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

#18 – Johnny Cueto

When the Cincinnati Reds faced the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2013 NL Wild Card game, Johnny Cueto got the start for the Reds. Pirates fans let their disdain for him be known by chanting “Cueto” throughout the second inning, rattling Cueto the point where he dropped the baseball as he faced Russell Martin and had to walk several feet off the mound to pick it up. Then, Martin smacked the next pitch into the seats to give the Pirates a lead that they would never relinquish.

During that start, Cueto was relatively subdued as the Pirates’ bats kept him quiet. Normally, he has an interesting delivery that includes “shimmying” before he throws the pitch, which tends to irk fans and opponents:

Cueto is talented enough to get away with a little showboating, but it’s easy to see why players and fans alike are consistently ready to yell “Just throw the ball already!” whenever he pitches.

#17 – Melky Cabrera

When White Sox outfielder Melky Cabrera played for the Giants, he cemented himself onto the list of most-hated baseball players. In 2012, Cabrera went from virtually unknown around the league to the favorite to win the National League batting title, as he helped carry the Giants to a playoff berth.

However, prior to the end of the season, Cabrera was popped for PED use and received a 50-game suspension. To compound the betrayal felt by fans, it was discovered that Cabrera’s camp had created a fake website in an effort to mislead investigators about how the banned substance wound up in his system. As a result, the Giants declined to add him to the postseason roster at the end of his suspension, and Cabrera recused himself from the batting title competition.

Even after well-paid stints with the Blue Jays and White Sox, Cabrera hasn’t regained a favorable reputation with fans or fellow players.

Next: The Former Yankee and the Aging All-Star

#16 – Robinson Cano

Robinson Cano‘s biggest crime is being a very well-paid superstar, and perhaps, not running out groundballs as often as he should. Cano’s success as an All-Star Yankee resulted in a $240 million, ten-year deal with the Seattle Mariners. He drew ire from New York fans who felt that he should have been more loyal to the Yankees, but quickly faced a different kind of anger from his new fanbase in Seattle.

In his first season with the Mariners in 2014, Cano hit just 14 home runs, the fewest homers he had hit in a season since 2008. Although he batted .314/.382/.454, Mariners fans felt that he didn’t always put forth the best effort. That trend continued in 2015, as he posted a .779 OPS – the third worst of his career – and seemed disinterested in playing for the struggling Mariners.

While Cano doesn’t have the same issues as many of the names on this list, getting paid as well as he is comes with certain responsibilities – including acting like a leader no matter how well the team is doing.

#15 – Ryan Howard

When Phillies slugger Ryan Howard signed his five-year, $125 million contract, he was a two-time All-Star who consistently earned MVP votes. Fans were on board with the decision to sign him originally, but that soon changed. As Howard aged, he went from beloved to despised.

This culminated in an incident earlier this month, when a hometown fan threw a beer bottle at Howard as he walked off the field following a game-ending groundout. Howard wasn’t pleased, directing a not-safe-for-work rant at the offender. While that particular fan went too far, it shows how far Howard’s star has fallen in Philly over the last half of the decade.

Next: The Aggressive Flamethrower

#14 – Aroldis Chapman

If you throw 100 miles per hour on a bad day, your own fans tend to like you a lot. That was the case for Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman, as his velocity helped to overshadow his attitude issues in Cincinnati. For example, when the Reds tried to convert him to a starter, Chapman refused to participate. He irked hometown supporters when he publicly announced that he would not start, although that would have been far more beneficial to the team than keeping him in the bullpen:

“Aside from that, I’m tired of every year the same thing about me either starting or closing. What I have in mind is closing games and that’s it.”

Chapman has also had plenty of fights with players who felt his inside pitches crossed a line, including a dust-up with Nick Swisher in 2013, when the then-Indians slugger took issue with a pair of wild 100 mph fastballs, the second of which nearly hit Swisher in the head:

Between being a me-first player rather than a team-first player, and his aggressive manner on the mound, Chapman has made quite a few enemies.

The final strike against Chapman’s reputation came before the 2016 season, when he was investigated for a domestic violence incident. He reportedly choked his girlfriend and fired off eight gunshots in his garage, becoming the first MLB player to be disciplined under the new domestic violence policy.

Next: The Veteran Slugger

#13 – David Ortiz

When Big Papi steps up to the plate, there are lots of cheers and lots of boos, no matter what city he’s in. David Ortiz is unabashedly himself, showing plenty of attitude on field. Yes, he “pimps” his hits, and his home run trot time might be even slower than Jim Thome’s. But when you’re a former player-to-be-named-later turned household-name All-Star, don’t you deserve to showboat a little?

