MLB

Cal Ripken Jr.'s Iron Man streak is now his second-most awesome feat ... 'cause the MLB legend says he was able to beat prostate cancer in a matter of weeks!!

The 59-year-old told reporters Thursday he was diagnosed with the disease way back in February ... but, thankfully, he says he's been cancer-free since March surgery.

"The cancer was all contained in the prostate, they did a pathology report afterward and confirmed that that was the case," Ripken Jr. said.

"I’ve since had a three-month test to see if my PSA was undetectable and it was, so we can make a case that all the cancer was contained and it’s all out now."

Ripken Jr. says he was initially going to keep everything private ... but after realizing going public with his experiences could help others have similar success with the illness, he let it "slip out."

"I wouldn’t say the Iron Man contributes to it, but I was the kind of person who was thinking, ‘OK, I’ll just keep this a secret,'" Ripken Jr. said.

"But the longer you deal with it and you understand the outcome has been favorable and positive, the reason I’m letting it slip out now is I want to use the opportunity to help other people who struggle with that decision and encourage other people to go get their regular exams, get their tests."

The Toronto Blue Jays say they're sorry players wore shirts that depicted their mascot as a homeless person ... and now, the team has officially banned the apparel from the clubhouse.

Several Blue Jays players were spotted wearing the T-shirts this month ... with pitcher Anthony Bass proudly displaying the attire on social media last weekend.

The all blue shirt featured the words "Homeless Jays" ... and showed a Blue Jay cartoon wearing tattered clothes while holding a baseball bat with a sack of belongings in it.

Of course, the shirt was meant to be a play on the Blue Jays being barred from playing games in their hometown over the COVID-19 pandemic ... but many called it straight-up offensive.

And, in a statement released by the team this week ... it agreed, apologizing for a "lapse in sensitivity" toward homeless people -- and adding they won't allow players to wear it again.

"The Blue Jays take accountability for ensuring negative stereotypes are not perpetuated and for supporting marginalized groups in our community," the team said. "The club has addressed the issue of the T-shirts with our players and they will not be worn again."

The team added, "The Blue Jays have a strong commitment to lifting up our most vulnerable through Jays Care Foundation, including a longstanding partnership with Toronto Community Housing."

Maybe Carlos Santana didn't get the memo ...

The Cleveland Indians star 1st baseman rocked a "Chief Wahoo" shirt under his jersey during Tuesday's game -- despite the team BANNING that logo back in 2019.

Remember, the team -- along with Major League Baseball -- put out a grand statement back in 2018 saying the club would officially do away with Chief Wahoo, explaining the logo was "no longer appropriate."

Critics have long said the logo felt like an insensitive, racist caricature of a Native American.

MLB and the Indians put out a joint statement saying they had "thoughtful and productive discussions" and ultimately agreed to move on from the logo by the start of the 2019 season.

The last time Wahoo was on an official Indians uniform was Oct. 2018.

So, you can imagine the shock when Santana wore the shirt during Tuesday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates ... in a monster game for Santana in which he had 2 hits and 5 RBIs. Lots of camera time.

Plus, he wore the undershirt -- without his jersey -- at the post-game presser where Wahoo was more prominently displayed.

Our MLB sources tell us ... the league is aware of the shirt -- and there are plans to talk with the Indians organization about the issue so it won't happen again.

Reds star Trevor Bauer is taking his support for Joe Kelly to his feet ... rockin' "Free Joe Kelly" cleats for Cincy's game Wednesday -- and the tribute is pretty amazing!!

As we previously reported, Kelly is set to undergo a 5-game suspension as soon as he comes off the Dodgers' injured list ... and it's all because MLB says he threw at cheating Houston Astros players last month.

But, dozens of guys in The Show -- including Kelly himself -- think it's all BS ... saying Joe didn't actually hit anybody, and he really wasn't involved in the near brawl on the field either.

Enter, Bauer ... who hates the Astros so much and is so firmly in Kelly's corner on the situation -- he had custom Joe Kelly cleats made for his start against the K.C. Royals!!!

TB showed off the footwear just hours before he took the bump ... and on the left shoe, Bauer had Kelly's infamous mocking face painted over the Nike swoosh.

On the right shoe, Bauer had the words "Free Joe Kelly" scribbled over the emblem.

"FREE JOE KELLY!" Bauer said along with the cleat announcement.

Trevor's support for Joe went one step even further ... the Cincy ace also made shirts for Kelly -- and says the proceeds from the tees will go to a charity of Joe's choice.

