Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - Reader Challenge II: My Least Favorite Players

Reader Challenge II: My Least Favorite Players

The other day, we had a "Reader Challenge" here on Da Box asking everyone to name their Top 10 Favorite Players. Dozens of individual ballplayers earned mention -- yes, you all love Doc Halladay -- with many people commenting on what a fun exercise it was.

This followup is spurred by a comment from Dave Till, who wrote that one of my own Top 10 favorites, Bill Gullickson, was solidly on his "all-time worst list." We both had legitimate and defensible reasons -- such is the greatness of "baseball favorite" discussions.

So let's try to build the opposite list -- um, not "the opposite of fun," but rather "the opposite of favorite" -- for each of us here. In other words, answer this question ...

Who are the ballplayers (list 10 if you've got 'em, but however many you want) who you always, always, rooted against? That you just couldn't stand, even if/when he was on a team you liked? Bottom line: who are your Bottom (fill in the number of your choice) Least Favorite baseball players?

Ready? Go!

Posted by Mick Doherty on Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 12:40 PM EDT.

Reader Challenge II: My Least Favorite Players | 30 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

Mick Doherty - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 12:45 PM EDT (#181422) #

Steve Garvey.

That is all. (For now!)

mathesond - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 01:28 PM EDT (#181428) #

Most hated, eh? I dunno about hate, but I can do a least respected list

Vince Coleman - not for his whole career, but did after he threw the firecracker in a fan's face

Was it Frankie Francisco that got into a punching match vs. fans while with Texas?

Bobby Bonilla complaining about being charged with an error wasn't endearing

Likewise, Derek Bell and Operation Shutdown

Enos Slaughter for deliberately spiking Jackie Robinson (my all-time favourite player, so I suppose Country makes the hated list. Sal Maglie, too, for his Giants years)

Raul Mondesi - we know why

Marty Janzen - for not being anywhere near as good as Gord Ash promised

Rickey Henderson, for everything he did before 1992

Jim Sundberg, for hitting that damn triple

Rick Monday, for hitting that damn homer

Shaker Mo - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 01:45 PM EDT (#181430) #

Roberto Alomar - I never warmed up to him, for some reason. I guess he just seemed immature to me. Oh, and he's responsible for searing the phrase "Catch the Taste" into my brain.

Roger Clemens - His Texas testosterone schtick wore thin years ago.

Paul Lo Duca - Underage romances, performance enhancing drugs, general chumpness...can't stand him.

Ozzie Guillen - More for his managerial antics and style.

Derek Jeter - Great player, but I cheer against him. Being a Yankee doesn't help, but I really dislike the Captain.

Dennis Eckersley - The hair, the emphatic cheering and celebrating after a strikeout -- grrr. Imagine how torn I was when Alomar homered off him!

David Justice � Smarmy. Just plain smarmy.

Sammy Sosa � Hate the home run hop, the chest-fist bump and air kisses, the stylized sprinting to and from spots on the diamond. Not to mention the corked bats, allegations of drug use, etc.

That�s all for now. I�m too angry to continue. :P

AWeb - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 02:23 PM EDT (#181434) #

Always hated Rickey Henderson, even as a Jay (for whom he stunk).

Pete Rose - hung on 5 years too long, bet on the game while managing, confirmed liar and all-around self-promoting sleazeball.

Derek Jeter - the hustle due to being a slow starter, the constant verbal pleasuring from announcers during the playoffs and any time Rod Black happens to be calling a Yankees game, the swarmy grin..."#@#$@ Yankees" personified.

Clemens - 'nuff said on him lately

Mike Mussina - played for rivals, showed up Gaston...

Billy Ripken - placeholder for all players who make it to the majors essentially because they're related to someone better.

Jack Morris - thanks for 3 losses in the 1992 playoffs, Jack. And that 3 inning, 5 run performance in the other game...good thing the offense bailed you out, as usual. In 1992, Morris gave up 6 or more runs 7 times. He went 6-1 in those games. Long time Jay Jimmy Key went 0-2 in his only starts that bad. I guess I just resented Morris for getting the franchise record in wins, and somehow picking up ridiculous run support seemingly every start.

deep dish - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 03:17 PM EDT (#181441) #

I would like induct the entire bash-brothers era Oakland A's as a team (Rickey Henderson, McGwire, Canseco, Eckeresley) for their contributions as showboats, and substance abusers. I could never understand the popularity of McGwire in St. Louis.
Roger Clemens for outstanding achievement in the field of probable cheating with drugs, probable attempts to injure, mercenary contract bs
Sydney Ponsoon for squandering his gift
Nolan Ryan - I always thought he plunked guys on purpose and enjoyed it when they charged the mound. Always felt that he was just a strikeout pitcher.

