MLB

LEAVE STEVE BARTMAN ALONE ... so says Cubs GM Theo Epstein ... who says Cubs fans should back off Bartman for good -- unless he CHOOSES to come out of hiding.

Of course, Bartman is the guy who was blamed for blowing the Cubs playoff run in 2003 when he interfered with a foul ball. Fans demonized him and basically ran him out of town.

But now that the Cubbies are World Series Champs, what should become of Bartman?

We asked Theo, who says the guy is more than welcome back at Wrigley ... but the team isn't going to pressure him to come out and make an appearance.

LeBron James looked SO GOOD in the Cubs uniform he was forced to wear after losing a bet to Dwyane Wade ... he just got a job offer out of it ... from Cubs skipper Joe Maddon!

Of course, it was all part of the city pride bet LeBron (Cleveland) made with Wade (Chicago) back when the Indians played the Cubs in the Fall Classic.

LeBron paid off the bet last week ... when his Cavs came to the Windy City to play the Bulls.

... and Maddon LOVED it.

Here's LeBron James hilariously proving he's a man of his word ... even when he's a loser.

Bron lost his World Series bet with Dwyane Wade (Cleveland vs. Chicago) ... and agreed to wear a Chicago Cubs jersey to pay it off.

Question ... where the hell did they find a jersey big enough to fit this guy?

Good on you, LeBron. There's always next year ...

R&B singer Sevyn Streeter says she's taking the Philadelphia 76ers up on their offer to redo the national anthem ... and she'll proudly wear the 'We Matter' jersey that sparked the controversy.

Sixers brass came under fire by activists -- and their own players -- when Streeter's opening day anthem performance was nixed because of the jersey ... which was an endorsement of Black Lives Matter.

The team quickly reversed its position, apologized and offered Sevyn the chance to sing again, but the question was ... would she or wouldn't she?

We spoke with her (and her good friend boxer Andre Berto) and she told us she definitely WILL ... coming back to belt out the song on December 16th ... and she'll be decked out in her convictions.

Here's video of a bloody, bruised and busted up Lenny Dykstra on the night he claims cops beat him to a pulp in L.A. County jail ... video Lenny claims is the smoking gun in his $15 million lawsuit.

The footage was shot April 5th, 2012 -- after Lenny claims 6 L.A. County Sheriff's Deputies unleashed a vicious beating simply because they didn't like him.

Lenny sued L.A. County and multiple deputies for $15 mil -- claiming he suffered all sorts of injuries, including brain damage. He also claims "his teeth were broken out of his skull" and he has trouble eating.

The video was shot at a nearby medical center -- where a medicated Dykstra was examined while handcuffed and strapped to a gurney. A deputy points out all of Dykstra's injuries.

We've reached out to the LASD for their side of the story -- but they refuse to comment on ongoing litigation.

Doc Rivers ain't buyin' the argument that athlete spouses should keep their mouths shut -- and just praised Kate Upton for GOING OFF on MLB for snubbing Justin Verlander.

Upton went nuclear on Twitter Wednesday night -- claiming her fiance got majorly f'd (yeah, she dropped the f-bomb) because JV clearly deserved the Cy Young Award ... yet somehow came in 2nd.

With Ayesha Curry taking heat for her Twitter rant during the NBA Finals -- we asked how Doc felt about the situation.

Kate Upton is FURIOUS Justin Verlander didn't win the A.L. Cy Young Award -- sending a scorching note to the MLB writers who voted on it ... YOU F**KED MY FIANCE.

Verlander came in 2nd in the voting behind Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello -- despite the fact Justin had more 1st place votes.

FYI -- the Cy Young voting system is weighted. Writers fill in a name for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th place -- a 1st place vote is worth 7 points. 2nd is worth 4, 3rd is worth 3, 4th is 2 and 5th is 1.

Verlander had 14 1st place votes. Rick had 8 ... but Rick beat Verlander out in the overall scoring.

Enter Upton who went all scorched Earth on the process.

"Hey @MLB I thought I was the only person allowed to f**k @JustinVerlander ?! What 2 writers didn't have him on their ballot?"

"He had the majority of 1st place votes and 2 writers didn't have him on their ballots?!! can you pick more out of touch people to vote?@MLB"

This is awesome!!!!!!

Vin Scully couldn't believe his ears when he got a phone call from the White House Wednesday informing him that he's receiving an honor from President Obama ... saying, "Oh my gosh, no. Are you sure?"

