MLB

President Trump just presented Mariano Rivera with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Monday ... and unfortunately, he left his calculator behind.

POTUS -- a HUGE Yankees fan -- honored the Sandman at 1600 Penn on Monday ... praising "maybe the greatest pitcher of all time" for his accomplishments on and off the mound.

FYI -- the Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest award a civilian can achieve in the United States -- and is given to people who make an especially great contribution to American society.

But, the funny part is when Trump tried to do some impromptu math ... and hilariously failed when talking about MR's minor league ERA in 1990.

"That year, he had an average ERA of 0.17 ... so that doesn't mean ONE. That means, like, 1/17th of one."

Uhh ... no, it doesn't, Mr. President. Like, not even close. But, hey, we get it. Math is hard.

For the record, .17 is closer to 1/6th of 1 ... not 1/17th.

Of course, the love between Trump and Mariano is mutual -- Rivera serves as the co-chair of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition ... and became a U.S. citizen in 2015.

Cody Bellinger ain't sure about the MVP debate ... but he is positive about the "MCP" one -- the Dodgers star tells TMZ Sports Christian Yelich is the MLB's "Most Consistent Player" in 2019.

Bellinger and Yelich have gone pretty much swing for swing this season -- at least until Yelich broke his kneecap last week -- leading to an intense debate for who should win the NL's MVP award.

When we got Bellinger out in NYC ... he told us he ain't concerned about winning the honor -- but he says the Brewers superstar certainly deserves the title of "most consistent" at the very least.

"He's probably the most consistent player in the game, for sure," Bellinger says.

Of course, Yelich is done for the season after fouling a ball off his right knee last week ... but his numbers are still incredible -- especially side-by-side with Bellinger's ...

Yelich: 100 runs, 44 home runs, 97 RBIs, 30 stolen bases and a .329 batting average

Bellinger: 112 runs, 44 home runs, 108 RBIs, 12 stolen bases and a .304 batting average

As for Yelich's injury, Bellinger says it "definitely was" a big loss for the game.

"You know what's going to happen in the 9th inning, but it takes five hours to get there!"

Yankees legend Ron Guidry clearly dislikes watching the MLB these days ... telling TMZ Sports games just take too damn long to finish!!

We got the ex-pitcher out in NYC when he told us straight-up, "The game has changed, and it's long, and it makes it harder to watch because it's so long."

The MLB has been accused of juicing baseballs this season in order to see more offense ... but all the home runs and scoring has led to much longer days at the park.

Guidry says it's really killing the game ... and he thinks more needs to be done to help speed things up.

His solution to the problem? "Let the pitchers pitch."

David Ortiz broke his silence with the media since being shot in the Dominican Republic, and he gave an emotional interview ... acknowledging he almost died there.

The former Boston Red Sox slugger spoke with Univision in a sit-down that aired in Spanish on Saturday, answering a number of questions related to the scary incident in his home country this past June -- when he was ambushed and shot in the back at a club.

Big Papi described the initial feeling of the bullet going in, saying he felt a stinging sensation ... adding that in the first five seconds, he felt like he was in a living nightmare. He said the shooting made him disheartened, as he has no problems with anybody.

Ortiz went on to explain that he never lost consciousness en route to the hospital, but said he experienced something he'd never quite felt before ... trying to survive for his life.

He says he's never had his life threatened before, and that him sitting with his back to the street and no security around should be an implication ... he's not someone who'd ever think he was in danger. Then came the question about who did it ... and why.

Ortiz says he has no idea why anyone might've wanted to kill him, again reiterating that he has no enemies ... and no issues with anybody (especially criminals) that would make him worry.

Big Papi also touches on a rumor that Dominican drug lord Cesar Emilio Peralta might've been the one who ordered the hit, but he again came back with uncertainty ... saying he couldn't think of any reason why that would be the case -- if, in fact, it is.

