MLB

The FBI, the Boston PD, the Dept. of Homeland Security ... just about every law enforcement group in the land will be patrolling the Boston area in force during the World Series in an effort to thwart a possible terrorist attack, TMZ has learned.

In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing back in April, the city is taking every possible measure to make sure people are safe when the Series comes to Beantown on Wednesday.

TMZ spoke with multiple law enforcement agencies ... who told us the Boston PD will be in charge of coordinating the plan to keep the area safe.

The police presence will be huge -- and in your face -- with uniformed and undercover officers, bomb-sniffing dogs, snipers and other counterterrorism measures in place.

Still, cops tell us ... as usual, they count on the people to provide tips if they see anything suspicious. See something, say something.

This is L.A. Dodgers star Andre Ethier stealing a page from serial fashion assassin (and TBS sideline reporter) Craig Sager ... and rocking an aggressively ugly plaid suit near the team bus.

It appears the pic was taken outside Dodger Stadium today as Ethier and the team boarded the team bus for their trip to St. Louis for Game 6 of the NLCS.

We're not saying Ethier's outfit is the worst we've ever seen (we're looking at YOU Dwyane Wade) ... but it's definitely up there.

Diggin' the yellow bow tie though.

Cal Ripken Jr. tells TMZ ... his mother is "doing well" after she thwarted a gun-toting bad guy who allegedly tried to jack her car in a bank parking lot in Maryland.

Cops say Violet Ripken was held up at gunpoint on Tuesday afternoon -- but calmly pressed the panic button on her car key and scared the guy away. The suspect was later arrested after cops obtained a photo of the suspect from a nearby ATM.

Scary stuff ... but last night outside Madeo in L.A. -- where Cal was having dinner with fellow Orioles legend Eddie Murray -- Ripken told us his mom is on the mend after the frightening encounter ... her second incident with a gunman in 2 years.

There's something about Cal Ripken Jr.'s mom -- because cops say she was just threatened at gunpoint in Maryland ... barely a year after she was abducted at gunpoint in the same area.

Law enforcement in Aberdeen tell TMZ, Violet Ripken was leaving an NBRS bank Tuesday when she was confronted by a handgun-wielding man in the parking lot. Vi told cops the man demanded her car.

At that point, cops say Cal's mom was able to sound the panic alarm on the vehicle, and the man fled. He was later apprehended by police.

Thankfully, Cal's mom wasn't hurt during the exchange -- but it's still a scary reminder of last July, when Violet was abducted at gunpoint, forced into a car, and held against her will for 23 hours.

If New Jersey had a baseball team, it should be called "THE LOSERS," this according to Snooki ... talk about biting the hand that fed ya.

It's pretty shocking, considering the MTV star spent several years in NJ ... where she lived, boozed and shot her reality show.

But right after she made the comment on the way out of Boa Steakhouse in L.A., the backtracking began ...

Snooks insisted the comment was NOT made to be a shot at Jersey on the whole, but more of a shot at HERSELF and the "Jersey Shore" cast, because "we were all turds back then."

It's bad enough that he can't play, but injured Dodgers star Matt Kemp isn't traveling with the team either -- and TMZ has video of the All Star gimping his way through LAX today on a scooter.

With the rest of the squad already in St. Louis for the NLCS, Kemp -- nursing two injuries -- wheeled through the airport Thursday afternoon on a medical scooter designed to help him keep the weight off his busted right ankle.

Kemp seemed pretty bummed out about the situation -- and for good reason -- telling us that having to ride around on the scooter, while the rest of the guys are prepping for the Cards, straight up blows.

But don't feel too bad for Matt -- he still raked in roughly $20 million this season ... so it's not a total loss.

His FATHER was a baseball star. HE was a baseball star. But Ken Griffey Jr.'s son WON'T carry on the MLB legacy 'cause he chose football instead ... and KG2 tells TMZ he's totally cool with it.

Turns out, Ken's kid Trey Griffey is a freshman wide receiver for the University of Arizona ... and Ken's in L.A. to watch the Wildcats take on USC tonight.

But when we asked if he was a little disappointed that his 6'3", 190 pound kid won't be following in his Major League footsteps, Ken gave a pretty heartfelt reply.

"He loves football ... and as a parent, I've got to be supportive of that," Ken told us ... adding, "You can't tell your child what to love and not to love."

But that's not all ... we also asked Ken about his kid's chances of making the NFL, if he considers himself the greatest HR hitter of his generation, and his encounter with Charlie Sheen.

The L.A. Dodgers will NOT pay for the cameras that Yasiel Puig broke during the frenzied Gatorade-fueled celebration after winning the N.L.D.S. last night ... and that's exactly the way TBS wants it, TMZ has learned.

Well-placed sources connected with the Dodgers tell TMZ, broken cameras are all part of the drill during a celebration.

As one source put it, "TBS would never approach us for that. It's all part of the celebration."

Those cameras are nothing to sneeze at -- they can run anywhere from $50k to $75k.

What's more, one well-placed Dodgers source tells TMZ ... other cameras were broken in the locker room during the champagne celebration and nobody from the outside saw it happen ... but no one is complaining.

The cost of doing business ... it ain't always cheap.

