MLB

Lenny Dykstra claims he was essentially kidnapped by an erratic Uber driver -- and now, we've learned the driver's been hit with a criminal charge.

The night in question (May 23) is the same evening Dykstra was arrested in NJ for allegedly threatening to shoot the driver when cops say they also found Dykstra in possession of weed, cocaine and ecstasy.

The driver had claimed Lenny asked to change destinations in the middle of the ride and when the driver refused, Lenny flipped out and threatened to shoot him.

But, Dykstra says that's B.S. -- admitting he did ask to change locations, but it was the DRIVER who flipped out ... locking the doors and driving 100 mph in the wrong direction.

Dykstra says the driver eventually pulled up in front of a police station -- where Lenny claims the driver lied to cops about what really happened.

Cops investigated and according to court documents, the driver has been hit with 1 count of false imprisonment.

Lenny says he was afraid for his life and called 911 several times from the back seat. Lenny says when the driver realized he was talking with police, the driver freaked out even more.

Dykstra's charges have not been dropped -- but now, it seems both the driver and the passenger could go down together in what may be considered as one of the most bizarre Uber rides ever.

8:40AM PT -- Dykstra and his attorney Matthew Blit held a news conference this morning in NYC .. where they described the incident. Lenny says he was kidnapped by the driver and was in fear for his life.

"I literally thought this guy was going to kill me."

Deion Sanders has a question for the MLB first-round draft pick who's still going to play quarterback for Oklahoma this season ... ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

The Oakland A's took Kyler Murray with the #9 pick in Monday's draft ... and despite that, and the roughly $5 MILLION contract that comes with that, Kyler says he still wants to play football at OU this season.

And Primetime Can. Not. Believe. It.

"Why are we even having this conversation?" Deion told 105.3 The Fan. "It don't even make sense to me."

"This kid, if he plays, and he should, is going to probably spend one year in the bushes -- in the minor league -- and then he's going to go to the pros. The big leagues."

"And then several years, four or five years after that, the kid's going to be making $200 million."

Prime made stacks playing football ... but he also had an impressive baseball career ... and clearly would have chosen the diamond full time if he weren't the greatest DB to ever play on the gridiron.

Clearly the beef ain't squashed between Red Sox owner John Henry and Johnny Damon ... 'cause the former outfielder tells us he's ROOTING FOR THE YANKEES in the renewed rivalry with Boston!!

It's an interesting stance considering Damon is a Red Sox legend -- a key part of the team that broke the curse and won the World Series in 2004. He later played for the Yanks.

Now, with the two teams battling it out for 1st place ... Damon says he loves the renewed rivalry.

"They're bringing back the rivalry that we had in the early 2000s and it's going to be a fun year," Damon told us.

But when we asked Johnny who he's pulling for -- that's when it got interesting.

"I'll be rooting for New York."

Remember, Johnny went on "Celebrity Apprentice" a couple years ago and said he and John Henry weren't exactly on speaking terms after contract drama in 2005.

Jim Edmonds' wife either had the biggest breakfast anyone's ever had ... or she's 36 weeks pregnant.

Soooo ... congrats!?

Meghan King Edmonds is carrying TWINS -- and is ready to pop any day now.

She posted this pic with her daughter, Aspen, and included the caption, "Warning: Use protective eyewear when viewing this photo! 😎#36weekspregnantwithtwins."

Meghan is one of the stars of "The Real Housewives of Orange County" -- and Jim was a stud with the Angels back in the day.

Jim has 4 other kids from a previous relationship ... so his new twin boys will be kids #6 and #7.

Rudy Giuliani says his feelings aren't at all hurt he got BOOED ON HIS BIRTHDAY in Yankee stadium ... telling TMZ Sports the boo birds are a sign of affection in the Big Apple.

"I know Yankee fans ... they boo you when they love you," the former NYC mayor tells TMZ Sports.

We got RG out in D.C. and he told us he wasn't bothered by the booing one bit. He even laughed about it!

Johnny Damon says he LOVES how President Trump has been performing since taking office -- and when asked for a specific reason ... he told us, "Well, do you like having more money in your pockets?"

The ex-MLB star was recently appointed to the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition --- and spent his Wednesday visiting the White House.

And since Damon's been getting a lot of online hate from anti-Trumpers on Twitter ... we asked how he's handling the criticism.

"That's all right," Damon said ... "Half the people aren't supporters, but he's doing a great job."

He also fired off his top reasons why he's still Team Trump -- from his tax plan to his pro-life stance.

The couple that does sweaty yoga together, stays together??

Seems to be the case with Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez ... who hit up a group Hot Pilates workout class at TruFusion in the Miami area -- and put in that work!

J-Rod seemed to enjoy it ... doing breath exercises, chopping moves, dancing and posing for selfies with everyone in the class.

They also threw fake money to promote J Lo's new song, "Dinero," with Cardi B and DJ Khaled.

The people in the class loved it -- and gave the couple an ovation after the workout. J Lo rewarded the group with a little dance number.

Ex-MLB star Lenny Dykstra was arrested early Wednesday morning in New Jersey after allegedly pulling a gun on an Uber driver and threatening to kill him.

Oh, and cops say he also had cocaine and ecstasy on him at the time of the arrest.

Officials say the 55-year-old was busted outside Linden, NJ police headquarters after a terrified Uber driver told authorities Dykstra pulled a gun, put it to his head, and threatened to kill him.

So, what set Dykstra off?

The driver claims Lenny had asked to change destinations during the ride -- but the driver refused ... and Lenny flipped out.

Cops say the Uber driver furiously began honking the horn in the hopes of signaling police -- and then finally ran from the car and alerted police.

When cops got to Dykstra, they did NOT find a gun ... however, they did find cocaine, marijuana, and MDMA (ecstasy).

