The New York Post is reporting that legendary New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter sends off his one-night stands with an autographed baseball…signed by himself of course.

“Derek has girls stay with him at his apartment in New York, and then he gets them a car to take them home the next day. Waiting in his car is a gift basket containing signed Jeter memorabilia, usually a signed baseball,” the friend dished.

All was well with Jeter’s partying gifts until he accidentally hooked up with the same girl twice, he had forgotten a prior tryst, when she was given a second gift set, complete with another Jeter autographed baseball.

An autographed Jeter baseball can fetch north of $500 dollars.

Legit parting gift of disguised prostitution?

Jeter recently broke up with actress Minka Kelly.

Radar Online first reported A-Rod’s participation in the gambling ring back on July 1st.

“I was surprised to see just how good a poker player Alex is,” Bilzerian, 27, reveals. In one game that took place in a private home approximately 18 months ago, “A-Rod won a bunch of money,” Bilzerian told Star.

Bilzerian also revealed how he played with Rodriguez at a high stakes game at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas several years ago and that he was a very accomplished player.

But it is A-Rod’s participation in illegal poker games that will raise red flags with MLB chiefs.

Star revealed that Rodriguez played in the illegal games run by hedge-fund manager Brad Ruderman along with a whole slew of A-listers.

“Initially, A-Rod came to the game and simply watched,” another source told Star.

“But once he knew what it was all about, he brought into the game. He played two or three times, I would estimate.”

MLB is reportedly taking the allegations seriously and a ban for A-Rod could be very possible according to ESPN:

Major League Baseball is taking “very seriously” the allegations that Alex Rodriguez took part in some illegal, underground poker games, one of which reportedly turned violent, and he could face suspension if his participation in the games is confirmed.

“We’re talking to people involved in the investigation and we’re taking this very seriously,” said an MLB executive who spoke to ESPNNewYork.com on condition of anonymity. “Because he had been warned about this before, I would say a possible suspension would be very much in play.”

Several high profile Hollywood stars including Matt Damon and Tobey Maguire have also been tied to the illegal games.

Highly talented and widely loathed A-Rod is our generation’s Ty Cobb.

Instead of the ‘Georgia Peach’ maybe we can call Alex the ‘Miami Muffin’ or ‘Florida Fig.’

Christian Lopez was the lucky Yankees fan to catch Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit on Saturday at Yankee Stadium when Jeter homered in the third inning.

Lopez didn’t ask for anything in exchange for returning the historic ball, but the New York Yankees are going out of their way to reward the 23-year old kid from St. Lawrence University.

Here is what the Yanks are reportedly giving Christian according to The Jackson Sun:

According to Kay, Lopez will receive four tickets to a suite for every remaining game at Yankee Stadium this season (including any possible playoff games) plus first row Legends Suite tickets to Sunday’s game. He will also receive an assortment of bats and jerseys, plus the opportunity to meet Jeter.

That’s a pretty impressive haul for a guy that just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Congrats to Christian for doing the right thing!

Derek Jeter’s 10 Hottest Girlfriends of All-Time

New York Yankees great Derek Jeter became the first Yankee in MLB history to get 3,000 hits on Saturday.

Jeter, in the third inning-his second at bat in the game, hit Tampa Bay Rays’ David Price’s 3-2 curveball over the outfield wall to become the 28th player in MLB history, and first Yankee, to record 3,000 career hits.

Wade Boggs is the only other member of the 3,000 hit club to hit a homer for #3,000. Ironic that both Boggs wasn’t and Jeter isn’t consider a power hitter.

Jeter finished the game going 5-5 with the homer and the game winning hit.

The Yankees beat the Rays 5-4. Jeter finished the game with 3,003 hits in his Hall-of-Fame career.

College student Christian Lopez caught the historic home run ball and gave the ball back to Jeter without asking for anything in exchange, but the Yankees rewarded Lopez for his generosity.