Former pro baseball star Gabe Kapler has filed for divorce from his wife of 14 years ... and in the divorce docs he's made it clear -- he wants his maiden name back!

Kapler -- who's now an analyst on Fox Sports 1 -- filed the docs in L.A. County Superior court in an effort to end his marriage to Lisa Kapler, who he married back in 1999.

According to the docs, Gabe is serving as his own lawyer in the divorce ... and appears to have filled out the complicated docs himself ... which might explain some of the strange requests.

For example -- Gabe checked the box asking to have his former name restored ... and included the name "Jansen" ... his wife's maiden name. Oops.

Kapler also checked the box asking for spousal support ... odd, considering he earned millions of dollars over his 12 year MLB career. Again, ooops.

The couple has two minor children together. Gabe is asking for joint custody.

7:36 AM PT -- Well, our suspicions were correct ...

We spoke to Gabe who confirms there WAS a clerical error made on the document and that he's now "looking into it."

9:05 AM PT -- MLB is lashing out against Alex's lawsuit -- calling it "nothing more than a desperate attempt to circumvent the Collective Bargaining Agreement."

MLB adds, "While we vehemently deny the allegations in the complaint, none of those allegations is relevant to the real issue: whether Mr. Rodriguez violated the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program by using and possessing numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including Testosterone and human Growth Hormone, over the course of multiple years and whether he violated the Basic Agreement by attempting to cover-up his violations of the Program by engaging in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate the Office of the Commissioner's investigation.”

A-Rod has come out swinging by filing a lawsuit against Bud Selig and MLB, claiming they paid off the star witness against the Yankee slugger ... paid him millions of dollars to help force A-Rod out of baseball.

The suit claims Selig and MLB paid $5 million to Anthony Bosch, head of the Biogenesis Clinic -- the place A-Rod allegedly went to in order to obtain undetectable steroids.

The upshot -- A-Rod believes the testimony is tainted by the hefty price tag.

The suit claims A-Rod has been unfairly targeted for a 211-game suspension -- which A-Rod's lawyer claims is a witch hunt.

The suit claims Selig and MLB interfered with A-Rod's contracts and business relationships.

Sources connected with A-Rod tell TMZ he's been tested for performance enhancing drugs 11 times since 2011 and they've come up clean every time.

This video of Dodgers superstar Matt Kemp -- limping around on crutches -- is gonna make you really sad ... or really pumped up for the baseball playoffs.

Talk about bittersweet ... the Dodgers are heading into the playoffs, but Kemp will be benched due to a swollen bone in his foot.

So, last night when we caught Matt gingerly making his way into a movie theater he confessed ... "I'm sad" -- but then added a prediction about the Dodgers' NLDS against the Atlanta Braves.

In Kemp's words ... "We gonna win."

Christopher McDonald earned his Yankees fan pinstripes last night by being the coolest guy ever when an obnoxious fan interrupted his night at the Stadium.

It went down during the late innings of future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera's final game at Yankee Stadium ... so an important game for a native New Yorker like Christopher to enjoy without being disturbed.

But you gotta see how he handled a young lady -- who may or may not have been over-served ... and wanted nothing more in life than to have a photo with Shooter McGavin. Total class act.

As the beer lady put it during the clip ... "Last call, last call!!"

Hey Chris, at least the fan left before Mariano took the mound.

Todd's wife Christy tells TMZ ... they had no idea the Rockies would be gifting him a horse during his send off -- but it's not a problem ... cause they just happen to have a 4,000 acre ranch (perks of earning more than $160 million).

We're told the horse -- named A Tru Bustamove -- is worth $45,000 and the Heltons already have a nickname for him ... "Busta."

Woo ha! Woo ha!!

QUESTION: What does the all-powerful Warlock think about while on jury duty?
ANSWER: Baseball.

Charlie Sheen was ripping cigs this morning outside the L.A. courthouse where he's performing his civic service ... when we asked about his take on MLB this season.

He's got some pretty interesting thoughts on this year's World Series contenders -- plus what the best MLB iPhone app is -- but the real interesting part is his new policy on betting ... or NOT betting. Check the clip.

Alex Rodriguez -- who signed a $275 million contract with the Yankees in 2007 -- is now pinching pennies by downsizing in a spectacular way.

A-Rod -- who dumped his $30 million oceanfront Miami palace -- just bought a nearby condo for $2.1 million -- around 15 times cheaper than his previous digs.

And when we say it's modest, we mean it. The "luxury" condo, purchased last month, is 1,725 sq. ft with 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms -- a broom closet in ARod's world.

The Miami mansion was a comfortable 19,861 sq. ft., with 9 bedrooms, 11 full bathrooms (plus 2 half bathrooms), a 4-car garage, a state of the art security system with 16 cameras, and a Zen garden.

A-Rod appears to be gearing up for a long winter in an uncertain future.

Randy Johnson -- one of the legendary players from the team -- tells TMZ ... Hiroshi's death has left a major void in the video game world.

The Big Unit -- who broke a slew of records on Yamauchi's watch -- tells us he was friends with HY back in the day ... but won't be attending the funeral in Japan since its for family and people super close to him.

Randy adds, “Mr Yamauchi was a great man who changed the world with his mind and spirit. He will be greatly missed."

Another fun fact: Yamauchi never attended one Mariners game ... go figure.