodgers ... and it's clear the impact the squad had on him goes far beyond the wins and losses on the baseball diamond.

In fact, Mayer recalled a moment during Dead & Company's residency at the Las Vegas Sphere ... when he injured his finger and half his nail was sheared off during a show -- but Lindor's resiliency helped him get through it.

The World Series features the two biggest superstars and most popular teams in the game ... and the ticket prices reflect that, 'cause TMZ Sports is told the cheapest seat for Game 1 is four figures!!

The Fall Classic begins at Dodger Stadium on Friday ... featuring a showdown between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees -- a matchup that hasn't happened in 43 years.

Gametime -- a company that specializes in last-minute tickets -- tells us the lowest entry price for Game 1 is $1,049 ... while Game 2 is much more at $1,896.

It was a bad night to be a bottle of booze in the Dodgers' clubhouse Sunday -- 'cause L.A. deleted more than a few to celebrate its huge NLCS victory ... with Shohei Ohtani leading the way!!

Check out how the MLB superstar and his teammates celebrated their Game 6 win over the New York Mets ... they took down container after container of alcohol in epic fashion.

Ohtani was seen spraying down his pals with multiple liters of champagne ... before several other Dodgers returned the favor, and poured Budweisers down his throat.

For the first time in 24 years, the Mets and Yankees have the chance to meet in the World Series -- and Mark Messier says the entire tri-state area is pulling for that dream matchup to become reality!!

TMZ Sports caught up with the New York Rangers legend (whose new Prime Video Series, "Game 7," drops on Oct. 22), and he told us if both teams are able to win their respective series ... the entire experience would be "incredible."

"Both teams have the opportunity to do it," he said. "They're good enough teams to do it. Let's just hope they their able to win both their series, and we're gonna be the benefactors of a great Subway Series."

The New York Mets are pulling out all the stops to keep their postseason dreams alive ... as they brought The Temptations to Citi Field to perform the national anthem and sing their hit, "My Girl."

The song -- which became Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor's walk-up track back in May -- became popular with fans before his at-bats ... with many singing along to the tune even after it would be cut off by the stadium speakers.

It wasn't just the fans enjoying the performance ahead of Game 5 ... as even Lindor was seen on the field vibing along to the legendary group as he was going through his pregame warmups!!!

It's clearly not peanuts and Cracker Jacks at the ole ball game for Magic Johnson these days ... check out the dish the NBA legend was munching on during L.A.'s playoff game Thursday night -- it's far from traditional ballpark grub, to say the least.

The former Lakers superstar -- who's now a part-owner of the Dodgers -- was in attendance at Citi Field for L.A.'s NLCS showdown with NY ... and as the broadcast took a tour of the celebs in the crowd, he was shown briefly on TV.

It's, of course, all part of being Magic -- this happens at nearly every event he goes to -- and it's almost always met with a shrug from viewers. But this time, his dinner choice at the game had social media users talking.

Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase isn't sweating the fact his poor outing almost cost his team a crucial win over the Yankees ... taking to Instagram to flex all the accomplishments he's racked up over the years -- after reportedly making a mad dash from the ballpark seven minutes after the contest concluded.

The 26-year-old -- who gave up back-to-back home runs to Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton to give New York the lead in the top of the 8th -- pulled out all the hardware to show that while it was far from the performance he wanted, one bad day doesn't define him.

Clase -- one of the best arms in the league -- showed off his American League Reliever of the Month awards, the rings he earned for being voted an MLB All-Star, and his All-MLB plaque from 2023.

Radio host Tony Massarotti is apologizing for muttering a racial slur while live on air this week ... telling his fans he had no idea the term was a derogatory one.

Massarotti unleashed the 80-second mea culpa during Thursday's episode of "Felger & Mazz" ... insisting he had no malice in his heart when he said "z*****head" during his show on Wednesday.

Massarotti was adamant he was simply trying to poke fun at his Gen Z-aged colleague ... and nothing further.