MLB

It's always fun to watch baseball players run into each other while trying to catch a fly ball.

So ... this.

Here it is ... PROOF ... that 50 Cent's arm isn't as terrible as it seemed during his legendarily awful first pitch at Tuesday's Mets game.

Just before he took the mound at Citi Field and threw a pitch so terrible, even Gary Dell'Abate had to laugh at it ... 50 was warming up the bullpen and displayed some pretty decent accuracy.

Check out the clip ... sure, he could use some work on his mechanics ... but it's not really that terrible.

Unfortunately, it's not really what you do in practice that counts ...

You can find him in the clubhouse ... humiliated on a national level -- because Tuesday night 50 Cent may have thrown out the worst first pitch in MLB history.

Fiddy was given the honor at the NY Mets game at Citi Field before the Mets took on the Pittsburgh Pirates.

There was a wind up. There was a pitch. There was a disaster.

This is the picture that triggered the conversation between L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling and his girlfriend ... the conversation in which he said he did not want her bringing Magic Johnson or any other African American to his games.

In the pic -- obtained by TMZ Sports -- V. Stiviano is on the right. The woman on the left is V's friend, Rachel Rodriguez.

Stiviano says on the audio -- and Sterling acknowledges -- he made her take the pic off Instagram because he didn't want her seen in public with an African American.

In another tape ... Sterling expressed similar disdain for posting this pic (above) -- also obtained by TMZ Sports -- of Stiviano with L.A. Dodger Matt Kemp.

L.A. Dodgers superstar Matt Kemp has just spoken out about being mentioned in the new Donald Sterling recording ... saying it would be "tough" for him to attend Clippers games as long as Sterling owns the team.

As we previously reported, Sterling can be heard instructing his girlfriend to remove a photo of Kemp from her Instagram account because Sterling doesn't believe she should be seen with a black guy in public.

Moments ago, Kemp addressed the situation to the media saying, "Racism is kind of old."

Lenny Dykstra claims he was beaten within an inch of his life while in custody at L.A. County Jail ... and the former MLB great says his attackers were corrupt cops ... this according to legal docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

Chicago Cubs fans praying for a World Series title are wasting their time, 'cause according to "Mentalist" hottie Robin Tunney, it ain't happening ... EVER.

Robin was out in West Hollywood this weekend when we asked the Chicago native -- and White Sox fan -- what would happen in Chi Town if the Cubs pulled it together and finally won the World Series again.

And that’s when Robin delivered the truth bomb.

Hours after the L.A. Dodgers returned from their series in Australia ... Yasiel Puig did what anyone would do after a long flight around the world -- HE HIT THE CLUBS!!!!

Puig -- along with fellow Dodgers star Juan Uribe -- hit up Greystone Manor in Hollywood last night ... and just to make sure everyone knew he was there, Puig rolled up in his $300,000 Rolls Royce Ghost.

Frank Thomas is coming out swingin' at Reebok -- claiming the company had NO RIGHT to re-release his iconic "Big Hurt" shoes back in 2013 ... and he's out to make them pay.

You remember the famous "Big Hurt" shoes from the '90s -- Frank says he had a deal with Reebok from '95 to '98 to let the company use his "Big Hurt" trademark on all sorts of Reebok products.

Now, here's the problem ... according to a lawsuit, filed by Thomas in Illinois, Frank says Reebok resurrected the "Big Hurt" brand for a "Classic Retro Campaign" in 2013 ... but they never got his permission.

Frank says Reebok put the retro Hurts out anyway ... and now Frank's pissed -- claiming the release of the shoe makes it look like Frank signed off on the deal ... when, in fact, he did not.

The Dodgers and Diamondbacks have touched down in Australia for their historic series Down Under ... but the most impressive thing -- how the locals erected the entire baseball diamond from scratch.

The teams will face off at the historic Sydney Cricket Grounds ... which is essentially a giant circular field of grass.

Officials rolled in the heavy machinery ... and built a regulation-size MLB field in a matter of weeks ... and TMZ Sports has the incredible timelapse video of the transformation.

CC Sabathia took the celebrity chef craze to a new level for his 33rd bday party -- because the whole thing was catered by Three 6 Mafia member (and Oscar winner) DJ Paul ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The party for the Yankees pitcher was insane -- it all went down at Phil Maloof's mansion in L.A. back in the Summer ... and we're told it was packed with superstars like Joba Chamberlain, Derek Jeter, Carl Crawford and Chris Brown.

