MLB

Darryl Strawberry's not living up to his name ... because according to a new lawsuit, he stiffed a produce company on a massive fruit and vegetable bill -- to the tune of $2,694.

New V&J Produce Corp has filed a lawsuit against Strawberry and his NYC restaurant Strawberry's Sports Grill, claiming it recently made multiple produce shipments to the establishment worth a total of $2,694.

According to the lawsuit, V&J has made several attempts to recover what it's owed ... but Strawberry has yet to pay up.

V&J is now suing for the full sum, plus $500 in attorneys' fees ... a total of $3,194. That's a lot of produce.

Ex-baseball star Dwight 'Doc' Gooden uncorked a verbal beanball at Michael Lohan -- calling him a rehab nightmare, and the root of Lindsay Lohan's problems.

Gooden's not the first to say that ... but he does have firsthand experience with Lindsay's dad -- they did a stint on "Celebrity Rehab" together back in 2011.

Doc, who's as famous for baseball glory as his battles with drug addiction, told Jim Rome ... "He was definitely a head case. I can kinda understand why Lindsay has the problems she has."

Even though Doc says Michael was the most screwed up of his 'Rehab' castmates ... you gotta check out the clip to see which one almost made him quit the show.

Just hours before Jose Canseco allegedly committed rape ... the alleged victim posed for a very flirty pic with J.C. in a Vegas casino and joked that they had just gotten married, TMZ has learned.

The pic was taken on the floor of the MGM Casino at 2:51 AM on May 10 -- with the woman cozying up for a couply shot with Jose ... with her open right hand placed on the center of his exposed chest.

The person who took the photo says he's a huge Canseco fan (apparently those still exist) ... and had recognized Jose strolling around the casino with a female companion.

The fan asked Jose if he could snap a shot -- and Jose obliged, striking a pose with the woman while she giggled and told the photog she and Jose had just tied the knot.

For the record -- we've done some digging, but couldn't find any proof of a Canseco marriage.

The photog told us the two seemed happy ... no signs of distress.

Of course, things changed -- 'cause the woman reportedly told police Jose drugged and raped her later that day.

Jose has denied the allegations -- claiming his accuser is making up the story for publicity.

Jose Canseco's ex-GF tells TMZ ... she believes J.C. is COMPLETELY INNOCENT ... and claims the woman accusing the former MLB star of rape is nothing more than a lying publicity whore.

We spoke to Leila Knight -- who dated Canseco for more than 4 years -- and she tells us she's spoken with Canseco at length about the sexual assault accusations that have been made against him in Las Vegas.

"I've been talking to him all day ... it's obvious that it's a publicity stunt, I mean -- the girl's an aspiring actress," Knight says.

Knight also says Canseco is a "gentle person" who always tells the truth -- "If anything, he's too honest."

He might not be great in October, but Alex Rodriguez is CRUSHING IT in May ... 'cause the baseball star just sold his Miami Beach mansion for a $15 MILLION profit, TMZ has learned.

We know ... A-Rod has accepted a $30 million offer for his 19,861-square-foot Miami Beach estate ... the same property he purchased in 2010 for $7.4 mil.

After he bought the place, the NY Yankees star sunk an additional $7.6 million into building his dream home -- meaning his total investment was $15 mil.

The home is unreal -- an oceanfront palace with 9 bedrooms, 11 full bathrooms (plus 2 half bathrooms), a 4-car garage, state of the art security system with 16 cameras and a Zen garden.

Plus, it's on the same street as Matt Damon!

Rodriguez quietly put the place on the market in August 2012 and was asking for $38 mil -- but ultimately, he decided to settle for a measly $30,000,000. Bummer ...

So who bought the joint? Unclear at this point ... but sources tell us the buyer is a celebrity who lives in Palm Beach.

Jose Canseco is under investigation in Las Vegas after a woman filed a report accusing the former MLB star of sexual assault ... but Jose says it's all BS, TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement tells us ... the 48-year-old retired baseball player has been named as a suspect in a police report filed with the Las Vegas Metro Police Department.

We're told ... the person who filed the report says the incident went down on May 10.

Canseco went to his Twitter page moments ago and said, "[The accuser] told police that I druged [sic] her and then raped her. hmmmmm. lets find out what really happened."

The accuser appears to be a fitness instructor who lives in Vegas.

