MLB

Don't be surprised if there's another 240 pound beast dominating the sports world in about 17 years ... 'cause Yasiel Puig says he desperately wants his brand new baby son to follow in his athletic footsteps.

We got Puig out at LAX, and wanted to know what life's been like since he had his second kid earlier this month ... a boy named Daniel Sebastian.

Puig says daddy duty is easy right now -- all the kid does is sleep -- but he hopes the little guy's dreaming about ATHLETIC DOMINATION!

MLB slugger Bryce Harper's getting back in the swing of things ... and it took a real nasty toll on his hands.

Here's a photo showing what hours in the cage can do to your palms ... even when you're arguably the best hitter in the world.

The NY Yankees are FIRED UP about their big 22-year-old outfielder Clint Frazier -- who says Reggie Jackson is personally mentoring him ... even taking him out for froyo!

Frazier was the #5 overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft -- and some say he could be the next GREAT home run hitter in the majors.

The Yankees are clearly believers -- and when we got Frazier out in NYC, he told us how he's been learning from one of the all-time greats, Mr. October.

Cut the crap and put Barry Bonds in Cooperstown already ... so says possible future Hall of Famer Andruw Jones.

Same goes for Pete Rose and Roger Clemens.

Jones doesn't seem to care about the allegations against the 3 Cooperstown outcasts -- what they did ON the field is enough for him.

By the way, Jones is a possible Hall of Fame candidate in 2018 (there's a LOT of debate about him) ... so we asked how he felt about a potential enshrinement.

True Jones' number fell off after he turned 30 ... but dude was a 10 time Gold Glove winner, a 5 time All-Star and hit over 400 home runs.

Plus, he was never busted for PEDs.

One of the most feared sluggers in baseball says he's down to help Tim Tebow live his major league dreams ... with Giancarlo Stanton telling TMZ Sports he'd give TT the tutelage he needs to make it.

Tebow wasn't invited to the Mets spring training camp ... a major blow to his chances of suiting up for the big league squad anytime soon.

Giancarlo says Tebow probably has a lot more work to do before he's ready to really succeed in the sport ... and he's totally down to help Timmy do some of that work.

We also asked Stanton -- currently the highest paid player in MLB -- if he thinks Bryce Harper deserves the $400 mil deal he's looking for and GS had only one message for league owners ... PAY THE MAN.

By the way, Stanton was hangin' at the WME agency in Bev Hills where word on the street is he's working on a travel show. We asked him about it ... and he didn't exactly deny it.

The L.A. Dodgers' uniforms need a little touch-up, so says Tommy Hilfiger ... who tells TMZ Sports he's just the guy to do it!

Hilfiger says he's a big Dodgers fan ... and he wants to help the team evolve on the fashion front since they've basically rocked the same look since the '50s.

Tommy's even got a plan ... so Dodgers fans can start bleeding a color other than Dodger blue.

Coffee anyone?

L.A. Dodgers stars Yasiel Puig and Justin Turner surprised guests at local Coffee Bean stores Monday morning ... and even made drinks for customers.

The event kicked off the Dodgers Love L.A. Community Tour ... where players and coaches give back to the area.

K.C. Royals fans flocked to Kauffman Stadium on Sunday to pay tribute to Yordano Ventura -- the 25-year-old pitcher who was killed in a car crash in the Dominican Republic over the weekend.

Flowers, notes, balloons, candles and more were placed around the stadium ... most tributes bearing his nickname, "Ace."

Ventura was a favorite among Royals fans -- not only did he have a blazing fastball, but he was a fiery competitor ... and the people loved it!

Ventura was part of the Royals club that won the World Series in 2015 -- the same year he signed a 5-year deal reportedly worth more than $20 million.

Investigators are still trying to figure out what caused the crash.

R.I.P.

Kansas City Royals ace pitcher Yordano Ventura was killed Sunday in a car crash in his native Dominican Republic ... the same day former MLB player Andy Marte also died in a separate crash in the same country.

Ventura was known for his electric fastball, but also for his short temper. He was suspended for 9 games last season for throwing a ball at an Orioles 3rd basemen.

His nickname was Ace Ventura, and he was on the team when the Royals won the World Series in 2015. Ventura finished 6th in the Rookie of the Year vote in 2014.

At his last game, Ventura wore a hat honoring the late and fellow pitcher Jose Fernandez. The hat also paid tribute to the late St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras, who also died in a car crash in the Dominican Republic a few years ago.

The Royals confirmed Ventura's death Sunday, saying "Our prayers right now are with Yordano's family as we mourn this young man's passing."

As for Marte ... he was a third basemen in the MLB for 14 years, having played with the Braves, Red Sox, Indians, and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ventura started in Marte's last professional game with the D-backs in 2014.

Ventura was 25 years old, Marte was 33.