As we reported ... authorities in the Dominican Republic have made several arrests in connection to the shooting, including the alleged shooter himself. Cops say that Ortiz was not the actual target, and that the hit was a case of mistaken identity.

Ortiz is unclear on that himself, but one thing that clearly hurt him as he was in the hospital ... people apparently suggesting that he deserved what he'd gotten. He tears up as he recounts the recovery process, saying that at one point he was in a coma ... and almost died.

Luckily, Big Papi is getting better each day. He threw out the first pitch at a recent Sox game -- and seems to be doing well following multiple life-saving surgeries.

Ex-MLB great Doc Gooden says he's found his sobriety again after his recent relapse and is crediting a lot of people -- including his friend Darryl Strawberry -- for helping him out of the dark.

Gooden has struggled with cocaine addiction for years and pled guilty to 3rd-degree drug possession last week after he was arrested in New Jersey during a traffic stop in July.

Doc was ordered into rehab by the courts, and when we got him out in NYC this week, he says the process is working, and he's feeling healthy and focused again.

"I'm feeling great," Doc says. "I appreciate all the support I've been getting. It's overwhelming, it's good to have."

"Things are going great, spirits are good, I've found my sobriety. Good to be back."

As for how he got to that point, Gooden says he had a lot of people come out to support him ... including his ex-Mets teammate, Strawberry.

"Daryl prayed with me -- he's a good man," Gooden says.

Gooden and Strawberry took the MLB by storm in the '80s as members of the '86 NY Mets championship team, and Doc says they used that same teamwork to help him kick his habit this time.

It's been a month since Brian Cashman was ordered to step away from his car at gunpoint ... but the Yankees GM still has no hard feelings toward cops, praising the officers to TMZ Sports!!!

"The police were doing their job, and so it was all good," Cashman said. "I followed their commands and it all worked out."

Cashman was stopped in Darien, Conn. on Aug 9 after cops mistakenly thought he had stolen the Jeep he was driving ... and when they ordered him out of the car, the scene was tense.

Multiple officers had their guns drawn -- seemingly ready to shoot at any moment -- telling the 52-year-old to get away from the car.

Eventually, the scene calmed down when cops realized they had the wrong guy ... and Cashman was free to leave.

When we got Brian out in NYC on Wednesday ... he told us he hasn't changed his mind one bit about the officers' actions, saying they did a great job throughout the stop.

"Big shoutout to the police for what they do and keeping us all safe."

As for the case against Cashman, cops say he's been cleared of any wrongdoing ... with the lead officer on the scene even apologizing to the Yanks exec.

Johnny Damon is going to bat for fired Red Sox exec Dave Dombrowski ... telling TMZ Sports, "Dombrowski is a very good GM, very honest."

Boston made the shocking move just a few days ago to can their team's president of baseball operations -- just 10 months after he won the World Series.

Reporters out in Beantown are perplexed by the move ... and nobody seems to have a definitive answer as to why the dude was fired after having so much success since he was hired in 2015.

When we got Damon out in NYC on Wednesday ... he said of the surprising move, "[The Red Sox] must know something else that's going on."

But, Damon ain't concerned that this will be a death blow for Dombrowski ... he played for the guy in Detroit in 2010 -- and says Dave's a really good GM.

"If he wants another job, he'll find another job," Damon says ... "I hope for him the best."

As for what he thinks ultimately went wrong in Boston -- Damon seems to think bullpen issues cost Dave his job, saying, "He wasn't given a closer this year and their setup guy was a headache."

The MLB barred the Mets from wearing NYPD hats during their game Wednesday ... so Pete Alonso took matters into his own hands, and bought his whole team custom 9/11 cleats instead.

The rookie MLB superstar wanted his squad to do something special to remember the tragedy Wednesday ... and thought wearing unique NYPD and FDNY hats would be awesome.

But, after the MLB told him no (they've denied teams from wearing the caps during actual game play every year) ... Alonso skirted the rules by getting his squad amazing spikes.