How's that for a pitching brotherhood?!?!

Imagine hitting a towering 400-foot grand slam in an MLB game ... and APOLOGIZING FOR IT?!?!

Fernando Tatis Jr. did exactly that Monday night ... with the bizarre scene making baseball purists go CRAZY over the 21-year-old!!

Here's the deal ... the San Diego Padres were up 10-3 on the Texas Rangers in the 8th inning when Tatis Jr. was ahead 3-0 in a count.

Padres manager Jayce Tingler says he instructed Tatis Jr. to take the next pitch and to NOT run up the score ... but the shortstop says he missed the sign from coach, and blasted the baseball to the moon!!

The homer was SICK -- it traveled over 400 feet and was Tatis Jr.'s 2nd of the night ... giving him 7 RBIs in total -- but EVERYONE was seemingly pissed at the Padre for it.

Check out the footage from the field ... Rangers manager Chris Woodward was furious -- and when Tatis Jr. got back to his own bench, you can tell his teammates weren't pleased either.

Afterward, Tatis Jr. says he was sorry for smacking the home run ... saying next time he'll likely take the pitch instead of crushing it and piling on runs.

"Those experiences, you got to learn from it," Tatis Jr. said. "Probably next time, I take a pitch now that I learned from it.”

Added Tatis Jr.'s manager, "He’s young, a free spirit and focused and all these things, and that’s the last thing we’ll ever take away. But that’s a learning opportunity, that’s it and he’ll grow from it."

In fact, the Rangers were so pissed over Tatis Jr.'s swing ... they nearly hit San Diego's next batter, Manny Machado, with a fastball in retaliation.

Of course, other baseballers rushed to Tatis Jr.'s defense ... saying the unwritten MLB rule needs to be abolished -- and the dude should keep swinging no matter what.

"Hey [Fernando] listen up," Reds star pitcher Trevor Bauer said of the controversy. "1) Keep swinging 3-0 if you want to, no matter what the game situation is 2) Keep hitting homers, no matter what the situation is"

Kate Upton, Olivia Culpo ... and now Reagan Howard?!

Alex Bregman's fiancee is hoping to follow in the footsteps of legendary Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models ... announcing Monday she's officially gunning to be in the 2021 SI Swim mag!

Howard just entered the publication's annual search for undiscovered models ... saying she's been "dreaming" of being in the mag ever since she saw Bar Refaeli on a cover years ago.

"I started modeling when I was about 17 years old and faced a ton of rejection for the size of my body," said Howard, who got engaged to the Houston Astros' star 3rd baseman back in January.

"I would love to be on SI because I believe in the brand and I believe in what it represents," Howard added. "And, you guys empower women from all over the place to be as they are and to be multi-dimensional. Which I absolutely love."

Howard went on to say that she's personally inspired by Camille Kostek ... who gained SI Swim fame after being discovered in the mag's 2018 open casting call.

"Here’s to breaking molds and being you," Howard said, "no matter how many different things that may be."

Of course, another famous WAG -- Matt Kalil's wife, Haley Kalil -- also got her SI Swim breakthrough in the brand's 2019 open audition as well.

Could Howard be next? Winners won't be announced for months ... but the resume sure looks bulletproof to us!

Broadcasting 101 -- ya may not wanna call your ex-wife a "dingbat" on live TV ... 'cause everyone knows that's pretty bad, right??

But, former Chicago Cubs star Mark Grace must've missed that lesson ... and now he's apologizing for his bizarre rant during Saturday's game.

The 56-year-old joined Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies in the booth (virtually) for the Cubs vs. Brewers game on Marquee Sports Network over the weekend ... when he was asked to give a fun story about his playing days.

That's when Grace couldn't help himself but call his ex a "dingbat" several times while sharing an incident where she accidentally parked in a spot reserved for then-Brewers owner Bud Selig ... forcing Grace to rush out in full uniform to stop the car from being towed.

"My ex-wife, I’m going to go Archie Bunker on you guys a little bit," Grace said on air, "I called her the dingbat."

For those who don't get the reference ... Bunker is a character from "All In The Family" and "Archie Bunker's Place" ... and the guy was known for calling his wife -- you guessed it -- a "dingbat."

BTW -- While Kasper and Seshaies awkwardly played off the comments, neither spoke up and said Grace's jabs were a bit off.

To make matters worse, it wasn't even a good story -- she parked in Bud Selig's spot decades ago ... who cares?

Grace later apologized for the bad TV moment ... saying, "During today’s game I referred to my ex-wife in a way that I absolutely should not have."

