MLB: Most Hated Players In Baseball Right Now
Everyone has players they just don’t like, but who are the most hated players in all of MLB?
Every team’s fans have that one player that they just collectively can’t stand. Boston Red Sox fans think Jacoby Ellsbury is a traitor. Cleveland Indians fans are positive Miguel Cabrera must be on steroids. Royals supporters believe that everyone is picking on Kansas City, and Cardinals fans boo Jason Heyward as though he personally insulted their families by signing with the Chicago Cubs last offseason instead of St. Louis.
But while each club has its own personal villains, there are a quite a few players for whom the hatred transcends rivalries, divisions and even leagues. These players – for a variety of reasons – have found ways to irritate and outrage their teammates, opponents, and baseball fans everywhere. From PEDs to ignoring the unwritten rules of baseball, certain guys get under everyone’s skin.
So who is the MLB player fans most love to hate? Let’s get started with the runner-ups:
#20 – Fernando Rodney
San Diego Padres closer Fernando Rodney has never done anything particularly offensive, unlike some of the players on this list. His crimes include tilting his baseball cap to one side, as well as showing off with an elaborate display whenever he saves a game.
Rodney draws the ire of opposing fans with his celebratory post-save routine, in which he mimes shooting a bow and arrow towards the sky at the end of each game. Sure, that seems pretty innocent, but fans don’t like to see their favorite team’s opponent rub it in after a loss.
Even when Rodney was a lights-out closer, he and his act were only slightly less hated than when he began to blow saves regularly. He’s turned things around in 2016, but fans took plenty of joy in his struggles last season.
#19 – Brett Lawrie
Chicago White Sox infielder Brett Lawrie has committed a number of offenses. Primarily, they’re the kind of things that irk his teammates and their hometown fans. He reportedly has been an issue in the clubhouse, for both the Blue Jays and the Oakland Athletics, resulting in trades from both teams. He’s also missed considerable time with injuries.
However, Lawrie is most notorious for his slide against the Royals in 2015, when he sparked a series of retaliatory pitches following this hard slide into shortstop Alcides Escobar:
Lawrie and the rest of the A’s paid for that slide several times over, as the Royals continued to pick fights with the Athletics throughout the 2015 season. In combination with his reputation as a bad teammate off the field, it’s probably safe to say that the infielder’s past teams aren’t that eager for him to come back.
Next: The Showboating Starter and The Cheater