http://www.sodahead.com/sports/whos-the-biggest-jerk-in-major-league-baseball/question-821625/
1/13/2010
Who's the biggest jerk in Major League Baseball?
<LABEL>by </LABEL>NYYankees
Many players such as Jim Thome, Mike Sweeney, Curtis Granderson, Joe Mauer and Derek Jeter are known not only for their talent, but their offseason work and kindness to others. While those players are one in a million, there are plenty of jerks out there. Here are a list of mine and feel free to tell me if i missed any.
Manny Ramirez
Manny being Manny. It's been a common saying in MLB and to tell you the truth it;s kind of getting old. The Boston Red Sox tried trading him for yeard but were always reluctant to because a player with his talent could come to haunt him them in the past. Finally Manny's rants and refusals to play finally got him traded to the LA Dodgers (he even dared the organization to trade him). Since then he's been a diva and fan favorite in LA but still a controversial figure ever since his positive steroid test. Manny may be great, but he's nothing but a cocky a-hole.
John Rocker
Typical white-trash racist bigot. The hard throwing closer of the Atlanta Braves was known for his notorious opinion of New York City, the best city in the world. He was always known for making racist, homophobic and sexist remarks to the people in New York and minorities and general. Believers in karma look into John Rocker's story. A once dominant closer is now washed up and lost effectiveness since he made the remarks. Serves the loser right.
Scott Boras
How many teams has this guy ripped off? Barry Zito, Dice-K, Adruw Jones, the list goes on and on. Many organizations such as the White Sox and Yankees are enraged with this tough negotiating agent. Who doesn't remember the whole A-Rod opt out controversey. I know the agent works for the player but you can't deny that Scott Boras shares some of the blame, if not most of it. He demands big money for players who don't deserve it, a desperate team gives in and they are a huge bust. Boras was recently fired by A-Rod, Kenny Rogers, and Jeremy Guthrie due to his greedy harsh nature. Maybe you need a new strategy Scott.
Gary Sheffield
How can someone with as high as a profile as Sheff play for 8 different teams in his career? Throughout a 16 year Hall of Fame calliber career Sheff played for the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, and the New York Mets. Not only is Gary known for his towering homeruns and his odd batting stance, he's also known as a foul-mouthed, ill- tempered wise talking street thug. Although i thought Sheff played very well in his time in New York, he did not seem like a loyal Yankee. When they traded him in the 2006 offseason he warned the Yankees that he would take action, and later accused then Manager Joe Torre to be prejudice against African Americans. He is also known for a brawl against Fausto Carmona and threatened Victor Martinez after recieving a suspension claiming that he would be "penalized by him as well". Sheffield was always a great outfielder, but his loud mouth is the real reason why he's been the most successful "journeyman" in baseball.
Roger Clemens
Typical hothead. From throwing at all-star players such as Alex Rodriguez, Mike Piazza, Barry Bonds, and Albert Pujols, to his short patience and complaints about his team clubhouse you can't stand to hate the guy. Although a Yankee fan i never was a fan of Clemens. I was very excited to see that they got him in 1999, but when i realized the jerk he really is i was less excited. He never stayed to cheer on his teammates on games he wasn't pitching, he didn't have to make roadtrips on the ones he wasn't starting in and even complained once about carrying his own luggage. Just because he was Roger Clemens people did not have a problem with his selfishness. And Rocket, there are other ways to pitch around great hitters other than beaning them in the head with your 98 MPH fastball. And was the bat incident very necessary, move on and accept the fact that Mike Piazza has hostile feelings against you.
Albert Belle
If you look up nutjob in the dictionary, a picture of Albert Belle will pop up. Foul mouthed and ill tempered to the media and hostile to his own teammates there was no question that Belle had serious anger issues. He knocked down Fernando Vina blocking his basepaths and once grabbed teammate Jason Grimsley and literally sent him through the cieling. He was not only known for his violent temper but his hostility towards the media and the off beat comments he made to them. A former Cleveland Indian's manager claimed he would always have violent outbursts after games and ruined the team dinners. He wasn't only a dangerous hitter to pitch to, but he wasn't a very pleasant person to be around with either.
Barry Bonds
The Jerks of all Jerks. Also known for his hostility towards the media and sportswriters, he also lies through his teeth just to protect his image. He lied through a grand jury about his steroid use and changed his story several times. Teammates and fans also complained about his personality and rudeness to other people. Hey Barry, roid rage getting to you?
Alex Rodriguez
Yes, he deserves to be on this list too I guess. Although I don't think he's rude to teammates, fans or the media and he does not have an explosive temper, he's extremely cocky and self-centered. He cheated on his wife several of times and always wants to be center of attention. He gets booed wherever he goes, even by his home fans on occassion. However he does do a lot of charity work, and i have seen him signing autographs to children even after games.
Reggie Jackson
Yeah Mr. October. Although people don't realize the jerk he really was. Since he got there, the team chemistry was ruined. Thurman Munson immediatly disliked him, Billy Martin despised him and he and "The Boss" would often bicker. He would refuse to run and do drills with the team during spring training instead worrying more about his hitting. One time he refused to shake hands with his teammates after hitting a homerun. Yeah Reggie was great in the clutch, but I never heard of somebody as self centered as him in that era.
