MLB

Everybody LOVES some good old fashioned smack talk ... even politicians ... just ask the Mayor of Kansas City -- who's rippin' into the Mayor of Los Angeles over the MLB playoffs.

Of course, the Royals are taking on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim -- and K.C. Mayor Sly James is stickin' it to L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti.

We spoke with Mayor James before the Royals beat the Angels last night -- here's how the conversation went ...

Mayor James: "I'll be reaching out to the Mayor of Los Angeles and making a bet with him."

TMZ Sports: Who will you bet on Mr. Mayor?
Mayor James: "I'm always gonna bet on Kansas City ... and I'm gonna encourage him to do the same if he actually wants to win the bet."

TMZ Sports: What will you bet?
Mayor James: "We'll bet some BBQ versus whatever he wants to put up."

TMZ Sports: Any final thoughts?
Mayor James: "If he wants to be on the winning side of the bet, he ought to bet on the Royals. Save himself some trouble and heartache."

Los Angeles should brace itself ... 'cause if the Dodgers win the World Series, "this town might burn down" ... so says Dodgers superstar Andre Ethier.

The outfielder was out at Madeo last night -- takin' a bunch of people out for a pre-playoff game dinner -- when we asked how he was going to celebrate if when the Dodgers win the Series.

"This town might burn down, eh? But we'll address that when that happens," Ethier joked.

Sure, he was kidding ... but let's get serious -- it's a legit concern ... especially after the Lakers NBA Championship riots of 2000 ... and 2009 ... and 2010.

But it won't happen a 4th time ... will it?

Derek Jeter will be front and center at a MASSIVE secret party at a historic castle on Long Island this weekend, TMZ Sports has learned ... and now we're hearing buzz it could be a wedding.

Here's what we know ... the party is set to go down at the famous Oheka Castle -- which was used for the exterior shots of Charles Kane's mansion in the 1941 Hollywood flick "Citizen Kane."

Multiple sources tell us ... several high-end party vendors have been called in for a very important "Derek Jeter event."

Now here's where things get tricky -- we've spoken with multiple sources who tell us the event in question is a retirement party for #2 ... and other sources who SWEAR it's a wedding.

Of course, 40-year-old Derek has been dating 24-year-old supermodel Hannah Davis for the past couple of years ... but if they got engaged, they've done a helluva job keeping it a secret.

We reached out to Derek's people for comment -- so far, no word back.

The Kansas City Royals could be the key to stopping crime in Kansas City ... because criminal activity was actually DOWN in K.C. during last night's big playoff game ... cops tell TMZ Sports.

We spoke with Sgt. Darin Snapp of the Kansas City Police Dept. who says the unbelievable 12 inning battle between the Royals and the Oakland A's may have actually deterred the bad guys for a night.

"We ran the last 4 Tuesdays and last night was the slowest night as far as calls to service," Sgt. Snapp says ... adding, "Everybody was happy and getting along and watching the game."

The cops were especially thrilled with the situation ... considering the KCPD had tweeted out to the city earlier, "We really need everyone to not commit crimes and drive safely right now. We'd like to hear the @Royals clinch this."

Hannah Davis has a heart of gold -- she gave some out-of-work guy the time of day and a cup of joe today in NYC.

The S.I. swimsuit hottie walked out of a coffee shop in the West Village with the guy ... who was dressed in ratty jeans and a t-shirt. She even allowed the idle dude to chat her up for a while.

Clearly, he has nothing to do with his time.

Hannah was also flaunting a ring on her left hand. It doesn't appear to be an engagement ring, but she probably just wants the guy to think she's taken.

It might be the most special of all the Derek Jeter tributes -- TMZ Sports has learned the legendary Carnegie Deli in NYC will now offer a $28 sandwich to honor the Yankees captain.

So, what does one get for $28?

A rep for the deli tells us ... the "Derek Jeter Triple Club Sandwich" comes piled high with 2 classic meats (because he's #2) -- turkey and bacon.

Plus, several slices of American cheese -- with tomato and lettuce ... served on toasted white bread.

Mmmmmmmm.

The deli rep adds, "We chose American Cheese because nothing is more American than baseball."

Apparently Derek Jeter CAN do wrong in the eyes of Yankees fans ... so says Jerry Seinfeld who tells TMZ Sports ... #2 should NOT have played his final game in Boston!!!

It's a pretty big issue in the Yanks community -- a lot of New Yorkers believe Jeter should've hung up his cleats after his last game at Yankees Stadium last week ... and NOT played out the final games of the season at Fenway against the Red Sox.

Clearly, Seinfeld thinks Jeter chose poorly ... saying, "He should NOT have played in Boston. You don't owe anybody ANYTHING!"

Of course, Jeter got a standing ovation in Beantown ... with the crowd chanting his name ... but according to Jerry, the storybook ending went on a few pages too long.

Former NBA star Doug Christie was SO PISSED when his wife leaked a topless photo to the Internet earlier this year, he almost ended the marriage ... so says Jackie Christie.

The "Basketball Wives: LA" star was out in Hollywood this weekend when she admitted to TMZ Sports that she was the person responsible for the topless getting onto the web back in June ... but swears it was an accident.

Still, Jackie says Doug was so mad about the debacle, that "[he] almost left me."

Check out the clip ... Jackie blames the whole thing on an Instagram screw-up -- but her story seems a bit fishy.

The dude who punched the Baltimore Orioles mascot in the nuts claimed he only did it because "that was on my bucket list" ... this according to the police report obtained by TMZ Sports.

The ball-buster was arrested at Camden Yard back in April '13 -- and when cops spoke with dude in the bird suit, he told police he was simply DUPED by the "fan" who told him he just wanted an innocent pic.

