MLB

You might not think the MLB is the swaggiest league around ... but it turns out the hardball heroes are going custom car crazy for the holidays ... and TMZ Sports has pics of the jaw dropping rides.

We spoke with Alex Vega ... the dude behind south Florida's premiere customizing spot, The Auto Firm ... and he says the yuletide season has his spot JUMPING with baseball players looking to upgrade.

New York Yankees SS Starlin Castro brought his S50 AMG in and totally flipped it ... adding a full carbon fiber body kit, Avorza 22 inch Av37 forge wheels and all white custom leather interior.

Pablo Sandoval of the Boston Red Sox wasn't outdone by his Yankees rival ... adding a wide body kit, Avorza red and black leather and a custom exhaust system ... all setting him back $65k.

But the craziest job title went to Mariners RF Nelson Cruz... who dropped $40k on his Polaris slingshot ... adding a custom glow-in-the-dark paint job, a new sound system and 38 inch forged wheels.

The video we posted showing a man fighting another outside of Blue Martini in Miami is not Yasiel Puig.

TMZ Sports previously reported the video showed Puig based on representations made by people present at the club. But we have now determined he is not in the video.

It's no guarantee ... but Barry Bonds' new job as the hitting coach for the Miami Marlins is a "good start" in his quest for Cooperstown ... so says Marlins superstar Giancarlo Stanton.

Bonds hasn't made the cut for the Hall of Fame in his 3 years of eligibility ... due to allegations he juiced during his 22 year MLB career.

But Stanton -- who signed a $325 MILLION contract with the Marlins last year -- clearly thinks it's a good move for both Bonds and baseball ... he recently told "TMZ Sports" he thinks he can add a TON of value to the team as a coach.

When you've got a nickname as bad ass as "Da Meat Hook" ... ya gotta get one tatted on your body, right?

That's exactly how ex-MLB star Dmitri Young feels ... 'cause the 2-time All Star told us he loved the nickname so much, he HAD to memorialize it in ink -- and he showed us!

Also, Young had a busted finger ... courtesy of an 8-year-old with a baseball bat.

Jay Z's got some competition in the sports management world ... all thanks to Marc Anthony -- who just started his own company and ALREADY signed a pretty huge client.

Anthony just announced the creation of Magnus Media ... Marc's version of Roc Nation Sports ... and already inked Reds closer Aroldis Chapman, who holds the record for the fastest pitch ever recorded (105 mph).

Anthony's not going at it alone -- he's partnered up with Praver Shapiro Sports Management -- a sports agency that focuses on MLB players.

Anthony's been involved with Major League Baseball for years ... and famously sang the National Anthem at Shea Stadium in 2001 when baseball resumed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

This.Is.Awesome ...

White Sox star Alexei Ramirez was torn on what color he wanted his 2016 F-TYPE Jaguar to be ... so he dropped $25k so he wouldn't have to decide ... 'cause now the car freakin' CHANGES COLORS.

We spoke to customizing god Alex Vega from The Auto Firm who tells us the whip was painted by graffiti artist Rene Turrek using thermochromic paint ... meaning when the Jaguar is cold ... it's black ... but when it warms up it morphs into a red, white, and blue masterpiece.

Final price tag for the paint job? $25k!!

Alexei's ride is a work of art ... literally ... it's destined to be part of Miami's Art Basel show this December and is a joint project with Warren Henry Automotive Group.

Picasso, baby.

To the victors, GO THE BELT!!!!

The Royals should probably clear some extra space in the trophy case, 'cause Vince McMahon is sending some hardware to K.C.

Vince's right-hand man, Triple H, tweeted out ... "Congrats to the 2015 @MLB World Series Champions the Kansas City @Royals! #HeadedYourWay #DontGetChampagneOnTheTitle."

Lenny Dykstra was lying through his teeth when he claimed he would blackmail MLB umpires into giving him favorable calls during his playing days ... this according to SEVERAL umps.

The drama unfolded Tuesday, when Dykstra went on "The Herd" and claimed he spent $500k on private investigators to spy on umps -- and used their secrets (including gay sex romps) as leverage to get calls during games, especially during the 1993 season.

But we spoke to 4 of the top umpires who worked in the Majors during that period who all say Lenny is out of his mind, period.

-- Greg Bonin (MLB umpire 1984 to 2001)
"He's smoking something. He's full of sh*t. He always was, but now more than ever. I've never heard anything like that from an umpire. Never.

"I've heard a lot of funny stuff, but that's gotta be the funniest. Those drugs must've really messed his head up."

-- Larry Barnett (MLB umpire 1969 to 1999)
"It's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. He should've saved the money, he probably could've used it now. I was in professional baseball for a long time and I never heard something so stupid. It's ludicrous."

-- Jerry Layne (MLB umpire 1989 to present)
"Lenny Dykstra is out of his mind. "If you go back and look at every Lenny Dykstra at-bat something like that would stick out like a sore thumb."