Cameras were rolling when White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest called the L.A. Dodgers legend to let him know he's a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom ... the highest civilian honor any President can give.

The always humble Scully reacted in the very way you'd expect -- "I'm just an old baseball announcer."

Even Pope Francis is jumping on the Chicago Cubs bandwagon -- flossin' his brand new Cubbies hat and signed ball ... AT THE VATICAN!

His Popeness was pope'in around with Archbishop Blase J. Cupich -- the Archbishop of Chicago -- who came bearing some baseball-themed gifts.

So long, curse!

Tracy McGrady is 100% sure he'd Nolan Ryan Tim Tebow ... as in STRIKE HIM THE HELL OUT if the two men ever faced off on the baseball diamond.

McGrady had a short stint as a pitcher with the Sugar Land Skeeters a couple years back ... so when we got him out in L.A. we asked if he thought he could get 3 strikes by that other new baseball star.

He didn't even hesitate ... the guy is confident.

BTW ... McGrady had a 6.75 ERA in 4 appearances for the Skeeters, and Tebow is currently batting .156 in Arizona fall league. So, not exactly Clemens vs. Bonds here ... but still fun to think about.

Chicago Cubs star Anthony Rizzo is nowhere close to slowin' down the victory party -- the World Series hero joined country singer Brett Eldredge to sing "Go Cubs Go" in a bar Wednesday night.

Rizzo and Eldredge -- who sang with the guys after last week's parade -- gave the folks at Chicago's Bub City quite a show ... singing the team anthem for what seems like the billionth time, but fans still can't get enough.

Who we kidding? They'll be singing this right up to Opening Day but hey, it's been 108 years.

MLB pitcher Pedro Strop can breathe a sigh of relief after a custom car job gone bad ... 'cause the Chicago Cubs reliever gave his car a complete $30,000 makeover.

Strop hit up Alex Vega at the Auto Firm to re-pimp his 2015 Infiniti QX80. We're told the original job -- from a friend's recommendation -- had a front grill made of chicken wire and rims that 'looked like boat propellers.'

But Vega worked his magic and completely stripped the car of its old look to give him a white satin, white pearl and glossy black detail to help forget about the old maroon mess.

Vega did a solid for sure ... but not for free (this is America) ... final price tag, $30k.

The bar where Jose Fernandez and his 2 friends were last seen partying and drinking before the fatal boat crash will NOT be investigated for possibly over serving the group ... officials tell TMZ Sports.

LeBron James' wardrobe choice for Game 7 of the World Series was a dream come true for a small clothing company ... 'cause orders have been through the roof since the King rocked their merch.

TMZ Sports spoke with Quincy Moore, founder of Knowlita ... who was shocked to see LBJ and his wife, Savannah, sporting his gear during one of the biggest sporting events ever.

"We had no idea," Moore says. "My phone started blowing up in the first inning."

"We weren't ready for something like this to happen, so we reacted as quickly as we could."

The shirt was only available through Saks Fifth Avenue at the time, so Moore rushed the shirts to his website and sold hundreds within an hour ... with over 5,000 hits to his site.

Moore says demand's so high 'cause of LBJ ... he's currently looking to hire more employees.

LeBron James: job creator, economy stimulator.

The Chicago Cubs victory parade is officially BANANAS!

Cubbies faithfuls are pulling this stunt, the trust fall, all over Chi-town -- climbing up utility poles, statues ... whatever gets 'em high enough, and hurling themselves into the crowd.

See what happens when your team doesn't win a World Series in 108 years?

They've done the champagne and the beer ... but now the Chicago Cubs are getting hooked up with some fancy scotch -- courtesy of Dexter Fowler.

The Cubs outfielder is gifting 108 bottles of Johnnie Walker Blue Label to his coaches, teammates and front office people ... so says a rep for the scotch.

We're told Fowler got Cubs manager Joe Maddon TWO bottles at the beginning of the season -- the first engraved with the words "Embrace the Target" and the other left blank.

Now, we're told Maddon's 2nd bottle has been engraved with a special World Series message that reads, "108 Years Later. Fly the W. 2016."

In fact, Fowler had all 108 bottles engraved with that same message.

"I decided to give everyone a special gift to thank them for their unwavering support and commitment to our success: engraved bottles of Johnnie Walker Blue Label," Fowler said.

"I figured 108 bottles was the right number and I’m honored to give them to my teammates, brothers, coaches, front office and everyone involved to mark this amazing achievement."

Drink up.