MLB

Big Poppa Pump painfully pummeled a pierogi in Pittsburgh ... POW!

It all went down at the Pirates game ... ex-WWE superstar Scott Steiner was standing near the finish line of the pierogi race ... when he delivered a ferocious clothesline to the dashing dumpling.

Once a heel ...

Draymond Green was asked to throw out the first pitch at Monday's Oakland A's game -- but respectfully declined ... this according to a rep for the A's.

With the Golden State Warriors star serving a 1 game suspension -- and unable to be in the arena for Game 5 of the NBA Finals -- Green said he would be attending the A's game, located right next to Oracle Arena.

TMZ Sports spoke with A's Director of Corporate Communications, Catherine Aker, who confirmed Green will be in the stadium ... but doesn't want to make a spectacle.

"We extended an invitation to Draymond to throw out the first pitch and he declined. He would prefer to keep a low profile while at our game."

This is pretty funny ... unless you're Jose Bautista.

MLB star Rougned Odor hit up the Dallas Mavericks practice facility ... and completely mocked the instantly-legendary K.O. moment with Bautista -- using Dirk Nowitzki as his punching bag.

Clearly, the fight is the most memorable thing Odor has ever done ... but it's interesting that he's already making light of it while STILL SERVING HIS SUSPENSION for the May 15th fight!

Chandler Parsons also joined in on the Odor fun ... posting a pic and captioning it, "Our new team security."

Forget the Olympics, the Zika virus has already infiltrated MLB -- with Detroit Tigers pitcher Francisco Rodriguez saying he contracted the virus in Venezuela during the offseason.

The 34-year-old revealed his health status to ESPN -- saying his symptoms started off almost like a common cold ... but quickly escalated.

"It wasn't a cold. A cold, you have a sneeze, have a headache, take a couple Tylenol and you're done. You don't have a cold for two weeks, you don't have a bodyache for two weeks, you don't have headaches, throwing up, weaknesses for two weeks."

Rodriguez says he was bedridden for 2 weeks while he fought off the mosquito-borne virus -- which some experts say can cause severe birth defects and neurological issues in adults.

He also says it took him roughly 2 months before he started to feel normal again -- and notes that he was never considered contagious.

As for Olympic athletes worried about catching Zika in Brazil -- Rodriguez says the concern is real.

Here's Yasiel Puig starting off his Memorial Day weekend at one of the most patriotic places in the country ... the Statue of Liberty ... where he ran into one of his littlest fans!

The Cuban-born Dodgers star was heading over to Liberty Island (he's in town to play the Mets) when he saw a kid in a Puig #66 shirt and had to stop and take a picture.

"I come to the Statue of Liberty and find a little 66 fan thanks bro #dodgersfan #NYC."'

Cute, right?

Legendary Dodgers announcer Vin Scully has a very simple explanation about why he passed on calling the All-Star game in San Diego in July ... telling TMZ Sports, "I just didn't want to."

It's as simple as that.

Scully was reportedly approached by a Fox Sports executive recently and essentially offered anything he wanted to make it happen -- whether it was calling the whole game, 1 inning or just being a guest in the booth. But Vin respectfully declined the invitation.

So, when we saw him out in Bev Hills Thursday, we asked him about it.

NY Yankees superfan Artie Lange says Alex Rodriguez has been a disaster in the Big Apple -- calling him a stain and a poison ... who's supercharged the downfall of a once proud franchise.

"I didn't want him from day 1," Lange said ... "What did we get, one extra ring with his legacy?"

"A-Rod is a stain, he's just a poison."

You know that crazy clip of Indians shortstop Jose Ramirez kicking his helmet backwards ... only for it to magically reappear and smack him back in the head??

Turns out, it's not really that magical ... it's physics -- so says astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

The science whiz joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs tonight on FS1) -- and explained why the helmet returned to Ramirez like Yondu's whistle arrow in "Guardians of the Galaxy."

Kirk Gibson is an absolute badass ... telling TMZ Sports his Parkinson's disease is a huge pain in the ass -- but he REFUSES to give in.

The MLB legend was at LAX when he started talking about "this guy I carry around ... his name's Parky."

Our photog didn't quite get the connection -- but it's clear Gibson's talking about his medical condition, which he was diagnosed with last year.

You gotta watch the clip ... Gibson keeps it about as real as it gets.

Aroldis Chapman now bleeds red, white and blue ... even though he kinda already did (see: Cuba's flag) ... because the Cuban-born pitcher is now a full-fledged U.S. citizen.

The NY Yankees fireballer -- nicknamed the "Cuban Missle" -- defected from Cuba (by way of the Netherlands) back in 2009 ... and has made it his mission to get full citizenship.

Well, Friday it finally happened ... and the 28-year-old proudly announced it on social media.

"Today is a very important day for me and I want to share it with all of you," Chapman wrote.