"I want everyone to know how very sorry I am about that. My remarks were offensive and inappropriate, and I deeply apologize.”

Detroit Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire was thrown out of a game Sunday in an epic F-bomb laced rant ... and the whole glorious incident was caught on a field's hot mic!!!

Ron G was furious with 1st base umpire Tim Timmons during the Tigers' game against the Cleveland Indians ... after Timmons overturned a call in the 3rd inning that negated a Detroit run.

Gardenhire was fuming over the ruling ... and when the 62-year-old manager came out to complain to Timmons -- field mics picked up part of the ump's clapback.

"Hey!" Timmons could be heard screaming at Gardenhire. "I didn't f*ck it up!"

Then, Timmons' ejection of Ron was picked up on mics as well ... with the ump clearly screaming, "Get the f*ck out!!!"

Cleveland's broadcast team couldn't help but comment on the profane tossing ... with one of the guys saying, "Oh! Easy, Tim!"

The best part of the whole scene? Other camera angles showed the umps made Gardenhire pull up his mask during the heated argument!!!

Of course, with no fans in the stands ... F-bombs have been heard all over MLB diamonds this summer -- check out Joc Pederson droppin' one during the Dodgers game against the Angels on Sunday.

Cleveland pitcher Zach Plesac says he's been wrongfully portrayed as a reckless monster for breaking MLB's COVID rules during a night out in Chicago ... insisting he was being safe the entire time.

"The media's portraying me and my best friend and teammate to be malicious with our actions when we were really ... practicing safe practices," Plesac says.

Here's the deal ... Plesac ADMITS he and teammate Mike Clevinger broke MLB rules by leaving the team hotel and staying out past curfew during a road trip to Chicago.

"I went out to dinner with some buddies. We ended up going back to his place -- the same group that we went to dinner with ... and we opened up baseball cards," Plesac says.

"That entire night, dinner and hanging out at my buddy's place after, we were not with more than 8 people the entire night."

The problem ... obviously ... is that MLB had put strict rules in place to prevent another outbreak after COVID hit the Miami Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals.

When news broke of Plesac's night out, he was killed in the media -- AND by teammates like Adam Plutko who felt he violated their trust and put the team at risk.

But, in a 6 minute and 30 second IG video, the 25-year-old pitcher argues he followed CDC guidelines that night and doesn't really understand why everyone is making such a big deal about it.

"You can't sit in a room all day," Plesac said.

Plesac says he's been doing research and vows to follow the rules moving forward -- but feels he's been "dragged across the mud."

He's adamant he'd never purposely put his teammates at risk -- citing his brother has diabetes and his mother is a nurse.

"I understand the significance of this illness and this disease and I know how important it is that we must follow certain procedures and guidelines to ensure safety for the entirety of the group."

Ultimately, Plesac says he's dying to get back on the mound and play again -- so he can "start shoving it up people" ASAP.

Cleveland Indians pitcher Adam Plutko just roasted the hell out of his teammates Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac for partying amid the pandemic ... saying straight up, "They hurt us bad."

"They lied to us," Plutko told reporters after the Tribe's loss to the Cubs on Tuesday. "They sat here in front of you guys and publicly said things that they didn't follow through on."

"It's gonna be up to them. It really is. I'll let them sit here and tell you how they're gonna earn their trust back."

As we previously reported, both Plesac and Clevinger were busted for leaving their team hotel over the weekend to hang out with friends in the Windy City.

It's obviously a huge no-no ... MLB teams like the Marlins and Cardinals have had their seasons completely derailed by COVID outbreaks, so unpermitted meetups are seriously frowned upon.

Both Clevinger and Plesac were placed on the restricted list for their actions and forced into quarantine ... and Plutko -- who had to fill in for Clevinger on the mound Tuesday -- was pretty pissed over it all.

"I don't need to put words in their mouths," the 28-year-old said. "The term that I continue to hear -- and excuse my language -- is 'grown-ass man.'"

"So those grown-ass men can sit here and tell you guys what happened and tell you guys what they're gonna do to fix it. I don't need to do that for them."

The Cleveland Indians were so upset with Zach Plesac for leaving the team hotel in Chicago to hang with friends during a road series with the White Sox, THEY WOULDN'T LET HIM BACK ON THE TEAM JET!

The 25-year-old right-hander KNEW he wasn't supposed to leave the team hotel without specific permission (per team and MLB protocol) due to the COVID pandemic, but he went out Saturday night anyway.

The team found out and took immediate action.