That's when, according to the report, 33-year-old Christopher John Collins reached down with a closed right fist and struck ... saying over and over again, "That was on my bucket list"

The very first contract Babe Ruth negotiated with the NY Yankees is about to hit the auction block -- which specifically outlines the MLB legend was BANNED FROM BOOZE and had a 1 AM bedtime.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the contract -- hand-signed by George Herman Ruth on March 10, 1922 -- is being auctioned off by Goldin Auctions ... and the sellers tell us they're expecting to fetch over $1 mil.

The terms of the 3-year deal are pretty interesting ... Babe agreed to league-high $52k-per-season ... but there were a couple of catches.

For instance, Babe had to fork over a $30 deposit for his uniform and was not allowed to play any other sport while under contract.

But the big one ... a clause that was added which spelled out that Babe was to "refrain entirely from the use of intoxicating liquors and that he shall not during the training and playing season in each year stay up later than 1 o'clock A.M. on any day without the permission and consent of the club's manager."

At the time Babe signed the deal, he had already been with the Yanks for 3 years ... but was playing under the contract he signed with his previous team, the Boston Red Sox.

Another ferocious assault involving a Baltimore superstar ... the Orioles mascot ... who got HIT IN THE BALLS by a dumbass fan AND FOUGHT BACK ... and TMZ Sports has the footage.

Our MLB sources tell us ... the incident went down at Oriole Park at Camden Yard in April 2013 when a seemingly drunken O's fan approached the mascot for a photo -- and then suckerpunched the bird right in his feathered crotch.

The bird executed a perfect judo-style legsweep ... and took down the attacker.

Our sources tell us ... the nut-puncher was arrested moments after the camera shut off.

Former Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington is finally revealing why he quit the team -- saying, "I was not true to my wife after 42 years."

Washington left the team on Sept. 5th -- citing personal issues ... and hadn't elaborated on the nature of his issues until now.

But at a news conference in Dallas Thursday morning, Washington told reporters ... "I made a mistake, and I am embarrassed. I was not true to my wife after 42 years."

He continued, "I broke her trust. I am here today to own that mistake. All I ask is for your forgiveness and understanding."

Story developing ...

Jose Canseco has TWO big reasons to be excited for his 17-year-old daughter Josie:

1) she just signed a brand new reality show contract
2) In the deal, she agreed NOT to participate in any X-rated content for the next 5 years!

Josie inked a deal to be on "@SummerBreak" -- a popular YouTube reality show that follows high school kids in L.A. during their summer break.

Because Josie is under 18, she had to file a minor's contract with the L.A. court system to be approved by a judge -- and in the docs it shows she'll get paid a total of $2,600 for her role.

But the docs also show that Josie agreed to a clause which states that for the next 5 years, "she shall not provide services in an 'adult-themed' film or video program or perform onscreen services for any film or video program that is pornographic, involves nudity or graphic violence."

She also agreed to stay away from appearing in content that contains material "derogatory of any race, nationality, ethnic identity, gender or sexual orientation in any media."

It's a bizarre contract for her to sign -- not just because she's a model and racy photo shoots are part of that world -- but because her mother happens to be Jessica Canseco ... aka Playboy's Miss September 2005.

But what happens if Josie breaks the contract after she turns 18? The production company could sue her for the $2,600 … plus other damages -- which could mean big bucks.

We called the Cansecos for comment -- so far, no word back.

He wrecked the guy in traffic ... and now Tommy Lasorda just wrecked his accuser in court -- after the victim in a fender bender demanded $10k from the Dodgers legend ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Tommy had already admitted fault in a rear-ender that went down in Orange County, CA back in 2012 -- but the victim claims he suffered serious injuries and demanded $10k to pay for medical bills.

Bu Tommy called BS -- and after a hearing in small claims court ... the judge didn't only side with Lasorda ... he RIPPED the accuser, claiming the guy LIED in an effort to score a payday.

In fact, the judge said ... the plaintiff's claim he was rear-ended at 30mph was "so wildly implausible given the physical evidence (photos of the two involved vehicles showing essentially no damage) that it served to completely undermine plaintiff's credibility."

You know you're a HUGE celebrity when ... an NYPD officer personally escorts you from the "Today" show to your waiting ride -- just like what happened with Little League phenom Mo'Ne Davis.

Mo'Ne and the rest of her Taney Dragons teammates were leaving the studio Monday morning and heading to the team bus when we noticed TWO people assigned to watch the 13-year-old's back -- one of whom was an NYPD cop.

After Davis and the squad got on the bus -- TMZ Sports spoke with the Dragons coach Leland Lott who told us he was proud of the ENTIRE squad and said they were on the way to celebrate with an MLB team.

So, what's next for Davis? Basketball -- another sport she dominates ... as seen in this ankle-breaking video from 2010.

Former MLB pitching great Curt Schilling says he was diagnosed with mouth cancer back in February ... and believes it was caused from his 30-year habit of chewing tobacco.

The former Boston Red Sox pitcher says he stayed quiet about the diagnosis for months for two reasons -- he didn't want people to pity him and he didn't want to get into the chewing tobacco debate.

Still, 47-year-old Schilling says ... "I'll go to my grave believing that [chewing tobacco] was why I got what I got ... absolutely, no question in my mind about that."

Schilling says he learned about the cancer only after seeing a doctor about a dog bite wound on his finger -- and felt a lump in his neck.

He got it checked out -- and it turned out to be squamous cell carcinoma ... aka mouth cancer.

Schilling says he went through several weeks of chemotherapy and radiation treatments -- and says the whole thing hurt like hell.