See What all the Yankees Gave Lopez in Exchange for Jeter’s 3,000 Hit Ball (click here)

Also check out: Derek Jeter’s 10 Hottest Girlfriends of All-Time

As a matter of personal policy, I rarely write about the New York Yankees.  No offense to Yankees fans, but I’m just morally opposed to the concept of buying championships in a league that is clearly skewed to favor those teams that can out-payroll everyone else.  Therefore, I usually leave blogging about the Bronx Bombers up to the enamored national sports media and Big Apple homers who can’t imagine life existing anywhere west of Newark, New Jersey.  However, on an individual level, Alex Rodriguez is really good regardless of his salary.  So, I relent.  According to the LA Times:

You didn’t have to see Alex Rodriguez’s sixth-inning drive off Angels right-hander Ervin Santana to know where it was going to end up Saturday night. All you had to do was hear it.

The New York Yankees slugger crushed a fastball well beyond the wall in left-center field, the violent collision of bat and baseball producing a sound that pierced Angel Stadium like a thunderbolt.

“Like a thunderbolt.”  Look, I have no doubt that such a home run was impressive to both watch and hear, but it sounds like even the Los Angeles media can’t stop kissing Yankee ass.  Okay, okay, I digress.

Rodriguez tossed his bat toward the first-base dugout and didn’t even bother looking up to track the ball’s flight. There was no doubt about this two-run shot, which snapped a tie score and lifted the Yankees to a 3-2 victory over the Angels.

The shot also gave Rodriguez 1,864 career runs batted in, tying him with Mel Ott for ninth place on baseball’s all-time list.

Again, I freely admit that A-Rod is a great baseball player.  But a guy like that playing for the Yankees is little more than a stereotype.  Babies cry, dogs whiz on fire hydrants and talented, highly paid baseball players play for the New York Yankees.  So, I’ll honor the 1,864 career runs.  But this would have been a helluva lot more impressive if Rodriguez played for the Kansas City Royals.  Wishful thinking.

Near empty stadium at a Marlins-Nationals game on April 5th

Major League Baseball has been setting new attendance records year after year as of late.  However, if you take some of the photos being released the past few days to heart, that streak might end this season.  A slew of photos have come out showing half to 3/4 empty stadiums around the league, even for weekend games.

It appears to be happening all over the league: New York, Chicago, Cleveland.  According to Newsday.com, attendance at Yankees games so far this season are down about 6%.  The Cleveland Indians couldn’t even draw 10,000 for a weekend game against the Chicago White Sox.  It was even worse last night when the Indians hosted the Boston Red Sox according to one tweet by Jordan Bastian at MLB.com:

Attendance in Cleveland: 9,025. Lowest for Red Sox since they played in front of 8,488 July 5, 2000 at Minnesota.

Mostly Empty Toronto Blue Jays Stadium

So, is the lower attendance a function of fan apathy about their teams, or is there something else at work here.  The average MLB ticket price this season sits at $26.91.  Now consider a family of four going to an evening game.  That’s 27 bucks times 4, or $108 just to get in the door.  Once you add $15 for parking and $4-$5 hotdogs to the mix, it’s hard to get away from the ballpark without spending almost $200.  How many times per season is a family of four expected to do that in our current economy?

Sure, unemployment was high in the US last season, but many people have finally changed their behavior to coincide with their economic situation.  That means spending less in general on the non-essentials.  It would have been much wiser for major league baseball to actually lower their prices this season to help fill in some seats.  The higher attendance at lower prices would easily bring in more revenue than the current alternative.

It may be just another sign that big-league sports out of touch with their fans, but I would think that a reduction in ticket prices backes by a simple ad campaign would inspire more people to open their wallets.  But hey, what do I know, I’m just the average fan.

[PhotoSource: plixi.com, The Big Lead]

Spring training is here, baby!  And we’re loading up on news and rumors from around the majors.

The Los Angeles Angels went 80-82 last season and missed the playoffs for the second time in seven seasons.  Not bad.  But how are going to put together a winning season this time around.  Doug Mead asks 10 Questions the Angels Must Answer for Opening Day.

It wasn’t exactly the way pitchers and catchers normally spend their first day at camp, but Arizona Diamond Backs will take it.  D-Back fans had a chance to go wild on at the Subway Fanfest.  But it’s the players that have to convince themselves that the losing ways of the past are over.  Moneyball is Out, Dirtball is In.