Mick Doherty - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 03:34 PM EDT (#181444) #

I could never understand the popularity of McGwire in St. Louis.

220 homers in 4 1/2 seasons will do that for a guy!

Mike Green - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 04:02 PM EDT (#181446) #

Too bad Jimy Williams wasn't a player. There are few players that I really dislike; arrogance doesn't bother me in a player as it much as it would in someone I actually had to deal with.

Anyways. Pete Rose. Steve Garvey. Jack Morris. Jose Canseco. Roger Clemens.

Geoff - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 05:40 PM EDT (#181459) #

Wade Boggs, Darryl Strawberry, Don Mattingly, Mike Scioscia, Ozzie Smith, Jose Canseco, Griffey Jr., and Steve Sax.

They just didn't have the right sense of competitive play; they either took the game too seriously or not seriously enough.

Parker - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 06:04 PM EDT (#181462) #

Wade Boggs, Darryl Strawberry, Don Mattingly, Mike Scioscia, Ozzie Smith, Jose Canseco, Griffey Jr., and Steve Sax.

Hmm. Is it coincidence that you named eight of the nine players who guest-starred in the Simpons episode "Homer at the Bat"? The only one you missed was Clemens.

Speaking personally, my most hated player is Barry Bonds by a country mile. Honorable mentions include Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Rickey Henderson, and Vince Coleman.

golouis - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 06:26 PM EDT (#181465) #

Shea Hillenbrand
I wanted to boo him so badly that I was almost disappointed that he got cut from the Angels before they came to Toronto last summer

jmoney - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 06:41 PM EDT (#181468) #

Well I was never a fan of Bill Madlock for taking out poor Tony Fernandez in 87

I didn't like most of the tigers in the 80's. Trammel, Whitaker, Morris, Parrish, (their third basemen whose name eludes me at the moment)

Hate Jeter. Most of that blame goes to FOX and their damnable close ups of the man regardless if he's even involved in the play.

Most of the Atlanta Braves. (Were the recipients of my 80's Tiger hate)

Sheldon - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 07:27 PM EDT (#181470) #

Dennis Eckersley
Wade Boggs
Roger Clemens
Manuel Lee (after he wanted everyone to stop calling him Manny)
David Justice
Jose Offerman
Rob Dibble
Dante Bichette
Kevin Millar
Johnny Damon

electric carrot - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 07:54 PM EDT (#181471) #

For being such a sore loser especially when someone made an error behind him

Dave Stieb

For being such an ass nearly all the time

Shea Hillenbrand

For being an egomaniac

Roger Clemens
Pete Rose

For looking asleep at the plate

Tim Wallach

Just because

Jason Veritek
Johnny Damon

Me me me Soul Destroying Attention Hogs

Curt Schilling
Jose Canseco
Kevin Millar

electric carrot - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 07:55 PM EDT (#181472) #

CeeBee - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 08:11 PM EDT (#181474) #

I love them all like my brother except for these ten. Well, not really but it's a lot harder thinking of 10 I hate than 90 I love.

10. Clemens

9. Hillenbrand

8. Cobb

7. Arod

6. Sosa

5. Posada

4. Monday

3. D.Bell

2. Rocker

1. M.Ramirez

Dave Till - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 08:19 PM EDT (#181475) #

I don't have that long a list.

Bill Gullickson you know about already.

Junior Felix for seeming not to care about baseball.

Mike Mussina for showing up Cito at the all-star game and (allegedly) complaining because the Tom Cheek pregame ceremony interfered with his warmup routine.

Roger Clemens for taking up far too much valuable oxygen.

I'd put Jose Canseco on the list too, for being obsessed with his own stats when he was in Toronto, but I found him amusing. I used to call him Emperor Jose The First because of the way he looked disdainfully at umpires who had the unmitigated gall to punch him out on strikes.