President Obama seems to have a White House rule -- no special shout-outs to athletes accused of domestic violence ... because Aroldis Chapman got no love at the White House today.

Chapman was with the Chicago Cubs as part of their World Series trip to 1600 Pennsylvania ... and stood directly behind POTUS as Obama cracked jokes about the team.

But as Obama broke down the final outs in Game 7 ... which Chapman pitched in ... B.O. never mentioned Aroldis by name.

Remember, Obama gave the exact same treatment to Hope Solo when the Team USA women's soccer team hit the White House in 2015 after winning the World Cup.

What do they have in common? Pretty disturbing domestic violence allegations.

Aroldis was accused of attacking his girlfriend and though he was never convicted of a crime, he did admit poking her and firing off his gun in anger.

Solo is accused of beating up her sister's son ... and that case is still in the court system.

Obama did crack jokes about other players ... typical dad humor stuff.

We'll see if Trump continues the tradition when he takes office.

The Chicago Cubs have officially scheduled their White House visit after winning the World Series ... and it happens to be going down 4 DAYS before President Obama leaves office.

A team official has confirmed the World Series champs will get to hang with POTUS -- a Chicago native (but a Sox fan) -- on January 16. They will be the last professional team to visit during Obama's term.

Donald Trump takes office on the 20th.

What's interesting ... the Ricketts family, who own the Cubs, have sparred with Trump in the past.

In fact, Trump tweeted back in February, "I hear the Rickets family, who own the Chicago Cubs, are secretly spending $'s against me. They better be careful, they have a lot to hide!"

The Ricketts family has said Trump is wrong about hidden dirt.

Still, unclear if the beef had anything to do with the timing of the White House visit ... but it's interesting.

Manny might not be done being Manny ... at least not yet ... because the 44-year-old legend is considering an offer to play pro baseball overseas ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Manny Ramirez last played for the Cubs AAA affiliate back in 2014 -- and then served as a hitting consultant for the club.

But we spoke with Manny's wife, Juliana, who tells us the 12 time MLB All-Star and World Series MVP has been training like crazy ... and has been in talks with a pro team outside the United States.

"He is training extremely hard," Juliana says ... "Batting, CrossFit, Orange Theory. He never stops."

Juliana says no official decision has been made yet about Manny's future ... but it's clear where she stands.

He's one of the biggest free agents in baseball ... but Jose Bautista is still doing big things in Toronto!

Bautista -- who just became a free agent after 8 years with the Blue Jays -- surprised a bunch of young fans at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto this weekend ... to spread some holiday cheer.

We're told Jose was in town to hit some holiday parties -- but felt it was important to carve some time out of his schedule to kick it with some of his biggest supporters.

Jose spent about an hour in the ward visiting with some brave kids fighting cancer who also happened to be HUGE Blue Jays fans (maybe some of them tried to convince him to re-sign with Toronto!)

Good stuff.

What does Prince Fielder do now that his baseball playing days are over? Give lap dances, of course!!

Major League Baseball has finally put an end to veteran players hazing rookies by forcing them to dress as women ... a ritual many felt was insensitive and offensive.

As we've pointed out for years, women's rights groups -- among others -- have complained about the gender-shaming hazing ... and MLB heard the message loud and clear.

As part of baseball's new CBA, "requiring, coercing or encouraging" players as "dressing up as women or wearing costumes that may be offensive to individuals based on their race, sex, nationality, age, sexual orientation, gender identify or other characteristic" is now forbidden.

In recent years, some clubs heard the criticism and ended the practice ... opting to dress their young players like male superheroes -- not women. Many other teams continued the tradition.

Back in September we shot San Francisco Giants rooks Derek Law and Albert Saurez outside a club in L.A. ... wearing backless dresses and wigs.

But no more ... 'cause it's now against the rules.

9:55AM PT -- Hudson Taylor, the founder of Athlete Ally -- an organization that promotes LGBT acceptance in sports, and was outspoken against the hazing ritual -- gave the following statement to TMZ Sports.

"By banning the hazing of rookies by having them dress in feminine presenting clothing, MLB draws closer to minimizing and hopefully ending discrimination and harassment based on gender identity and expression."

"This is an important step on the pathway to creating a baseball culture in which players are not isolated, excluded or othered because of how they identify or who they love. I commend the leadership of MLB for taking a stand.”

Good news for Bryce Harper ... baseball expert Peter Gammons says someone will definitely pay the small fortune he wants ... telling TMZ Sports the owners have the money, and it's just a matter of who.

Harper is reportedly looking for RECORD dough in the form of a 10 year, $400 million deal ... a deal some say the Washington Nationals are hesitant to give him.

We got Peter Gammons -- a legendary MLB writer and analyst -- out in D.C. He said he's sure Harper is going to get his big-time guap ... and he had a GREAT reason why.

"The owners have an 11 billion dollar industry ... somebody will give it to him."