Noah Wyle has a killer sports memorabilia collection -- KILLER -- and last night, the "Falling Skies" actor revealed his most prized possession ... and it has to do with Jackie Robinson.

Wyle was leaving Madeo last night with his girlfriend Sara Wells when we started talking baseball ... since the former "ER" star is known for being an avid baseball card collector.

But when it came to the crown jewel of Wyle's collection -- it wasn't a card ... but it has something to do with the 1952 Brooklyn Dodgers, one of the most important squads in the history of baseball.

And why, you ask? Just take a look at the roster -- Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges, Duke Snider and Joe Black, the first African American pitcher to win a World Series game.

Former MLB star Otis Nixon was arrested over the weekend in Atlanta after cops say they discovered a crack pipe and what appeared to be several crack rocks inside his car ... and it seems he's using the infamous "the crack belongs to my son" defense.

According to an incident report from the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, 54-year-old Nixon was pulled over just after midnight on Saturday after witnesses called police to report a Dodge Ram weaving all over the road.

During the stop, Nixon -- who played for the Braves, Indians and Expos -- was searched ... and cops say they found a pipe for smoking crack cocaine in Nixon's pants pocket and an item believed to be a crack rock in the driver's seat.

But that's not all ... cops say they found ANOTHER pipe and more suspected crack rocks in the floor board of the driver's side ... along with even more drug paraphernalia.

Now get this -- according to the report, Nixon told the sheriff's deputy that the substance they found in his car was indeed crack cocaine, but he said the pipes and drugs belonged to HIS SON and that he had been planning to get rid of the pipe.

Police say they conducted field sobriety tests and determined Nixon was NOT under the influence of crack cocaine or alcohol.

Nixon was arrested on charges of possession of cocaine and possession of a drug-related object.

Nixon -- who played 17 seasons in the bigs and stole 620 career bases -- is still in custody. Bail has been set at $11,880.

Story developing ...

It's an iconic photograph ... Jackie Robinson shaking hands with George Shuba -- the first time a white player and a black player did so in pro ball -- but the producers of "42" screwed it up in the new flick ... so says the man in the photo.

88-year-old George "Shotgun" Shuba -- who played ball with Robinson back in the 40s (above) -- tells TMZ he's disappointed producers chose to re-write history and CUT him from the famous scene.

George tells us, "I just wish they would have portrayed it correctly -- April 18, 1946 -- when I shook hands with Jackie as he crossed home plate in his first home run ever."

FYI: The scene in "42" randomly shows Jackie shaking hands with TWO white men at home plate instead, none of whom are George.

George's son was equally upset, "The producers should have done their research. Jackie was scared none of his teammates would shake his hands in public. That was a very historic moment that they eliminated."

Magic Johnson has just been swatted ... but this one is RADICALLY different from all the others ... because the LAPD is clearly hip to the prank now ... TMZ has learned.

Someone placed the electronic 911 call within the last hour ... claiming multiple shots were fired at Magic's L.A. home. We're also told the caller claimed the shooters were holding someone hostage.

As for the LAPD's response ... it was anemic compared to prior 911 incidents. We're told only a few patrol cars responded. There were no choppers, no SWAT team, no guns-drawn maneuver.

Apparently the LAPD has now figured out the markers that distinguish swatting from the real deal.

Cops on scene quickly confirmed it was a prank.

The daughter of a MLB pitcher who threw at Jackie Robinson's head in the movie "42" tells TMZ ... producers blatantly disregarded the truth and unfairly portrayed her dad as a racist.

It was one of the most important scenes in the flick ... big, bad Fritz Ostermueller (pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates at the time) fired a baseball at Jackie's head ... and then shouted at him, "You don't belong here!!!"

Problem is ... Fritz never beaned Jackie in the head in real life -- according to multiple reports at the time of the incident, the ball struck Jackie's arm.

Now, Fritz's daughter, Sherrill, is lashing out to TMZ -- "The producers of ‘42’ certainly owe my father an apology. If they were going to portray my father falsely, they should have used a fictional name."

Sherrill wants to make it clear -- her beef is NOT with Jackie ... "I have the deepest respect for Jackie Robinson and the courage he had to change baseball.”

However, Sherrill says producers have damaged her father's reputation beyond repair -- she tells us he was a "good man" who was never as angry or violent as he was portrayed in the movie.

We asked Sherrill if she believed her father was a racist -- to which she replied, "My dad, to my knowledge, was not a racist. I was not raised in that type of home."

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 ...