MLB

The N.Y. Mets have suspended star pitcher Jeurys Familia 15 games for his domestic violence arrest back in October ... despite the fact a judge dismissed the criminal charge against him.

As we previously reported, Familia was arrested October 31 in New Jersey after cops say they saw visible injuries on his wife after she called 911 claiming he was drunk and "going crazy."

Familia was initially charged with simple assault -- but the judge dismissed that charge in December after the MLB star and his wife met with the judge together.

Still, MLB officials are punishing Familia anyway, according to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal who says Familia will miss 15 games and 18 days of pay ... totaling roughly $700,000.

Rosenthal says Familia has also agreed to make a contribution to charity and make in-person appearances at MLB rookie programs and at a NY-based domestic violence group.

Familia just issued a statement saying he accepts the suspension but insists he NEVER "physically touched, harmed or threatened my wife that evening."

"I did, however, act in an unacceptable manner and am terribly disappointed in myself. I am alone to blame for the problems of that evening."

Tim Tebow has a legend in his corner ... Cal Ripken Jr. ... who tells TMZ Sports he's pulling for the guy to make the big leagues but says, "It's gonna be a hard road."

There's only one way to celebrate a World Baseball Classic title ... CHAMPAGNE SHOWERS!!!

There wasn't a dry spot in the locker rooms after Marcus Stroman and Team USA completely dominated Puerto Rico 8-0 to finally bring a WBC title to America.

Everyone from Giancarlo Stanton to Andrew McCutchen strapped on their goggles and turnt up.

The celebration in the locker room was insane ... but the fun didn't stop there. We spotted the champs outside an L.A. nightclub later in the night -- trophy in hand -- and it looked like the party was just getting started.

Aroldis Chapman brings the heat when it comes to his cars ... flossin' 4 of his insanely expensive rides in Miami.

The NY Yankees star has been rockin' the Lamborghini for a while ... but now he's added a Rolls-Royce and two fancy SUVs to the mix ... including a custom built Rhino GX (which start at $229k).

Chapman recently signed a 5 year, $86 million contract.

Spend it if ya got it.

Investigators have concluded MLB pitcher Jose Fernandez was driving his boat at the time it crashed in Miami ... killing everyone onboard ... and say he was drunk and high on cocaine at the time.

Jose Fernandez's mom and girlfriend will split control of the late MLB star's estate, a Miami judge ruled on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old pitcher -- who passed away in a boating accident back in September -- left behind no will. Fernandez's attorneys have valued his estate around $2-3 million.

Fernandez's girlfriend, Maria Arias, gave birth to their daughter on February 24.

Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Foltynewicz got into it with a fan at a Chick-fil-A in Florida -- allegedly telling the guy to "meet me outside" ... this according to the police report obtained by TMZ Sports.

Mike -- who's in Kissimmee for Braves Spring Training -- was chillin' at the chicken joint in nearby Osceola County with his wife on March 9 when he was confronted by a man asking for an autograph.

The fan says Mike cussed him out and challenged him to a fight saying, "We're gonna do this man-to-man" and "Meet me outside!"

Cops were called but Mike was gone when they arrived. They spoke with employees who said Mike did cuss but didn't pose a real violent threat.

Surveillance footage shows Mike trying to walk away from the fan and sit at a table in the back -- before eventually changing his order to go ... and leaving.

Cops say the fan is leaving to go back to Tennessee and likely won't ever encounter Mike again ... so they're not pushing forward with a case against the MLB player.

Good news for Dodgers fans ... manager Dave Roberts says there's no reason why the team shouldn't be right in the World Series race this season.

TMZ Sports spoke with the Blue Crew skipper who's clearly fired up about his squad this year as they get tuned up at Spring Training in Arizona.

We also spoke with Roberts about Yasiel Puig and the break-in at his L.A. home ... and Roberts tells us the MLB star was "heartbroken" over the incident.

The bigger issue, Roberts says ... even though Puig can afford to replace the missing items, he feels violated and that sucks.

One last thing ... Roberts owns a winery, Red Stitch Wine -- and he says it might be the BEST celeb owned vino on the planet!

Yasiel Puig is the latest victim in a string of celeb burglaries in L.A. -- this time, crooks broke into the baseball star's L.A. home while he was in Arizona with the Dodgers for Spring Training and made off with more than half a million bucks in bling.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Sports ... burglars forced their way into the home while it was empty and made off with 3 high-end Rolex watches and other pieces of expensive jewelry.

The thieves may have been inspired by the Kim Kardashian robbery, where she flaunted ultra-expensive jewelry on social media. Puig, who's almost always dripping in gold, is also a big fan of flaunting it on social media.

Sources tell us Puig had tapped a relative to stay in the house while he is away -- but the crooks made their move when that person was away.

What's cooler -- winning a Cy Young or a Grammy??

3-time MLB All-Star Barry Zito is trying to add to his trophy cabinet 'cause he wants BOTH!!

BZ's got a Cy Young -- given to the best pitcher in baseball -- from '02 with the Oakland A's. But now that the southpaw traded his glove for a guitar, would he give up the highest pitching honor to be recognized in the music industry?!

Zito's working on it. He released a 6-track country album titled "No Secrets" back in January ... and it's been a hit, appearing on several Billboard charts (#15, Americana/Folk Album Sales and #18, Heatseekers Albums).

#PitchPerfect

We now know why Jose Fernandez's marital status was listed as divorced in his death certificate -- he wasn't even old enough to drink when he got married back in 2012.

Jose Fernandez was divorced at one point in his life, but it's unclear to whom he was married ... according to his death certificate.

ZOMBIES, BEWARE ... a couple of MLB stars just got some heavy-duty undead killing weaponry in the form of Lucille, the iconic barbed wire covered baseball bat from "The Walking Dead."

BTW -- if you don't watch 'TWD' (which you should), Lucille is wielded by the ultimate scumbag/badass Negan ... and was used in one of the most brutal scenes in television history earlier this season.

That brutality didn't stop J.D. Martinez of the Tigers and Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers from fanning out when replicas of Lucille were delivered to their team's spring training earlier Friday, courtesy of the show's production.

R.I.P. to Glenn and Abraham.

Hannah Jeter is insanely attractive ... now that we've gotten that out of the way we can get to something equally as sexy, her telling TMZ Sports which female athlete she has the girl hots for.

Chicago Cubs star Anthony Rizzo says he's an athlete -- not a politician -- and would NOT have boycotted a visit to Donald Trump's White House.

The World Series champ was at LAX wrapping up a quick L.A. vacation when we asked how he felt about the Patriots players refusing to take their championship visit to 1600 Pennsylvania.

"To each their own, right?" Rizzo said ... adding, "I think anyone who gets to go to the White House is lucky."

Rizzo concluded by telling us it wouldn't have mattered which prez he visited and then pointed to his shirt, which read, "Team USA."

Derek Jeter's gonna be a dad!!

The Yankees legend's wife, Hannah Jeter, just made the announcement on Derek's website, The Players' Tribune ... saying she's pregnant with a little girl!!

It's the couple's first child. Hannah says Derek has a name picked out but she won't reveal it.

Derek and Hannah were married in July. He's 42. She's 26.

Derek retired from the Yankees back in 2014. Glad he's keeping himself busy!

Congrats!