(Lelands / Getty Images)You can own the 1919 World Series ring that Shoeless Joe Jackson and his "Black Sox" teammates never did. The only 1919 World Series ring known to exist is now up for auction through Lelands. The current high bid? $33,275.

This ring comes with quite a story. First there's the one you know: The Cincinnati Reds won that World Series amid one of baseball's most famous scandals. Players from the Chicago White Sox were alleged to have thrown the series and afterward were banned from baseball.

Now the story you might not know: Back then most players didn't get World Series rings. They got World Series pins because rings were considered "effeminate." Reds manager Pat Moran, however, got a ring after the '19 series. According to the item description by Lelands, Moran's ring was given to a milkman in the manager's hometown after his death. Crazy, right?! Must have been some good milk.

(New York Daily News)According to a New York Daily News report, Cristina Torre, daughter of former major league player, manager, and current executive Joe Torre, played the role of a hero on Wednesday.

While walking down Third Avenue in Brooklyn, Torre spotted a baby boy, said to be one year old, hanging off the edge of a storefront awning that was in serious danger of falling at least ten feet to the sidewalk below.

Torre, 44, quickly positioned herself underneath the awning and according to eyewitnesses was able to outstretch her arms at the moment the baby finally lost his grip and caught him in her arms, saving his life.

“The woman caught the baby,” said Kristen Bramsen, 48. “The baby was shaken. Everyone was going up to the woman and hugging her. I hugged her.”

But the daughter of the former Yankees manager didn’t gloat about the save.

“She just smiled and said she was in shock,” Bramsen recalled.

As fine a career as Joe Torre had on the field, he never made a better or more important catch than that.

(Hillsboro Hops)

The Hillsboro Hops are the new Single-A short season affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks — and yes, the team is named for the plant that's used in brewing beer. That's just a fun fact, not the point of this story. Besides, beer is a fun entry point for any tale, right?

The Hops used to be the Yakima Bears, before moving this season to Hillsboro (which is near Portland, Ore.) Monday night was the Hops' first game, which brought a good deal of excitement because they're the only pro baseball team in the Portland area, and it was the opening of the brand-new Hillsboro Ballpark. A Major League Baseball authenticator was on hand to put a stamp of approval on any historic happenings. It was that kind of night.

So when Jordan Parr — just drafted by the D-backs out of the University of Illinois — hit the first home run at Hillsboro Ballpark, the Hops moved quick to preserve the moment. A 15-year-old fan caught the homer and when the Hops went to ask for the ball back, things got fun. John Canzano, the great sports columnist at The Oregonian tells the story:

The Hops offered the kid an autographed team baseball in exchange for the home-run ball. He turned them down.

If we needed any confirmation that Kate Upton doesn't like Justin Verlander as much as she allegedly used to, a happy birthday tweet she sent to Frank Viola III on Wednesday confirmed it. What does Frank Viola III, a son of the famed left-handed pitcher with a similar name, have to do with ex-SuperCouple Kate 'n' Justin? He's one of Verlander's best friends and, apparently, his friendship with Upton has survived the alleged Verlander breakup. It happens to famous people and the sons of famous people too!

Upton and Verlander never actually said on the record they were dating — it just kind of got out there. Dang paparazzi! Anyway, Upton repeatedly has said in recent times that she is single, and all of the anecdotal evidence linking her and Verlander has dried up. So they're kaput. But that doesn't mean a girl can't wish a friend of a friend a happy birthday!

Only, the eCard she included in the tweet said "Happy birthday to a friend of a friend who I now like more than the original friend." She deleted the tweet with the eCard less than 45 minutes later and replaced it with one that didn't include an eCard that slighted her (likely) ex-boyfriend.

Now, does this have anything to do with Verlander's self-admittedly disappointing season in which his ERA has risen to 3.72 for the Detroit Tigers? No. ... Doubtful. ... Probably not. ... Who can say for sure? Just maybe.

One of those.

(telegdys on Flickr)

Many of us like to think of ourselves as Lego artists, but most of us can't do with the little plastic blocks what Sean Kenney can do. This Lego construction of an nearly scale model of Wrigley Field, which Kenney made with 57,960 bricks, is extraordinary.