1/13/2010
Who's the biggest jerk in Major League Baseball?
<LABEL>by </LABEL>NYYankees
Many players such as Jim Thome, Mike Sweeney, Curtis Granderson, Joe Mauer and Derek Jeter are known not only for their talent, but their offseason work and kindness to others. While those players are one in a million, there are plenty of jerks out there. Here are a list of mine and feel free to tell me if i missed any.
Manny Ramirez
Manny being Manny. It's been a common saying in MLB and to tell you the truth it;s kind of getting old. The Boston Red Sox tried trading him for yeard but were always reluctant to because a player with his talent could come to haunt him them in the past. Finally Manny's rants and refusals to play finally got him traded to the LA Dodgers (he even dared the organization to trade him). Since then he's been a diva and fan favorite in LA but still a controversial figure ever since his positive steroid test. Manny may be great, but he's nothing but a cocky a-hole.
John Rocker
Typical white-trash racist bigot. The hard throwing closer of the Atlanta Braves was known for his notorious opinion of New York City, the best city in the world. He was always known for making racist, homophobic and sexist remarks to the people in New York and minorities and general. Believers in karma look into John Rocker's story. A once dominant closer is now washed up and lost effectiveness since he made the remarks. Serves the loser right.
Scott Boras
How many teams has this guy ripped off? Barry Zito, Dice-K, Adruw Jones, the list goes on and on. Many organizations such as the White Sox and Yankees are enraged with this tough negotiating agent. Who doesn't remember the whole A-Rod opt out controversey. I know the agent works for the player but you can't deny that Scott Boras shares some of the blame, if not most of it. He demands big money for players who don't deserve it, a desperate team gives in and they are a huge bust. Boras was recently fired by A-Rod, Kenny Rogers, and Jeremy Guthrie due to his greedy harsh nature. Maybe you need a new strategy Scott.
Gary Sheffield
How can someone with as high as a profile as Sheff play for 8 different teams in his career? Throughout a 16 year Hall of Fame calliber career Sheff played for the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, and the New York Mets. Not only is Gary known for his towering homeruns and his odd batting stance, he's also known as a foul-mouthed, ill- tempered wise talking street thug. Although i thought Sheff played very well in his time in New York, he did not seem like a loyal Yankee. When they traded him in the 2006 offseason he warned the Yankees that he would take action, and later accused then Manager Joe Torre to be prejudice against African Americans. He is also known for a brawl against Fausto Carmona and threatened Victor Martinez after recieving a suspension claiming that he would be "penalized by him as well". Sheffield was always a great outfielder, but his loud mouth is the real reason why he's been the most successful "journeyman" in baseball.
Roger Clemens
Typical hothead. From throwing at all-star players such as Alex Rodriguez, Mike Piazza, Barry Bonds, and Albert Pujols, to his short patience and complaints about his team clubhouse you can't stand to hate the guy. Although a Yankee fan i never was a fan of Clemens. I was very excited to see that they got him in 1999, but when i realized the jerk he really is i was less excited. He never stayed to cheer on his teammates on games he wasn't pitching, he didn't have to make roadtrips on the ones he wasn't starting in and even complained once about carrying his own luggage. Just because he was Roger Clemens people did not have a problem with his selfishness. And Rocket, there are other ways to pitch around great hitters other than beaning them in the head with your 98 MPH fastball. And was the bat incident very necessary, move on and accept the fact that Mike Piazza has hostile feelings against you.
Albert Belle
If you look up nutjob in the dictionary, a picture of Albert Belle will pop up. Foul mouthed and ill tempered to the media and hostile to his own teammates there was no question that Belle had serious anger issues. He knocked down Fernando Vina blocking his basepaths and once grabbed teammate Jason Grimsley and literally sent him through the cieling. He was not only known for his violent temper but his hostility towards the media and the off beat comments he made to them. A former Cleveland Indian's manager claimed he would always have violent outbursts after games and ruined the team dinners. He wasn't only a dangerous hitter to pitch to, but he wasn't a very pleasant person to be around with either.
Barry Bonds
The Jerks of all Jerks. Also known for his hostility towards the media and sportswriters, he also lies through his teeth just to protect his image. He lied through a grand jury about his steroid use and changed his story several times. Teammates and fans also complained about his personality and rudeness to other people. Hey Barry, roid rage getting to you?
Alex Rodriguez
Yes, he deserves to be on this list too I guess. Although I don't think he's rude to teammates, fans or the media and he does not have an explosive temper, he's extremely cocky and self-centered. He cheated on his wife several of times and always wants to be center of attention. He gets booed wherever he goes, even by his home fans on occassion. However he does do a lot of charity work, and i have seen him signing autographs to children even after games.
Reggie Jackson
Yeah Mr. October. Although people don't realize the jerk he really was. Since he got there, the team chemistry was ruined. Thurman Munson immediatly disliked him, Billy Martin despised him and he and "The Boss" would often bicker. He would refuse to run and do drills with the team during spring training instead worrying more about his hitting. One time he refused to shake hands with his teammates after hitting a homerun. Yeah Reggie was great in the clutch, but I never heard of somebody as self centered as him in that era.