"It's really important and it's just a little gift from me to my teammates," Alonso said. "I'm really happy that everyone wore the shoes. We could've gotten fined for it, but everyone was willing to back up the cause."

The cleats were awesome ... some of them featured American flags, some had World Trade Center pictures on them, and some said, "We Will NEVER Forget."

"No one really knows how deep those emotional scars can be," Alonso said of the spikes.

"Living here, just kind of interacting with everybody, I've tried to immerse myself in the New York living. I see traces of it every single day. Little bits and pieces of it ... I just want to show recognition to all the people who are heroes."

"#911 ... Neither here nor there, but just think: If you were born on that terrible day, tonight is your last night of being jailbait anywhere in this country"

Yep, those words were tweeted out from Lenny Dykstra's verified Twitter account the day before the 18th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

Yeah, that's bad ... yet somehow, it was made even worse because the tweet included a map of the U.S. showing the age of consent in each of the 50 states.

Bad.

But, the ex-MLB slugger INSISTS his fingers were not responsible for typing those words -- instead, blaming the whole thing on his "college-student intern."

Of course, there was blowback from some rightfully offended people ... so Dykstra went back to Twitter to try and explain his way out of this.

"The college-student intern responsible for the tweet about age of consent and 18 years since 9/11 is going to be taking a break to focus on schoolwork," Dykstra said.

"I had indeed mentioned to her how quickly time had flown by. She meant no harm and will learn from the experience."

Right ...

Nick Swisher is heartbroken Christian Yelich won't return to the diamond this season after hurting his knee ... and he tells TMZ Sports he thinks the Brewers might be done after the devastating injury.

"I don't know, man," Swisher says. "That's a big hurdle to get over at this point in time."

Yelich -- arguably the front-runner for the National League's MVP award -- fouled a ball off his right knee Tuesday night ... and after the game, the Brewers said he'd be done for the season with a broken kneecap.

When we got Swisher out in NYC on Wednesday ... he told us things are looking grim for the Brew Crew's playoff chances now with their superstar out of the lineup.

But, Nick ain't completely slamming the door on Milwaukee's chances to make the postseason ... telling us, "At the end of the day, man, it's September baseball."

"Anytime you're playing good baseball in September, you feel pretty good about that."

The Brewers are just ONE GAME out of the second Wild Card spot in the NL ... and they are getting stars Mike Moustakas and Keston Hiura back this week -- so maybe there is a chance!!!

Vin Scully is one of the most legendary broadcasters in sports history ... and you can own the piece of paper that literally got him hired by the Dodgers 70 years ago -- if your bank account's fat enough.

This is awesome ... back in December 1949, 22-year-old Vincent Scully typed a 2-page letter and sent it to Brooklyn Dodgers President Branch Rickey -- the man who years earlier signed Jackie Robinson.

In the letter -- now on the auction block at SCP Auctions -- Scully wrote, "I am applying to you for a job in connection with your broadcasting and television programs" ... offering his services for a 3-year period.

Scully's salary demand ... "wages at the rate of $100.00 per week" for the 1950 season.

Vin asked Rickey to sign the letter if the terms were acceptable ... and that would "constitute a contract" between the announcer and organization.

Branch signed the papers ... and Scully joined the booth in '50 with Red Barber and Connie Desmond.

The rest is history ... Scully eventually became the lead man in the Dodgers booth and called the team's games for 67 years.

And, it all started with a letter authored by a 22-year-old kid ... that's now up for auction and expected to sell for over $20k.

Happy bidding.

BIG PAPI'S BACK!!!!!!

David Ortiz is making his first appearance at Fenway Park since he was nearly killed in the Dominican Republic last June ... and Sox officials say he's going to throw out the first pitch!!!

Ortiz almost lost his life after a gunman fired a bullet into his lower back outside of a DR club on June 9 ... but after several surgeries -- Ortiz says he's been feeling MUCH better.