Geoff - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 08:28 PM EDT (#181476) #

How could you not like Roger Clemens? He does a great impersonation of Mark Fidrych. He even clucked like a chicken!

The only performance enhancing he's been guilty of is hypnotism, just like Fidrych.

Nope, once you do something like impersonate The Bird, it defines you for life. Nothing Roger may do can change the perception of him.

JohnL - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 08:42 PM EDT (#181478) #

Manuel Lee (after he wanted everyone to stop calling him Manny)

Is there something wrong about wanting to be called by your proper name? Like many others who landed in a foreign country, he probably had to give up his real name to use a good "American" name. So finally he wanted to reclaim his own name.

I remember catching some sports TV clip about this. Must have been sometime in the 90-91 off-season. There had been quite a bit of media attention about the number of Latin players the Jays had got rid of (in one way or the other). The newscaster had a picture of Lee behind him, and he introduced it by saying, "One of the Jays' last remaining... " [I expected to hear "Latin players", but instead heard:] "attitude problems".

I wondered what the hell was that attack about, and then found out it was because Lee had the bad attitude to want to be called by his real name.

He might not have been a great player, but he deserved to be called Manuel.

timpinder - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 08:53 PM EDT (#181480) #

1. Shea Hillenbrand (Whining baby)
2. Barry Bonds (Jerk)
3. Gary Sheffield (Big mouth, plays victim)
4. Roger Clemens (Arrogant liar who puts himself ahead of his team)
5. Delmon Young (Anger issues)
6. Carl Pavano ("I have an boo-boo")
7. Jose Canseco (Wife beater, rat)
8. Brett Myers (See first on Canseco's list)

jbrains - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 10:14 PM EDT (#181483) #

I love(d) to root against them: Ron Guidry, Tom Brunansky, Carl Crawford, Jay Gibbons, Jack Morris

I just plain hate(d) them: Rickey Henderson, Curt Schilling, Jim Leyritz, Reggie Sanders, Chris Sabo

Ignoring some obvious unpopular choices, like Clemens, Rodriguez, Canseco and Bonds, this was pretty hard.

John Northey - Tuesday, March 25 2008 @ 11:17 PM EDT (#181487) #

There are two different groups here for me, those I detest but can respect and those who are just contemptable.

The worst of the worst...
Albert Belle - trying to run over trick or treaters
Tony LaRussa - drives drunk, acts like it isn't a big deal then has a player die from drunk driving that season and still acts like he did nothing wrong.
Ty Cobb - racist, attacked a disabled fan, and many other issues too long to list. One of the best players ever but also one of the worst people ever in MLB
Elijah Dukes - arrested 6 times, accused of wife beating and threatening to kill her, impregnating a 17 year old foster child of a relative, etc.
Dwight Gooden, Vince Coleman and Daryl Boston and all others accused of rape over the years - Back in '92 these 3 were accused but never convicted as far as I know, and the same goes for many other major leaguers who, especially stateside, have the ability to pay for top notch lawyers and beat those with little cash.

All of the above are disgusting excuses for human beings.

Now for the guys I love to hate - they are good at baseball but geez they drive me up the wall.
Rickey Henderson - it was just so wrong to have him in a Jays uniform after he killed us as a Yankee and as an A.
Mike Mussina - many others have listed the reasons to hate him as a ballplayer
Derek Jeter - ego through the roof, media darling
Ivan Rodriguez - has a killer arm but nothing else behind the plate, was known for skipping pitcher/catcher meetings in Texas but, like Jeter, can do no wrong as far as the media is concerned but also has many number people on his side
Jack Morris - ala Rickey, should never have been a Blue Jay and him getting 20 wins as a Jay with Stieb in the dugout...dang that must've burned Stieb's butt.
Storm Davis - refused to sign in Toronto after his wife said that she couldn't stand to live in a country that was all French (the Montreal shootings were all over the news in the winter of '89/90), worked out though as 3 of the next 4 seasons he would have an ERA+ below 85.

OK, Davis wasn't that good but geez did that bug me at the time.

zeppelinkm - Wednesday, March 26 2008 @ 08:56 AM EDT (#181495) #

I like the idea of breaking it up into guys I genuinely don't like and those I really like to cheer against.