Will the New York Yankess Roll Over the Boston Red Sox in 2011? It’s the perennial question.  One that never seems to get answered until sometime in September.  But this Yankees team is stacked and positioned to run over the AL East.  Can anyone in their division slow them down?

Rampant Trade Rumors: Albert Pujols, Francisco Liriano, Bryce Harper.  Is Prince Albert ready to be traded?  Who’s up to the $30 million a year challenge?  Would you believe it’s not the Yankees or the Red Sox that may be the strongest suitors.  Kansas City looks like the perfect spot for the soon-to-be Hall of Famer.  Can’t get your head around that one?  Check out the reasons why Albert Pujols could be playing for the Royals in 2012.

Don’t forget these fan essentials for the Oakland A’s.  Everything you need to know to keep tabs on every spring training practice and how to see your A’s in action before the seaons starts.

There will be a lot more to come as we countdown the month-and-a-half until the first pitch of opening day.  Major league baseball will be in full swing before you know it.  Stay tuned.

[Photo Source: Chip & Co.]

The minor leagues.  A place to pay your dues, put in your time and hope for a shot at the big leagues.  Everyone in the minor’s has something to prove.  Well, Yankees minor league team mascot “Champ” has decided he’s put in his time and now he wants to get paid.

“Champ”, formerly known as Brian Bonner is suing in Scranton, PA and alleging that the team “improperly classified” him as a manager in a move to avoid paying him overtime.  Bonner was understandably peeved.  According to CBS 6 News:

The suit was filed Wednesday in federal court in Scranton. In it Bonner claims he could work more than 80 hours a week in a job that paid about $22,000 per year. The suit says his title was “marketing and community relations manager” but he performed no supervisory tasks besides his mascot and community relations duties.

80+ hours per week at $22,000 per year.  That comes out to about a hefty $5.50 per hour.  Well, I don’t see what “Champ” is all upset about.  I’m sure there are lots of people out there who would be more than willing to let a $5.50 per hour job dominate their entire lives.  Of course, they’re probably not documented, but that’s beside the point.

The big question that everyone keeps asking, though, is why would a minor league mascot have to work 80+ hours per week?  Is he considering the travel time to eastern PA to play the Mighty Malvern Wood-Monks (not a real team; but if you’ve ever been to Malvern, PA, you know what I mean) part of his hourly?  In that case, I could see 6 games a week adding up.  Even at 40 hours a week that pay is chicken scratch, but we are talking about the minor leagues.  No one except the actual team owners ever got rich off the minors.  Good luck, Brian.  Workers of the World Unite!

[Source: Mike McCann]

Neither of those scenarios will play out as the Philadelphia Phillies have swooped in at the ninth hour to sign the talented lefty Arkansas native.

Lee reportedly will sign for 5-years with Philadelphia. In doing so he will leave nearly $50 million on the table from the Yankees.

Perhaps Lee remembers to vividly Yankees fans spitting on his wife during a playoff game in New York earlier this fall.

The signing will give the Phillies one of the best rotations in Major League Baseball history with Lee, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hammels.

Lee helped guide the Phillies to the 2009 World Series after being acquired from the Cleveland Indians in a trade deadline deal.  The Phillies then traded him to Seattle before the Mariners traded him to the Rangers at this year’s trade deadline.

The Phils have become the Miami Heat of MLB with this surprise signing.  The NL East and NL Pennant should be easy money for Philly even if their offense isn’t worth a lick…which is no where near the truth.

It appears we no longer have to worry about the financial security of our favorite major leaguers.  The Associated Press reports that the average major league salary has reached $3,014,572.  Not bad for the slowest sport this side of competitive bowling.

It comes as no surprise that the highest average belongs to the New York Yankees at $7,604,937.  Buying World Series Championships is expensive, but given their 2009 win, its doubtful that many Yankee fans are complaining.

Sadly, it would appear that members of the starting lineup for the Kansas City Royals are making about 12 bucks an hour.

[Source: Huffington Post]