MLB

Brad Lesley -- who played a few years of Major League Baseball before appearing in a slew of '90s sports movies -- passed away this weekend. He was 54.

Lesley's ex-wife, Chiho Svimonoff, tells TMZ ... Lesley had been suffering from kidney problems and had been living in a nursing home for the past seven months, where he was receiving dialysis.

Svimonoff says Lesley was rushed to a hospital in Marina Del Rey on Saturday night and ultimately died from kidney failure.

Lesley played for the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers from 1982 to 1985 before switching to acting. In the '90s, he appeared in "Mr. Baseball," "Space Jam" ... and, of course, he played that angry pitcher with the goatee in "Little Big League."

R.I.P.

Barry Bonds GOT JACKED, SON!!!

Someone -- or someones -- stole Barry's famous home run champion plaque right off the stadium wall at AT&T ballpark in San Francisco last night.

The plaque was originally unveiled at the stadium a few years ago, after Barry smacked his 756th* dinger while playing for the SF Giants.

But a rep for the team says it went missing last night -- explaining, "We're not sure what happened. We're reviewing video, but haven't found anything yet.''

Stealing a home run plaque right off the wall?? That's gotta take some big, giant cojones ... so, obviously the culprit isn't a steroid user.

If Alex Rodriguez wants to lounge in the sun while his teammates play baseball ... Artie Lange thinks A-Rod needs to spend some of his $29 million salary on a round of beers -- for all of Yankee Stadium!

We're exaggerating a little, but Artie -- a die-hard Yankees fan -- is definitely pissed about the photos of A-Rod and his gf Torrie Wilson sunbathing in Miami while he's out of the lineup ... rehabbing his injured hip.

You gotta see Artie's rant about A-Rod's astronomical salary and how much it's costing fans. It starts like this -- "Just imagine you're a forklift operator who makes $35,000 a year and you've got an enormously fat son that you like taking to Yankee games" ... and you gotta buy 4 hot dogs for him.

Artie goes off ... and you gotta hear it in his words. It is HYSTERICAL!

And by the way, Artie does have a way for A-Rod to make it up to the fans. It involves ... a bodega and rape.

Frank McCourt is covering his bases for today's legal battle with ex-wife Jamie McCourt ... he dined last night with a priest.

Frank was at Toscana restaurant in Brentwood with a very hot young woman and the man of the cloth.

So the questions:

1. Since we've seen Frank with this woman before, we were wondering if he's tying the knot again -- with the help of the priest.

2. If he's not getting hitched again, was he looking for some divine intervention to torpedo Jamie's claim that Frank screwed her out of hundreds of millions of bucks by undervaluing the Dodgers.

3. How does Frank feel about what Magic Johnson said -- that he'd support and protect a member of the Dodgers who came out of the closet?

While the New York Yankees got ready to play the Orioles -- injured superstar Alex Rodriguez engaged in his version of spring training today ... lounging poolside with gf Torrie Wilson.

A-Rod's recuperating from major hip surgery, but the 37-year-old is keeping busy -- y'know ... checking Facebook, soaking up the sun and enjoying the sight of Torrie's rock hard bikini bod in Miami ...

Jay-Z and Beyonce celebrated their wedding anniversary with an opportunely timed trip to Cuba that raises some questions, like ... is this strictly for pleasure, or maybe a little business too?

B and 'Hova were photographed strolling all over Havana on Thursday ... their 5th anniversary.

Technically, US citizens are not supposed to travel to the communist nation from the states if it's purely for tourism ... though there are ways to skirt the travel ban.

For instance, travelers can obtain a "cultural exchange" license from the US government.

It's not clear if baseball qualifies as "cultural exchange" -- or if Jay and Beyonce obtained a travel license.

Magic Johnson has never talked about it before ... but he wanted to open up about his gay son and the implications that Earvin Johnson III's coming out will have in the black community, in the sports community and in their lives.

TMZ sat down with the NBA legend for an unbelievably candid interview -- we've divided the video into three parts:

1) How Magic went to his son around the age of 13 and asked, "Are you gay?" Magic explains why he felt the need to approach his kid and the importance of letting EJ know his whole family loved and supported him.

2) Magic tells us how he feels about some of the hateful reactions to EJ's coming out on African-American blogs and whether he's bitter, given his unparalleled support of the black community.

3) Magic talks about how his son's coming out could inspire professional athletes to follow suit. Harvey also asks Magic how, as the owner of the L.A. Dodgers, he would react to a player coming out.

You gotta watch Magic -- he's awesome and inspiring.

New York Yankees slugger Andruw Jones is battling his estranged wife for custody of their son -- claiming he's the better parent ... just two months after he was popped for domestic violence.

Nicole Jones filed for divorce from Andruw back in January -- one week after the MLB star was arrested for allegedly dragging her through the garage and choking her. Charges are pending.

In the divorce docs, Nicole -- who was married to Jones for 10 years -- asked for primary physical custody of their 9-year-old son AND to have the prenup voided.

Now, Andruw has fired back in his own docs ... claiming HE should get primary physical custody, and not only that ... he shouldn't have to pony up a dime in child support.