The question is: Rather than messing with the real Wrigley by renovating it, can't the Cubs just play at Kenney's Lego Wrigley? Plastic lasts forever! All right, enough Zoolander-like jokes.

(If I had a criticism of Kenney's work: No rooftop buildings. Technically, of course, they're not a part of the ballpark. Yet, they've become part it.)

Lego Wrigley is the star of an exhibit called "Big Leagues, Little Bricks" at the Louisville Slugger Museum, which even without it is one of the best baseball experiences in the country, almost on par with the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Kenney also includes some remarkably realistic portraits of Derek Jeter, Joey Votto and Buster Posey, along with other baseball-related sculptures.

This is what the Slugger Museum has to say about Kenney, along with what else is on display through Labor Day:

(Getty)Fun while it lasted and over too soon, the Manny Ramirez era in Taiwan reportedly has ended.

Brandon DuBreuil, the engine behind the previously indispensable Manny Does Taiwan blog reports that Ramirez has been removed from the roster of the EDA Rhinos, his team in Taiwan, and might be looking for work in Japan. The Chiba Lotte Marines, others report, might be interested.

Is there going to be a "Manny Does Japan" blog? One can hope.

Ramirez's contract was to end June 30, but Focus Taiwan reports Manny is due to leave the country Friday. Homesickness has been cited vaguely as a reason, but then we have the Japan speculation. That's not Manny's home, of course. He's a good, old-fashioned, red-blooded North American by way of New York, Miami and the Dominican Republic. Playing here, or near here, apparently isn't an option right now. Regardless, the urge to play ball apparently still burns in Ramirez, who at 41 years old batted .352/.422/.555 with eight home runs in 206 plate appearances over 49 games.

Focus Taiwan reports:

(Getty)The Miami New Times has published new allegations on the Biogenesis case, including an amusing one that New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez was visited by clinic operator Tony Bosch during the 2012 ALCS. Apparently, what's supposed to be the biggest drug scandal in baseball since (or maybe including) BALCO involves a "doctor" making a house call.

The New York Daily News frames it as such:

According to a former business associate of Bosch, Rodriguez, mired in a slump that had seen him lose his starting job in the series against the Tigers, summoned Bosch to Detroit to help him.

... Porter Fischer says he confronted Bosch about the money owed to him when Bosch returned from Detroit after the Yankees were swept by the Tigers, a series in which A-Rod went 1-for-9.

A baseball source said the Yankees had no knowledge of Bosch traveling to Detroit during the 2012 ALCS.

Now this Bosch guy is a batting coach? Or are his pharmaceuticals more like magic slump-busting pills? How close was A-Rod to sacrificing a live chicken, or doing incantations to get help from the spirit of Charlie Lau?

It wouldn't be believable that A-Rod would risk meeting Bosch in Detroit — except that it's A-Rod. Reality is always a little twisted with him, so keep an open mind about it.

There's more, including Porter Fischer — the person who supplied the New Times with the Biogenesis documents in its original story — saying this:

(Oakland Athletics)

Next week, 10,000 Oakland Athletics fans will get one of the coolest bobbleheads given away this season — the Coco Crisp "lean" bobble, which shows the A's outfielder doing the "Bernie Lean" dance that became a rallying point for last year's AL West champions.

The bobblehead was created by merchandising leaders BDA, Inc. — who you'll learn more about in an upcoming interview with CEO Jay Deutsch right here on Big League Stew. The Coco Crisp bobblehead is one of many that BDA created for MLB teams this season. With the help of BDA and the approval of the A's, we're giving a Coco Lean bobblehead to one lucky Stewie before they're handed out on June 29.

Here's the catch: We're looking for a diehard A's fan who will take the bobblehead out on the town and send us some pictures in return. We want you to take Coco to the place you watch A's games. We want to see him hanging with your fellow A's lovers, or with your other A's memorabilia. We want to see him leaning in your favorite place to grab a bite before or after a game. You might even want to take him to a game — we're fine with that too. Get creative as you like. Anything to show Coco (and us) how much you love the A's.