But according to multiple sources, the best part was the food -- and the man responsible was DJ Paul ... who moonlights as a private chef for a TON of famous people when he's not in the studio.

"I'm good friends with the Maloofs," Paul tells TMZ Sports ... "A lot of times they'll pay me to come cook for their celebrity parties ... which, with them, is often."

Paul says he's rocked the kitchen for stars like Michael Phelps, the New England Patriots, the Yankees, Dodgers and more.

So, what was on the menu for CC's bash?

"I made spaghetti with a vodka marinara, barbeque chicken, sausage, ribs, carne asada," Paul said ... "Chris Brown went crazy over the spaghetti with the vodka sauce."

Paul says his celebrity friends are usually shocked when they notice him in the kitchen at the A-list parties he caters -- "The first thing people say is, 'Oh s**t, this is good! Did you really make this?'"

He adds, "I love cooking. I'm from Memphis, Tennessee. All we do is eat ... eat and get diabetes."

Manny Ramirez should be ASHAMED of himself ... not just because he cheated and destroyed his baseball career ... but because he made Miss Dominican Republic REALLY SAD!!!

Miss D.M. Bobbi Dean was leaving the Queen of the Universe Pageant in L.A. this weekend when we asked how she felt when the Dominican-born baseball star was busted for performance enhancing drugs.

"I like to think of our people as very honest," Dean said ... "it was a little disappointing to find out that he wasn't as honest as we would've hoped."

Talk about a bad day getting worse ... 'cause after Clayton Kershaw lost to the SF Giants yesterday, the Dodgers ace LOCKED HIS KEYS IN HIS CAR ... and had to call in a lefty for the save.

Ya gotta feel for the guy ... you can see the look on his face when he realizes he's locked out.

Come on ... we've all been there.

Kershaw -- along with several members of the Dodgers organization (including teammate Justin Turner) -- scrambled to break into the Ford ... but to no avail.

Eventually, a hero in a reflective green vest arrived to the scene on his noble white steed (his AAA truck) ... and managed to jimmy open the door.

Kershaw kept his cool during the ordeal ... and offered the guy some chips and a bottle of water.

MLB stars are known for chewing, spitting and ... chewing and spitting.

The doctor who invented "Tommy John Surgery" ranks up with Jackie Robinson when it comes to people who changed baseball forever ... so says Tommy John himself.

TMZ Sports spoke with the iconic MLB pitcher after the passing of Dr. Frank Jobe -- the man who pioneered the elbow surgery that saved Tommy's pitching career ... and countless others.

The surgery, which Jobe first performed on Tommy in 1974, was revolutionary ... in which a torn tendon in the elbow is replaced with a healthy tendon from somewhere else in the body.

John was the first major athlete to undergo the procedure ... and went from considering retirement to winning 164 GAMES following the surgery.

But Tommy says Dr. Jobe wasn't 100% confident it was going to work before he went under the knife.

"Before the surgery, Frank said to me 'do you have something else to do? I'm not sure this is going to work.' He knew my wife was pregnant."

Fortunately, the whole thing worked out ... now more than 1/3 of active MLB pitchers have undergone the "Tommy John surgery."

John says ... "Three people changed baseball more than anyone: Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier. Marvin Miller who changed the players union. And Frank Jobe, who revolutionized the medical side of baseball."

Tommy says he was surprised when he learned of Jobe's passing this week ... explaining, "I sent Frank an email a few weeks ago and I told him 'if I get into the Hall of Fame, I want your butt standing next to me.' He was one of the most important people in my career."

The notes from Mickey Mantle's emotional farewell address -- scribbled from his deathbed in 1995 -- is about to hit the auction block ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The speech is legendary ... televised from the Baylor University Medical Center on July 12, 1995 ... when a dying Mantle begged his fans, "Please don't do drugs and alcohol. God only gave us one body."

Now, we're told Grey Flannel Auctions will be opening up bidding on the handwritten notes for the speech that Mick had earlier scribbled on the back of a PGA tour score card in his hospital room.

One of the most memorable lines from the speech -- "I didn't know how Lou Gehrig could here [sic] at home plate knowing he was going to die and say he was the luckiest man on the face of Earth [sic]. Now I think I know."

GFA tells us the item will hit the auction block at the end of April. There will not be a starting bid.

Mick died just 4 weeks after the speech after suffering from liver cancer, cirrhosis and hepatitis.

He was 63.