It's been almost 25 years since Orel Hershiser fireballed the L.A. Dodgers past the Oakland A's in the 1988 World Series ... and this week, he reminded everyone of his former greatness by rocking his championship ring to dinner in Bev Hills.

Orel -- who's now part of ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" team -- was out at Madeo with friends this weekend ... when we noticed a large, shiny, blue object on his pitching hand.

Turns out, Orel still believes in showing off the goods in public ... 'cause the bling turned out to be his '88 ring ... and Orel was quick to flash it to the cameras.

On one hand, it's pretty badass ... on the other hand, it's a little Springsteen "Glory Days."

When we asked free agent MLB pitcher Brian Wilson if he would play for the Yankees next season ... he gave us a very interesting answer ... an answer that could be interpreted two ways:

The estranged wife of Dwight Gooden has been granted a temporary restraining order against the baseball legend after she had to call the police on him for making threats against her and her family … TMZ has learned.

According to documents obtained by TMZ, Monique Gooden called the Bergen County Police Department in New Jersey on March 1. Monique claims Dwight made "terroristic threats," specifically claiming he said, "All bets are off and I will hurt you and your family. You'll see, just wait."

We're told when police arrived, they called a family court judge who granted Monique a temporary restraining order on the spot after speaking to her on the phone.

Dwight is currently living in the same home as Monique as the couple goes through their divorce, but the judge ordered Dwight to grab his belongings and leave ... which he did. He was not arrested or taken into custody by police.

The court order also strips Dwight of visitation of his two young children until the next court hearing ... which is March 11. The judge will also decide at that time on whether to make the temporary restraining order a permanent one.

He was also ordered to continue to make payments on the Range Rover and its insurance for his wife, and make child support payments from a previous court order.

Monique filed for divorce back on November 20, 2012 after three years of marriage. Dwight was arrested back in 2005 for allegedly hitting Monique after she threw a phone at him.

Looks like Lenny Dykstra's going full Gandalf for his jaunt in the pokey -- TMZ obtained his never-before-seen mug shot ... and the former MLB star is sporting the makings of a fierce gray beard.

In case you missed it ... Dykstra is currently behind bars for a looong list of crimes ... this includes grand theft auto, bankruptcy fraud ... and not one, but two lewd Craigslist incidents.

By the make of his mug shot, Dykstra's clearly prepping himself for the long haul ... and what better way to do so than by taking a cue from the cast of "Duck Dynasty."

Colorado Rockies superstar Todd Helton -- who once signed a $141.5 MILLION contract -- was arrested for DUI while trying to drunkenly buy LOTTERY TICKETS ... this according to cops.

TMZ obtained the police report filed by the Thornton Police Department after the 39-year-old slugger was popped at a gas station in Colorado early Wednesday morning.

According to the report, cops tracked down Helton after receiving a tip that Todd's black Ford F-150 had struck a median and then parked at a nearby gas station.

When cops arrived to the scene, police say they saw Helton stumbling out of the gas station -- stinking of booze -- and clutching lottery tickets in his hand.

Cops say Helton denied striking a median ... but "made spontaneous statements about drinking two igloo cups of red wine."

Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton was arrested for DUI this morning -- and TMZ has the mug shot.

According to the police report, 39-year-old Helton was busted at 2:39 AM on 3 counts of drunk driving just outside of Denver.

Cops say Helton was cooperative.

A rep for the Rockies released a statement saying the MLB superstar "clearly understands the seriousness of his poor decision."

Helton -- a former All-Star -- was once considered one of the best hitters in baseball.

Helton just released a statement saying, "Last evening I exercised poor judgment and was charged with drinking and driving after driving to a gas station near my house. I am very sorry and embarrassed by my actions."

"I hold myself to a high standard and take my responsibility as a public figure very seriously. My entire career I have worked to set a positive example for my family and in our community and I fell far short of this standard."

San Francisco Giants pitcher Sergio Romo (and his beard) can breathe a sigh of relief ... 'cause the world series superstar will NOT be charged following his recent Vegas bust, TMZ has learned.

We broke the story ... Romo and his beard were detained by cops on New Year's Day -- after he allegedly became "angry and aggressive" with a TSA agent at the airport. According to sources, he appeared to be under the influence.

Romo and his beard were cited with a misdemeanor -- and escorted off airport grounds.

A rep for the Clark County District Attorney's office tells us ... Romo will NOT be charged due to a "lack of prosecutorial resources."

The rep explains, "We simply do not have the manpower or resources to go forward on every case ... and must weigh the value, provability, and seriousness of each case accordingly."

Jamie McCourt has filed a new lawsuit against her ex-hubby former L.A. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt ... claiming he grossly shortchanged her in the property settlement by fraudulently undervaluing their assets -- in particular the Dodgers.

In the lawsuit ... obtained by TMZ ... Jamie says based on the valuation of assets Frank's team provided ... she agreed to accept a $131 million settlement plus a few other things.

Jamie now says Frank cooked the books by undervaluing the Dodgers assets at less than 1/10 their actual value. Jamie says their total assets were more than $1.7 BILLION.

Jamie says based on the real numbers, she should have received more than $900 million.