Dykstra was arrested for making terroristic threats, and numerous drug possession offenses.

He was taken to Union County Jail ... where he was later released.

Dykstra hit up Twitter this afternoon to address the arrest ... quoting Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" ... "But I keep cruising, can't stop, won't stop moving, It's like I got this music in my mind, sayin' gonna be alright."

Here's a picture that's as adorable as the Miami Marlins are terrible ... both courtesy of Derek Jeter.

The MLB legend took some time away from his atrocious baseball team to hang with his wife, Hannah Jeter, and their baby, Bella Raine, in New York City.

Props to Jeter for stepping away from his job as the CEO of the Marlins for a little while to squeeze in some quality family time ... but ya gotta wonder when he's gonna start freaking out about how bad his team is playing.

The Marlins are 11.5 games out of 1st place in the NL East with no hope in sight (Fun Fact: the Marlins have scored the least amount of runs in all of MLB baseball).

Good news Mets fans ... you don't completely suck this year -- so says Carlos Beltran, who says his former squad has a real shot to make a run this season.

Of course, the Mets were absolute trash last year -- racking up a pitiful 70-92 record ... 27 games behind first place in their division.

So, when we saw Beltran -- a 9-time All Star -- leaving Capitale in NYC, we asked if there's any real hope for success in MetLand.

"I think that the Mets are going to be okay," Beltran tells TMZ Sports ... "I think that the season is early, I think that they have a lot of talent so there's no doubt that they have the talent to bounce back."

"The pitching staff looks great, the most important thing right there is to try to keep this guy healthy, and I think they have a good manager who was able to manage the starting pitcher in Cleveland and I think he's going to do a pretty good job for them."

Yankees legend David Wells ain't exactly thrilled with the whole Robinson Cano scandal ... telling TMZ Sports he's disappointed over Cano's 80-game suspension.

Cano was popped for taking a banned substance -- though he INSISTS it was a prescribed medication and NOT a performance enhancing drug.

But, not everyone is buying Cano's excuse ... considering the substance he took can be used as a masking agent for PEDs.

So, when we saw Wells in NYC, we asked if he was disappointed.

"Of course," he said ... noting, "I'm glad I'm not playing anymore."

We asked to explain his comment ... "Because 5 innings is a quality start."

He's definitely throwing shade at the new generation of MLB players -- essentially calling them soft.

We also asked about the Yanks vs. Red Sox rivalry ... Wells says it's good, but not like it used to be.

"Now they hug when they have a fight!"

From one Oriole to another ... MLB star Adam Jones just bought Cal Ripken Jr.'s insane $12.5 million Maryland estate!!

As we previously reported ... Ripken's been trying to part ways with the 24-acre estate since 2016 -- initially asking for $12.5 mil before knocking it down to $9.75 milli back in April 2017.

The Hall of Famer found a buyer in the current Baltimore slugger ... and according to Seth Rosenthal of The Athletic, Jones -- a real estate enthusiast -- couldn't pass up the sweet deal.

Jones' new crib comes with 6 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms, a home theater, 10-person spa, private hiking trails, pool, baseball field, indoor basketball court, full gym and a private fishing pond!!

While the final selling price has not been made available, the 32-year-old has made nearly $100 million during his long career ... so yeah, just a drop in the bucket for Jones.

Ex-MLB pitcher Matt Mantei was convicted of domestic violence after roughing up his wife, but he ain't gonna spend a minute behind bars ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... Mantei -- who was known for his 100 MPH heater during his 10-year career in the big leagues -- was arrested April 17 in Michigan after his wife told cops Mantei got physical with her while arguing over a cell phone.

She claimed the closer grabbed her, threw her to the floor, and held her down ... before letting her up and shoving her -- causing minor injuries.

Mantei appeared before a judge in Berrien County last Friday ... and pled no contest to 1 count of misdemeanor domestic violence. But, we're told the judge reviewed the evidence and found that Mantei committed the offense of domestic violence, according to prosecutor Michael Sepic.

With the conviction, comes punishment ... but no jail and no probation.

To the victor go the shears!

Cleveland Indians star shortstop Francisco Lindor had made a bet with his old high school baseball team ... you guys go undefeated, I'll shave my entire head!

Well, guess what ... the Montverde Academy squad in Florida went 25-0 -- and Lindor let the guys 86 his locks!!

The 24-year-old surprised the Eagles at a school assembly and let the players take turn shaving off his blonde curls.

Hope it works out for the players in baseball, because they're TERRIBLE barbers.

You think Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez can go 9 innings without a selfie? Hell no!

The power couple (along with J Lo's mom) hit up Yankees Stadium on Thursday night to watch NY take on the Boston Red Sox .... and you know they had to post the proof on social media.

Of course, A-Rod used to play for the Yankees ... but last night, he was bad luck -- the Yankees lost to the Sox 5-4, snapping the 8-game winning streak.

The good news ... Jenny's mom, Guadalupe, seemed to be having a blast at the game ... until the end.

J Lo and A-Rod's one-of-a-kind matching Met Gala outfits are going from the red (and white) carpet to an auction to raise money for (RED)'s fight to end AIDS.

The couple slayed Monday night in custom-designed Balmain looks from the creative director ,Olivier Rousteing. The theme was "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination," hence the cross on J Lo's chest.

Her dress took over a month to make ... the jewels on the feathers were sewn on by hand, which explains the $5k starting bid. A-Rod's tux starts at $1,500.

The auction is a cool concept ... if you can rationalize spending that much on clothes, and also considering there's zero chance they would re-wear this stuff. Rousteing's other designs from the night for 'Daily Show' host Trevor Noah, Juliette Binoche and more are also up for auction.