In the eyes of baseball, apparently not. Ortiz is a passionate guy, both in successes and failures, and it shows on the field – including this incident in which he took out his anger on the dugout phone after being ejected and was reprimanded harshly by teammate Dustin Pedroia:

Ortiz has taken a lot of heat for his attitude over the years. He was also once linked to PEDs, and although he’s never been suspended or even formally accused of using them, it was enough to cement him as a cheater in the minds of many fans.

Regardless of what people think of him, it’s pretty likely that his legacy as one of the best hitters in baseball history will survive all of that hate.

Next: The Angry Closer

#12 – Jonathan Papelbon

Washington Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon has never been a beloved baseball figure. From his days with the Phillies to his time with the Nats, fans and teammates have all found Papelbon to be abrasive and unlikable.

There was the much-discussed incident in Philadelphia, when Papelbon was booed off the field following a blown three-run lead in the ninth inning of a game against the Marlins. In response, the Phillies’ closer grabbed himself and gestured in the direction of the fans, which irked umpire Joe West. West tossed Papelbon from the game, which resulted in an in-your-face argument between the two, culminating in West grabbing Papelbon’s jersey.

The controversial closer has been involved in plenty of beanball incidents as well, as he sees himself as the enforcer of unwritten rules when it comes to “pimping” home runs. Notably, he was ejected in 2015 for plunking Manny Machado with a pitch a little too up-and-in for comfort.

But nothing cemented Papelbon’s reputation as a bad clubhouse guy more than this incident with Bryce Harper last season:

PSA for any future major leaguers who may be reading this: choking your teammate is never a good way to make friends, and it certainly won’t help your bad-guy reputation. Luckily for Papelbon, he doesn’t seem to mind all of the hate.

Next: The Fiery Young Outfielder

#11 – Carlos Gomez

When then-Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez smacked a home run deep into the seats at Turner Field in 2013, he tossed his bat to the side and trotted slowly around the bases. Braves pitcher Paul Maholm had hit him in their last meeting, and Gomez had some choice words for him about the retaliatory home run as the slugger made his way around the diamond.

Atlanta catcher Brian McCann, another self-designated enforcer of baseball’s unwritten rules, met Gomez partway down the third base line and got in his face, blocking the baseline and informing him that home runs must be observed with humility, no matter how satisfying they might be to the hitter.

The benches cleared, and even though McCann was really the one who got aggressive here, Gomez was declared the villain for his conduct during his home run trot.

Watch it for yourself here:

Now, this is far from the only incident of “hot-dogging it” that Gomez has been involved in. He’s upset plenty of teams and fans who don’t seem to appreciate his passion. Unless MLB becomes a lot more accepting of individuality, Gomez is going to be hated for quite a while.

Then again, as he might say – if you don’t want to see a home run celebration, keep the ball in the park.

Next: The Bat Flipper

#10 – Jose Bautista

A quick note: full disclosure, I had no idea that anyone hated Jose Bautista prior to this season.

But that changed when Rougned Odor punched Bautista in the jaw following a hard slide into second base, sending Bautista’s sunglasses flying and sparking a controversy over whether the reaction was warranted.

The slide, of course, was in retaliation for a Matt Bush pitch that intentionally hit Jose Bautista, which itself was in retaliation for Bautista’s epic bat flip in last year’s playoff series.

If you break the number one rule of the Internet and read the comments section on any article pertaining to the Odor-Bautista fight, you’ll see a plethora of fans who believe Bautista got what was coming to him. In the 2015 ALDS, he launched a towering three-run home run off of Texas reliever Sam Dyson that won a crazy, emotional game for the Toronto Blue Jays – and he had the audacity to let his excitement show with the greatest bat flip of all time:

Sure, it might be seen as disrespectful towards Dyson – but then again, if Dyson makes his pitch there, Bautista would have been forced to head back to the dugout. Regardless, the Bat Flip Heard ‘Round the World is one of many similar incidents in which Bautista has let his emotions show on the field, and it’s resulted in a lot of animosity toward the All-Star slugger.

Next: The Overpaid Superstar

#9 – Josh Hamilton

Josh Hamilton is despised by fans for a lot of unrelated reasons. From on-field struggles to injuries to personal choices outside of baseball, Hamilton has dealt with a lot of criticism.

The five-time All-Star had a history of success – three Silver Slugger awards, a batting title, and an MVP award. But baseball is a game where past success means little, and fans are eager to hate players who make critical mistakes – and Hamilton made one of those in the 2012 play-in game against the Oakland Athletics:

The A’s went on to win the game, giving them the division title. Then, the Rangers lost the Wild Card game, as fans booed Hamilton in his last at-bat. He subsequently bashed the Rangers fans after signing an offseason deal with the Los Angeles Angels, angering people who had supported him during his time in Texas.