FYI, Plesac grew up in Crown Point, Indiana -- roughly 45 miles from Chicago.

Plesac was ordered to be tested immediately -- and then the team sent him back to CLE by car service Sunday instead of joining the rest of the team on the team jet.

The flight is usually 90 mins The drive is a little over 5 hours.

Plesac was also placed on a mandatory 72-hour quarantine -- and will have to undergo more testing before he'll be allowed to rejoin the team.

"I realize I made a poor choice to leave the hotel, which broke protocols and could have endangered other people," Plesac said in a statement,

"I understand that in these times of uncertainty, I need to be more vigilant and responsible, and I am determined to earn my teammates' forgiveness and get back to work."

Plesac's Indians teammate, Shane Bieber, also weighed in ...

"We love Zach, we support him, but he screwed up. We're going to handle this in-house, and we'll see where it goes from here."

Major League Baseball is trying to crack down on protocol violators in the wake of multiple outbreaks affecting the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals.

Be smart, people.

Houston Astros hitting coach Alex Cintron has just been suspended for a third of the MLB season ... after sparking a bench-clearing brawl with Oakland Athletics player Ramon Laureano.

The A's were playing Houston on Sunday when Laureano was hit in the back by pitcher Humberto Castellanos, which led to a heated exchange with Cintron.

Laureano told ESPN Cintron "said in Spanish something you don't say about my mother," which led him to charge the dugout.

While Cintron denies the claim, the MLB seems to believe Laureano's account ... handing down the punishment Tuesday -- a 20-game ban.

According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, it's believed to be one of the largest penalties handed down to a coach.

As for Laureano, the outfielder has been handed a 6-game suspension for his involvement.

The immediate reaction around the league is frustration ... as Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly was suspended 8 games for throwing at multiple Astros players last month.

Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier ROBBED Red Sox rookie Jonathan Arauz of his first career hit with a miraculous catch on Monday ... and you know who was super-pissed about it??

Sox first baseman Michael Chavis -- who straight-up gave Kiermaier a one-finger salute after making the highlight play!!

The hilarious interaction was caught on camera ... when Kiermaier leaped to catch Arauz's deep shot to center field in the 2nd inning.

Chavis made his frustrations known by getting KK's attention from the dugout ... just to give him a solid middle finger!!

So, why is Chavis so mad?? If Kiermaier hadn't come up with the ball, 22-year-old Arauz would have notched his first MLB hit ... but of course, that didn't happen.

It all ended up okay in the end for Arauz -- he finished the game with 3 hits as the Red Sox fell to the Rays, 8-7.

Major League Baseball is considering ripping a page from the NHL's playbook -- and instituting a 3-city hub system for the playoffs, this according to ESPN.

As we previously reported, the NHL claims its 2-city hub system is VERY successful so far -- with zero new COVID cases reported in the past week.

FYI, the NHL has split up the league into 2 hub cities -- one in Edmonton and the other in Toronto.

Each team has an entire floor at a designated hotel -- and all personnel are restricted to only visiting certain approved locations ... like workout facilities, restaurants, etc.

Everyone in the "bubbles" are tested for COVID on a daily basis.

Now, MLB is so impressed, they've had "preliminary discussions" about implementing the same system for the playoffs following a series of outbreaks with at least 2 MLB teams.

The league would need 3 cities to accommodate the 16-team playoff format, according to Jeff Passan.

Passan says Southern California, Chicago and NYC would make the most sense for hub cities because of issues like weather, stadium availability and lodging.

The first actual brawl in the 2020 MLB season just unfolded before our eyes -- and lo and behold ... it was against the Houston Astros.

The A's were playing Houston Sunday for a day game, and during the 7th inning ... Astros pitcher Humberto Castellanos beaned A's outfielder Ramon Laureano in the back, which ticked him off. He had words for Castellanos, but then directed his anger at the dugout.

It looks like one of the Astros hitting coaches was chirping at Laureano, which then prompted the A's slugger to charge the dugout. Several Astros players stepped in before Laureano could reach his target -- it looks like Dustin Garneau took him down and others piled on.

This led to the benches clearing and other players to tussle and wrestle on the ground, while others tried pulling one another off. Some were wearing masks, others weren't -- and the fact it was the first actual physical brawl of the COVID-era season made it all the more bizarre.

Of course, there's likely going to be some harsh penalties dished out here because of this -- MLB has strongly discouraged physical closeness/confrontations ... especially if they can be avoided. They've said they'll hand down whatever regular fines or suspensions they normally do in these types of situations, but won't cut 'em down at all for the shortened season.