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez is ferociously disputing a lawsuit -- in which the 24-year-old is accused of giving a woman non-life threatening STDs ... after swearing he was clean.

The woman behind the suit, filed in district court in Miami, claims she began a romantic relationship with Martinez in 2012 -- and the two had an on-and-off relationship for years.

According to the suit, the two reconnected last year -- and began having sex again on Dec. 16th. Two days later, the woman claims she began to feel ill and later tested positive for multiple STDs.

The woman claims she had grilled Martinez about his sexual health before they hooked up and he "swore to God that he was not infected with any sexually transmitted disease."

Soon after the woman informed Martinez about her condition, he allegedly bolted for the Dominican Republic and never called her back.

Now, she's suing him for battery, negligent transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, fraud and more ... and she's demanding more than $1.5 million in damages.

We spoke with Martinez's attorney Ruben Scolavino who tells us Carlos adamantly denies the allegations.

For the first time in 30 years, Cal Ripken Jr. is a single man ... because his divorce was officially finalized today.

A lawyer for Kelly Ripken confirmed the split to the Baltimore Sun ... saying, "Kelly has been a great mother to two fabulous children and a wonderful, faithful wife for the duration of the parties' relationship, which lasted more than 30 years."

The lawyer added, "Kelly looks forward to the next chapter in her life, which will be focused on philanthropy and her commitment to promoting women's health, most currently through 'A Woman's Journey' at Johns Hopkins Medicine."

FYI -- Ripken is reportedly worth in the neighborhood of $75 mil ... but the details of the divorce settlement have not been revealed.

The rivalry is still VERY real when it comes to the Sox and the Yankees ... just ask Rob Kardashian who tells TMZ Sports he almost got his ass kicked in Beantown for rockin' his Yanks hat.

Rob says he's still a Dodgers fan at heart -- after all, he was born and raised in L.A. -- but says his lady Blac Chyna got sick of the L.A. lid and pressured him to switch it up.

So, Rob chose the pinstripes ... but forgot how much the Yanks are hated in Red Sox country -- and says his fashion choice almost got him beat the hell up.

MLB veteran Delmon Young says he's "moving on with his life" after a judge dropped the charge against him for allegedly choking a hotel valet earlier this year ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The former Orioles outfielder was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery back in February after a valet at the Viceroy Miami says Young went crazy on him at the valet stand.

Young's accuser did not show up to a court hearing Wednesday -- so the judge dismissed the case.

We spoke with Young's attorney David Oscar Markus -- who previously repped Dwight Howard -- and he says, "The prosecution's case whiffed and justice was served."

A fast-thinking, Columbo-esque lawyer for the L.A. Dodgers blew the lid off a major memorabilia theft ring that looted the organization for years.

Chad Gunderson, Sr. Counsel for the L.A. Dodgers, was surfing online last December for sports memorabilia when he noticed someone was hawking Dodgers items that he knew were not for sale, including a Don Mattingly game jersey, an Adrian Gonzalez game jersey and Yasiel Puig bats.

Gunderson engaged the seller, who stupidly told him he had "two very good sources at Dodger Stadium." The seller went on to say he'd been dealing with one source for 10 years and another for 20. That was enough for Gunderson to leap into action.

The lawyer got the team to set up secret cameras in the clubhouse and the equipment room.

On December 5, 2015, the camera captured a man entering the clubhouse at 11:23 PM. He was wearing dark clothing and a mask. The man immediately turned off the automatic light switch, but the light was on long enough to capture stainless steel handcuffs on his belt.

Gunderson and crew knew they were probably dealing with a security guard. So they overrode the automatic light switch and waited.

Sure enough, 6 days later, at 3:07 AM, 2 masked men entered the clubhouse -- one wearing a ski mask and the other a nylon stocking. The light stayed on, and the cameras captured the men pilfering baseball bats, a pair of shoes, Dodgers jackets, hats and a box of baseballs.

The dumb guys were bold enough that they wore Dodgers security jackets and one guy even wore Dodgers batting gloves.

Giancarlo Stanton says reports that Barry Bonds beat him in a secret home run derby are NOT TRUE -- though he does say the ex-MLB star can still crush the ball like a BEAST!!

We reached out to the Miami Marlins superstar to find out what REALLY went down at the Marlins practice facility on Wednesday. Here's what he told us:

"False!!! He was hitting homers with us but it wasn't a home run derby. He was on my team for hitting drills. He is still a beast. But no home run derby vs. me. Media is wrong."

"Their story is we were hitting extra at batting practice on the back fields off a curveball machine. Getting work in. 5 of us. Last round we split into groups to face each other in a situational hitting competition with imaginary runners on base and the losing team picks up the balls. Not a home run derby."

"We added Bonds to make it 3 on 3. Bonds was on my team. But the fact that he could jump in there and still hit homers is unreal. And crazy to watch."