1. Shea Hillenbrand, for all the reasons listed so far.

2. Carlos Baerga. No good reason at all. Something about him just bothered me when the Jays played the Indians!

3. Barry Bonds. Not for his ego. Not for his terrible attitude towards most fans and the media. Because he had a gift and he spoiled it. He was going to go down in history as one of the greatest outfielders of all time, and rightfully so. I actually liked the guy back in the mid 90's. Sure he was a jerk, but he was just so damn good I couldn't help but give him a free pass. He still worked hard and was dedicated to being the best. Unforunately that dedication turned into obession which led him to use steriods and destroyed his image and legacy forever. Shame on you Barry, shame on you.

4. Mike Mussina, for placing the blame on his fielders. Baseball is a team sport.

Guys I love to cheer against:

1. Derek Jeter. It's not really far to say I hate him (although I probably do). What I really enjoy, more then anything, is beating him. Getting him out. Just watching him NOT succeed. Although, the fact he's won even one gold glove really grinds my gears.

2. Johnny Damon. You turned your back on the Sox Johnny. How do you sleep at night? (He'd probably respond with - on piles and piles of money and with many beautiful women. *sigh*)

3. Manny Rameriz. Whenever he is walking back to the dugout after an an-bat, you breath a sigh of relief. Admit it.

4. Carl Crawford. If he keeps single handedly destroying the Jays, I'll soon start to cheer him. (The old reverse pyschology trick... it certainly can't HELP him any).

5. Wang (on the Yankees). How dare he think he can copy Halladay? He's just been effective against the Jays, and it irks me. Also I think I like cheering against him because if he starts to suck, the Yankees pitching staff is in big, big trouble.

6. Daniel Cabera. What do the Jays smoke when he comes to town? I honestly don't think he just consistantly pitches good games against the Jays. I think 50% of it is fueled by the Jays approach at the plate which feeds Cabera's success. If the Jays would just really grind against this guy, instead of trying to hit him every at bat, I think they'd do much, mcuh better.

7. Mariano Rivera. I like the guy. I just hate, hate, hate playing against him. He's so automatic it sucks. When Vernon hit that walk off against him 2 years ago it was so sweet. One of the best late inning wins to watch.

That's all for now, although I'm sure they're more but it's just one of those things... you try and supress bad memories or something so I'm probably just mentally blocking out the other guys I don't like.

Thomas - Wednesday, March 26 2008 @ 03:39 PM EDT (#181513) #

John, you're free to dislike who you want. I just thought it sounded like you were blaming LaRussa for Hancock's death and I don't think that's fair. And do I think it's fair to equate him with rapists and multiple-time spousal abusers. Now, my list. I've restricted mine to players I really hate, as opposed to those who I enjoy cheering against for purely baseball reasons.

Clemens
Mussina
Hillenbrand
Rose
Eric Show
Brett Myers (and all the other spousal abusers/rapists)
John Rocker (although Jeff Pearlman had a larger role in the exchange than innocent transcriber)
Jeter (I don't much like him, but it's less his fault than it is with most of the other guys on the list)
A-Rod (like Jeter he's a great player, but from the Slap to the 'Mine' he's gone from one thing to the next)

the last one isn't a player, but no most hated list is complete without:

Phil Cuzzi

I didn't put him on my list because he was nice to meet the one time I met him, but a friend immediately pointed out upon reading people's lists, "Why has nobody put E------ L-----? Is he just assumed to be the de facto number one?"

Mick Doherty - Wednesday, March 26 2008 @ 04:15 PM EDT (#181515) #

zep, interesting -- all seven guys on your second list are AL East players. Keeping the mojo local, huh?

And just for the record, I want to point out that I never used the word "hate" in the thread lede, but lots of posters are doing so. Again ... interesting.

Mike D - Wednesday, March 26 2008 @ 06:19 PM EDT (#181520) #

Great question, Mick! I'm going to leave out all the players I don't like for non-baseball-related reasons, including criminal/boorish behaviour and PED use.

I'll group the remaining players into the less severe "annoying" and the more severe "outright distateful" categories, and I'm only going to include players I've seen in person.

