Baseball has plenty of top villains
With Halloween just a few weeks away, it’s time to reflect on the best villains of all time.
On the big screen, it could be Michael Myers or Norman Bates. For others it could be Jason Voorhees, Freddie Krueger or Pennywise. In comic books, it be the Joker or Lex Luther.
The Major League Baseball postseason has had its share of villains — from Aroldis Chapman of the Yankees to the whole Houston Astros team … OK, maybe the quirky Zack Greinke or old-school manager Dusty Baker are the exceptions.
In case you missed it, Chapman buzzed a fastball by Tampa’s Mike Brosseau’s head during a game in September. On Friday, Brosseau hit a gamewinning home run in the eighth inning against (you guessed it) Chapman to clinch the Ameri
can League Divisional Series.
The Astros were proven to have cheated in the past, particularly during the 2017 and 2018 postseasons. Much to the dismay of most, the 29-31 Astros advanced past the Twins and A’s and into the American League Championship Series this year. The Rays suddenly might be everyone’s darlings if they can upset Houston in the ALCS.
With that in mind, there have been a number of villains in MLB history — guys that got under the skin of fans, the media, opponents, managers and even fellow teammates. Sports needs villains to make revenge that much more poetic.
Here are a few of my most memorable:
A.J. Pierzynski
The former catcher did not make a lot of friends with opposing teams, and he may be particularly despised by both Bay Area franchises.
While with the Twins, Pierzynski’s hit a backbreaking homer in Game 5 of the 2002 ALDS against A’s reliever Billy Koch. Pierzynski’ reportedly yelled “Booyah! as he crossed home plate. You might recall that 2002 was the A’s “Moneyball” year in which they won a record 20 games in a row in the regular season but Oakland was eliminated by Pierzynski’s Twins.
Then before the 2004 season, the Giants’ thengeneral manager Brian Sabean traded pitchers Joe Nathan and Francisco Liriano to the Twins for Pierzynski. His tenure
couldn’t have gone much worse.
In a story that ran in the Oakland Tribune, Pierzynski was not well liked by some on the Giants pitching staff. One player said they didn’t mind if the Giants traded him. Another called him a cancer. Several pitchers questioned Pierzynskis work ethic.
Two years later when Cubs catcher Michael Barrett socked Pierzynski during a brawl at home plate, there were plenty around the game who felt some redemption.
Yasiel Puig
Like Pierzynski, Puig had a rap sheet of annoyance when it comes to opposing teams, management and even his own teammates.
His history with the Giants and Madison Bumgarner is well chronicled but Puig has plenty of other incidents that raise red flags.
In Molly Knight’s book, Puig and the aforementioned Greinke had their share of history. During one road trip in Chicago, Puig was holding up the team bus by looking through the luggage bay. After multiple requests, Greinke hopped off the bus, grabbed the suitcase in front of Puig and chucked it onto Michigan Avenue. Puig stepped toward Greinke and was restrained by reliever J.P. Howell.
The Dodgers clubhouse manager reportedly gave Puig No. 66 in reference to 666 — the number of the beast. No, it wasn’t because Puig was a big Iron Maiden fan.
Continually late for the ballpark, Puig was continually fined and sent down to Triple-A by the Dodgers as a wake-up call. He was eventually traded to the Reds.
Pete Rose
While Rose is the
game’s all-time hit leader, he wasn’t one of the game’s most popular players or managers for a number of reasons.
As a player, Rose ran the bases with wild abandon that altered A’s catcher Ray Fosse’s career. During the All-Star Game in 1971, Rose barreled head first into Fosse to break up a play at the plate. Yes, this was an AllStar Game, an exhibition. Fosse said he still has pain because of the incident.
A series of Sports Illustrated stories revealed that Rose bet on baseball, including his own team, the Reds. After years of denying the charge, Rose admitted it in his autobiography — not exactly a way to win back public opinion.
“Charlie Hustle” remains out of the Hall of Fame but that’s a subject for a separate column.