Hamilton did not live up to what Angels ownership expected in terms of performance, and never had a good relationship with their fans. His five-year, $125 million deal was a bust. In 2015, he admitted to MLB that he had relapsed in his battled with drug addition. Although he wasn’t suspended, the Angels’ front office used this convenient excuse to take a “moral stand” and try to back out of Hamilton’s contract. They removed his merchandise from team shops, emptied his locker, and looked at whether they were legally obligated to pay him the rest of his money.

It turned out that they were, but the Angels still didn’t want him. As a result, Hamilton was shipped back to the Rangers – where he’s been disliked for both his past comments, his injury issues, and his limited on-field performance.

Next: The Liar

#7 – Chase Utley

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets are not necessarily on the best of terms. Dodgers infielder Chase Utley saw to that, when he made a horrific decision in last year’s NLDS.

In the seventh inning of game two, Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy fielded a ground ball up the middle, flipping the ball to shortstop Ruben Tejada to start the double play. Utley slide hard and late, in an attempt to take Tejada out. He did – for the rest of the playoffs. Tejada was carted off the field with a broken leg, as the Dodgers scored a run on the play:

The slide was so awful that it forced MLB to revise their rules in the offseason, to the point that a late slide now results in an automatic out. While some fans might argue that this change was unnecessary, Tejada and the Mets might beg to differ.

Fans and fellow players lined up to call Utley a dirty player in the moments and weeks following the slide, and even his Dodgers teammates seemed hesitant to call the slide legitimate.

Utley’s status as a villain was further increased earlier this month when he faced the New York Mets. Noah Syndergaard was tossed from the game after throwing a fastball behind Utley’s back in his second at-bat, as young umpire Adam Hamari took issue with Syndergaard’s obvious intent.

Utley proceeded to hit a pair of home runs and collect five RBIs, which may have helped win the game for the Dodgers, but hardly helped his reputation.

Next: The Veteran Cheater

#6 – Alex Rodriguez

No team is more hated in baseball than the New York Yankees, and All-Star slugger Alex Rodriguez is no exception. There was a time when he would easily have been the most disliked player in the game, but the younger generation has surpassed him on the list.

A-Rod has been suspended twice for using performance-enhancing drugs, including being caught up in the Biogenesis scandal that rocked the baseball world. The former MVP and All-Star was busted for being not just a user of PEDs, but a source of clients for the Biogenesis clinic.

Needless to say, MLB went after Rodriguez hard and issued a one-year suspension for the superstar. At the time, there were five years left on his contract, and the Yankees had been displeased with his performance for some time. They fought to void his contract, saying that his behavior violated the morality clause of his contract, among other arguments.

Luckily for A-Rod, the players’ union was able to easily prove that the Yankees had no legal basis for voiding the deal, and it ended up reflecting poorly on the organization. However, the damage had already been done for Rodriguez in terms of his reputation – he is widely considered an overpaid, underperforming cheater, and fans around the league take joy in booing him when he comes to town.

Next: The Fiery Young Pitcher

#5 – Yordano Ventura

A player who has rapidly worked his way up this list in the last two years is Royals starter Yordano Ventura. Ventura is just 25 years old, but he’s already racked up a long list of enemies: Jose Bautista, Mike Trout, Brett Lawrie, Adam Eaton, and – most recently – Manny Machado.

Ventura has a habit of letting his emotions get the best of him, whether due to a perceived slight or simply his own personal struggles. At times, he’s been a lights-out starter. But primarily, he’s struggled to command the 100 mph fastball that makes him both incredibly talented and incredibly dangerous.

Earlier this month, Ventura made headlines when he intentionally threw at Manny Machado three times in a pair of at-bats, finally hitting him in the second at-bat. Machado charged the mound and attacked:

This was hardly the first time Ventura had thrown at a player, and the Royals are rumored to be just as tired of his antics as opposing teams and their fans are. The pitch he threw at Machado was harder than any other pitch thrown that night, and careers are on the line when that kind of velocity is aimed at someone.

The Cleveland Indians’ Carlos Carrasco was at one time a pitcher who had a reputation as a hothead with a penchant for retaliatory pitches, but after a pair of suspensions, he matured and is no longer disliked around the league. Hopefully, Ventura will follow in Carrasco’s footsteps and make his way off this list.

Next: The Fiery Young Outfielder

#4 – Yasiel Puig

When Yasiel Puig hits a home run, he celebrates it. This has made the young Cuban outfielder a controversial player, especially among fans and opponents who believe home runs should be observed solemnly, so as not to offend the pitcher.