"Think about it, how many times does a specific umpire come across Lenny Dykstra at the plate in a season? Put the math to it."

-- Paul Runge (MLB umpire 1973 to 1997)
"As much as baseball keeps an eye on the umpires, something like this couldn't happen. And if someone came to an ump and said, 'if you don't shrink the strike zone, I'm gonna expose you.' I think they'd go right to MLB, and that player would be out of baseball in a flash."

Ex-NY Yankees outfielder Chad Curtis says he's broke as hell and can't afford a lawyer to fight a sexual assault lawsuit ... claiming all he has left is $39 and some prison noodles.

Curtis -- who won 2 World Series titles with the Yanks -- is currently doing 15 years for sexually assaulting 3 female students at a Michigan high school where he coached back in 2011.

Now, the women have followed up with a civil suit against Curtis -- but the 46-year-old says he's so broke, he can't even afford a lawyer to defend himself.

"I have $39 in my personal account," Curtis told a federal judge Monday ... "The state of Michigan has taken everything I own."

He added that his personal estate is limited to the "nine noodles in my cell."

According to Mlive.com, Curtis told the judge the accusers are lying -- and says, "I know the truth is on my side. I do not believe there will be a large verdict."

Check out some of baseball’s heaviest hitters taking their talents to home plate and hitting with so much power that they’re turning their professional timber into toothpicks.

Click through the gallery to see this season's best broken bats.

RELAX ... forcing MLB rookies to wear dresses is no big deal -- despite criticism that it sends a bad message to kids -- so says ex-MLB star Nomar Garciaparra.

As we previously reported, the head of a powerful LGBT group is upset that several MLB teams forced their rookies to dress like women as part of a hazing ritual ... claiming it sends the message that the idea of men who wear dresses is something to be mocked.

But Nomar doesn't think it's a big deal at all -- telling TMZ Sports, "When it's fun and good taste it's all good."

For those about to rock Dodger Stadium -- know that the team's not about to let AC/DC headbangers screw up their run at the World Series by tearing up the field during Monday's show.

The Aussie rockers already left their mark on the Cubs' Wrigley Field. Manager Joe Maddon complained his infield got trashed after AC/DC's concert. So, with the band coming to L.A. ... a Dodger rep tells TMZ Sports they're taking no chances.

Instead of copying the Cubs -- who actually removed their turf and laid it down again -- the Blue Crew will leave the field as is. Their solution will be a special tarp placed over the entire playing surface.

We're told it worked like a charm when Sir Paul McCartney played the stadium last year ... so, team officials aren't too worried about AC/DC's fans.

Braves slugger Hector Olivera just came to America a year ago, but he's clearly exercising his freedom of swag ... dropping $50k to pimp out his 2016 Maybach.

Hector signed a 6 year, $62 million deal earlier this year, and dropped a chunk on the ride. But standard features weren't enough. He went to the Auto Firm in Miami to make it truly special.

Auto Firm boss, Alex Vega, says he added red and black Avorza "Honeycomb" leather, AV9 custom 23 inch wheels, plus state-of-the-art navigation and rear entertainment systems.

FYI -- the Maybach set Hector back $200k, so there's only one thing we can say about spending an extra $50k just to make it your own ...

MLB slugger David Ortiz may finally get his X-rated wish ... in the form of a REAL $100,000 SEX TAPE OFFER ... after Big Papi revealed that he's always wanted a secret career as a porn star.

Yogi Berra, a New York Yankees legend and one of the most beloved American sports stars in history, died Tuesday.

Yogi was an All-Star catcher for the Yankees from 1946 to 1963, and also played one year with the Mets before retiring as a player in 1965. He played in the Bronx alongside the likes of Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle ... earning a record TEN World Series rings.

Yogi also caught pitcher Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series.

He was just as famous for his quirky sayings, known as "Yogi-isms," as he was his Hall of Fame baseball career. Some of the best include:

- "Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical."

- "It gets late early out there."

- "If you come to a fork in the road, take it."

- "It's like deja vu all over again."

Miller played off Yogi's idioms for a popular 1987 beer commercial that happened to co-star a young Jason Alexander -- who, coincidentally, worked for the Yankees years later on "Seinfeld."

Yogi, whose birth name was Lawrence Peter, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and participated in the D-Day invasion. He started playing pro baseball when he got out of the service.

The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center in NJ announced his death. Yogi was 90.

There's only one thing ex-President Jimmy Carter loves as much as his Atlanta Braves ... and that's hot mouthing his wife on a stadium jumbotron, baby!!

90-year-old JC was at Thursday night's Blue Jays-Braves game, and when the kiss cam landed on him and Rosalynn Carter -- there was no hesitation. The Carters -- who've been married for 69 years (hehe) -- locked lips like they were drunken 20-somethings again.