Annoying: Tony Pena, Dwight Evans, Josh Beckett, Tom Brunansky, Ozzie Guillen, Steve Kline, Bret Saberhagen, Carney Lansford

Outright distasteful: David Wells, Mike Mussina, Alex Rodriguez, Dennis Eckersley, Bill Madlock

Chuck - Wednesday, March 26 2008 @ 06:43 PM EDT (#181521) #

Dwight Evans? Is there a story there?

zeppelinkm - Thursday, March 27 2008 @ 10:35 AM EDT (#181540) #

Mick: I'd say part of the blame is the unbalanced schedule... It's always fun to blame the unbalanced schedule!

I was a huge fan and avid follower in the early to mid 90's, then through high school I really stopped following the Jays (like 96' - 00'). I would still read about them and follow them in the paper, but didn't watch many games anymore. Then, gradually, I got back into once I was in university (Halladay's unbelievable streak as he marched towards the Cy Young was a big turning point in terms of grabbing my interest). I've progressively watched more and more games each summer till the last 2 - 3 years i've been watching as many as I humanly can manage (haha). As a result, most of the games i've seen in the past 3 years which dominate my memory have been against our division...

Baegra, I still don't know why I have a beef with him. He must have had a crucial hit against the Jays in some meaningless regular season game in the early/mid 90's. Looking at baseball-reference, he was a good hitter for a 5 year stretch, then just lost it. Wonder what happened...

grjas - Friday, March 28 2008 @ 08:31 PM EDT (#181626) #

Derek Jeter is the ultimate jerk. The ill-fated Huckaby slide into third in 2003 says it all. Quote from CBS sports:

{...Huckaby took a deep breath and made the awkward walk from the home clubhouse down to Skydome's visitors clubhouse.

Huckaby shook Jeter's hand, and then he said his piece.

"I said, 'I hope you're all right. I didn't know where the base was when I was looking for the throw,'" Huckaby says. "I told him, 'It wasn't on purpose. I didn't know where I was on the field. It was just unfortunate we were at the same place at the same time.'"

Huckaby says the words were heartfelt. The guy genuinely felt bad, and the fact that the play sidelined Jeter for so long made it worse.

Jeter's reaction?

"He stonefaced me," Huckaby says. "He just stared at me.

"He didn't say one word."}

Meanwhile Huckaby was pilloried for months for what independent observers said was basically a clean play. (PS- interesting how the Madlock takeout of Fernandez in 1987 was far more serious in intent and result both for player and team- it cost the Jays a post-season berth. Yet the only complaints of foul came from Toronto.)

Anyway Derek, if you are such a hotshot captain how come you and $200 mill can't buy a ring?

Magpie - Friday, March 28 2008 @ 08:58 PM EDT (#181629) #

He must have had a crucial hit against the Jays in some meaningless regular season

What better reason could there be?

There are probably three types of guys on these lists.

1. Guys Who Have Brought It On Themselves and are Generally Acknowledged to be Boo-Worthy

Clemens, Bonds, Rocker and so forth

2. Guys Who Have Proved Troublesome to the Blue Jays

I can't see any other reason for Tom Brunansky's name to appear in this thread. And Danny Heep comes to my mind.

3. Guys I Have A Random and Admittedly Irrational Dislike For - Sorry!

Which is where the fun comes in.

VBF - Friday, March 28 2008 @ 10:14 PM EDT (#181630) #

I really don't hate guys who only play well against the Jays. Daniel Cabrera...meh. I don't even care about guys who leave and do well. E____ L____, as much as I resent, he doesn't make my list.

But I definitely don't like guys who I perceive to disrespect the game. Manny Ramirez, Barry Bonds. Their actions to be say that they think they're better than the game.

I don't hate Jeter as much as I hate Jeter fans. A-Rod's different. Nothing likeable about him unless you lived in a barn and only had access to his baseball reference page.

Then there's the worst of the worst. Disrespecting the Blue Jays uniform and the City of Toronto. David Wells, Shea Hillenbrand. If I was around for Damaso Garcia's antics, probably him too. That writer in Chicago goes on the list. Mike Mussina commenting on Tom Cheek's award time. Mike Timlin refusing to give the 93 WS ball to Joe Carter.

I've always wanted to find a reason to hate Gary Sheffield but can't really.

Reader Challenge II: My Least Favorite Players | 30 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.