Check out one of his many slow home run trots, prefaced by an outstanding bat flip:

Madison Bumgarner (who is himself hated by Dodgers and Athletics fans alike) took issue with Puig’s showboating after the homer. At one point, Dodgers teammates did what they could to convince Puig to play with a little less passion and emotion, but at the end of the day, that’s who he is.

When Puig is playing well, these type of outbursts are more easily forgiven, but he’s struggled to stay fully healthy – in part because he doesn’t heed the advice of those who tell him it’s not necessary to make every spectacular play.

On the other hand, he’s also had some instances in which he didn’t play hard, such as failing to run out ground balls or hit the cutoff man, and has even been benched over those mistakes. It seems like Puig is destined to be hated throughout his career.

Next: The Fiery Young Infielder

#3 – Manny Machado

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado is one of the hottest players in baseball, but he’s also one of the most hated. His talent doesn’t make up for his attitude, at least in the mind of traditional fans.

Although Machado’s fight with Yordano Ventura is making news now, that’s hardly the first time the 23-year-old has been involved in an on-field altercation. He made headlines earlier in his career when he threw his bat down the third baseline, aiming for the Oakland Athletics third baseman:

Machado, who was already angry over what he perceived to be a dirty slide by Josh Donaldson in a previous game, thought that a pair of inside pitches from A’s reliever Fernando Abad were aimed a bit too close to his knees. He let his bat fly in retaliation.

It wasn’t his finest moment, and neither was his reaction to being hit by Ventura earlier this month, when he threw a punch at the Royals starter – although that was perhaps a more understandable outcome.

Either way, Machado has developed a reputation as a hothead, and it will take a lot of time and good behavior to get rid of that tag. Until then, he’ll remain one of the most hated players in baseball.

Next: The Former Most-Hated Player

#2 – A.J. Pierzynski

First of all, yes, A.J. Pierzynski is still playing – he’s quietly spent the 2016 season as a mostly non-confrontational catcher for the Atlanta Braves.

It was hard to make him anything less than #1 on this list, but his demotion to a backup catcher role has finally allowed someone to surpass him as the most hated player in the game. Although he might not be at the top of the list anymore, Pierzynski has always angered fans, teammates, coaches, opponents – pretty much everyone except the media, who routinely call on him to broadcast postseason games. (He is, after all, very good at running his mouth.)

Former Sox manager Ozzie Guieun has perhaps the most well-known quote on Pierzynski’s obnoxious personality:

“If you play against him, you hate him. If you play with him, you hate him a little less.”

But, there’s one reason you’re reading this article, and it’s because you’re hoping to see one of the best moments in baseball history. Without further ado, here it is:

Yep. Who doesn’t want to see Cubs catcher Michael Barrett calmly stand up after being barrelled into and punch Pierzynski in the face? This moment will live on in infamy, because if there’s one thing baseball fans can agree on, it’s that Pierzynski is the most annoying catcher in the game.

Next: The Most Hated Player Right Now

#1 – Bryce Harper

MLB’s disdain for Bryce Harper can partially be summed up in this quote by him from earlier this year:

“Baseball’s tired. It’s a tired sport, because you can’t express yourself. You can’t do what people in other sports do. I’m not saying baseball is, you know, boring or anything like that, but it’s the excitement of the young guys who are coming into the game now who have flair.”

Whether you agree or disagree with Harper, the majority of players and fans seem to believe he’s wrong. He’s been criticized for playing too hard, and for not playing hard enough. He’s despised for showing emotions on the field and “hot-dogging it” when he hits home runs.

Yes, the hatred for Harper runs deep. When teammate Jonathan Papelbon attacked him in the dugout last season, plenty of people felt that it was justified, as unbelievable as that might sound.

But aside from his lack of regard for the unwritten rules of baseball, Harper can also just be obnoxious at times. Take this example, from 2014, when he antagonized Braves fans by dragging his heels through the “A” logo behind home plate:

Sure, there are plenty of videos that demonstrate Harper doing more unlikable things, such as failing to run out grounders or fighting with various teams – but this might just be the pettiest, most immature example of why so many people root against him.

Bryce has also cussed out umpires and been ejected numerous times, so it’s safe to say he’s not very popular with the ump crews, either.

Next: 2016 Draft Winners and Losers

It’s hard to beat out A.J. Pierzynski in terms of being universally disliked, but this is hardly the first or last time that Bryce Harper will do something that seems impossible.

Perhaps that’s the real reason that Harper is the most hated player in the game.