So much so, the guy decided to hit up the Red Sox game Monday night to give his former squad a little bit of a boost heading into a rivalry game with the Yankees -- and fans are fired up!!!

Unclear if Papi will take the mound for the first pitch or just throw the heat from the infield grass ... but either way, it'll be a welcome sight for EVERYBODY in the baseball world!!!

By the way, the Yankees have paid their own tribute to the Sox legend recently ... superstars Edwin Encarnacion and Gary Sanchez went to visit him before they started the series last week.

Props for the cool move!!!

Mickey Rourke says he's ready to end the beef with Lenny Dykstra once and for all -- but says if Lenny disrespects him again, he's not afraid to throw them hands!!

Remember, Lenny says he wants to have a celebrity MMA match with Mickey to settle their years-long beef over an alleged $30,000 debt ... one of the nastiest feuds in Hollywood.

They've been trashing the hell out of each other in the media for years -- but it seems like Rourke is sick of all the drama.

Rourke spelled it out for us at Mulberry Street Pizzeria in Bev Hills ... saying if Lenny has real interest in squashing the beef, he's down to have a friendly beer summit and make peace.

But, if he wants to brawl ... Lenny knows where to find him.

The Cleveland Indians REALLY want to get the world's most famous Biebers together -- and it could finally happen next week ... in Anaheim!!!

Justin Bieber and Indians pitcher Shane Bieber have bonded on social media due to their famous last name -- and they even wore baseball jerseys recently jokingly paying tribute to the other.

Shane wore a "Not Justin" jersey during MLB Players' Weekend, when the athletes get to wear whatever name they want on their jerseys. And, Justin responded by rockin' a "Not Shane Bieber" jersey during a recent motorcycle outing.

Now, we're told the team wants to take the bromance to the next level by trying to arrange a face-to-face next week when the Indians come to California for a 3-game series with the Angels.

Our sources tell us reps for the Indians have reached out to Justin's camp to invite him to one of the games so he can meet Shane ... and we're told JB is seriously considering the offer.

Justin is a big sports fan and loves hanging with athletes ... from Neymar to Floyd Mayweather and he's also obsessed with hockey.

Shane has previously told us interacting with Justin on social media was one of the great thrills of his life!!!

The baseball doesn't fall too far from the tree in the Freddie Freeman household ...

Here's 2-year-old Charlie Freeman CRUSHING Wiffle balls in the Atlanta Braves slugger's house ... and check out the kid's amazing swing!!!

Of course, Freddie is a lefty with some of the most pop in the entire MLB ... but his son is growing up a righty -- and seems he's definitely on track to follow in Dad's footsteps regardless.

The video -- which was posted by Freeman's wife, Chelsea, on Freddie's off day with the fam on Wednesday -- is impressive, but it ain't a one-time thing ... Chelsea throws up vids of Charlie crushing balls all the time!!!

Charlie is super adorable after blasting the taters ... you can see in the vid he goes over to the living room coffee table to make sure all his toys celebrate his homers with him! It's adorable.

The Freemans are a super tight-knit family ... Freddie flies home on his off days to hang with Chelsea and Charlie all the time ... with Chelsea writing back in 2017, "I'm pretty sure he is the best daddy in the world!!!"

Rudy Giuliani is going to bat for James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka and the rest of the Yankees' starting pitchers ... telling TMZ Sports they're good enough to win the World Series!!

"They wouldn't have the best record in baseball if they didn't have enough pitching," the former NY mayor says.

Of course, tons of MLB pundits disagree ... especially because the Houston Astros added Zack Greinke to their already stacked rotation at the trade deadline while the Yanks stood pat.

But, Giuliani says he's got no worries about the Yanks' staff heading into the postseason, telling us their 90-49 record "indicates they do" have enough!

Currently, the Yankees rank No. 14 in the league with a 4.44 staff ERA ... while other World Series favorites like the Dodgers (3.45) and Astros (3.69) rank 1st and 4th, respectively.