Experts Agree These Are 17 Of The Meanest MLB Players Of All Time, Ranked In Order

Fans Will Never Root For These MLB Villains
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Fans Will Never Root For These MLB Villains
Scott Croker | More | 15 Apr 2026
For every player MLB fans can't help but love and root for, there are just as many that fans want to see fail. From Alex Rodriguez's troubled career to Barry Bonds being the ultimate MLB bad guy, fans love to hate certain superstars. These are the most hated players to ever put on cleats and step on the baseball diamond.
Alex Rodriguez Is Liked More Since Retiring
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Alex Rodriguez will probably never make the Hall of Fame, but unlike Barry Bonds and Pete Rose, his attempts to fix his reputation have largely been successful. One of the least liked players of his generation, when Rodriguez left the game, his redemption tour started.
Rodriguez was hired by ESPN and took full responsibility for his past actions. As an in-game analyst on national MLB telecasts, the formerly maligned superstar has become one of the most respected voices in the business. Even if fans still can't stand him.
Why does Ryan Braun make this list? Find out, coming up!
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Bryce Harper Signed With The Enemy
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Bryce Harper was a phenom when he debuted for the Washington Nationals before he was old enough to drink. In 2015, Harper hit .330, knocked in 99 runs, scored another 118 runs, and bashed 42 homers on his way to winning the National League MVP award.
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In 2018, Harper decided it was time to cash in, and signed a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. The only problem was the Phillies and Nats are rivals, which led Washington fans to disown their fabled son. The next season, Washington won the World Series and the Phillies missed the postseason. Call it karma?
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SF Fans Will Never Forgive A.J. Pierzynski
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One of the best catchers of his generation, A.J. Pierzynski was also a controversial figure with fans. Not known for being the friendliest person in the world, when the San Francisco Giants traded for him before the 2004 season, there was nothing he could do to turn his haters into fans.
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Pierzynski actually put up good numbers in his one year in SF, but it wasn't enough for the team to keep him around. It didn't help that the Giants traded two future all-stars, Joe Nathan and Francisco Liriano, for one year of disinterested play.
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Don Drysdale Wasn't Trying To Hit Bats
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Over a span of eight years, Brooklyn Dodgers' pitcher Don Drysdale led the National League in hit batsman five times. He wasn't throwing pitches to make contact with bats, a practice that turned him into one of the most hated players of his era.
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Standing six feet and five inches tall, however, players rarely stood up to Drysdale. Eddie Matthews was one of the few players who wasn't intimidated, and after he was plunked in 1957, he used his fists to let the pitcher know how he felt.
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Carlos Zambrano Couldn't Control His Temper
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Carlos Zambrano could have had a Hall of Fame career if he could have just kept his temper in check. As a starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, he was nearly unhittable. In 2006, he led the National League in wins. Two years later he threw a no-hitter.
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Zambrano was also known as a wildcard. One teammate even described him as a grenade who was best to stay away from. After a miserable outing in 2011, Zambrano cleared out his locker and told the Cubs he was retiring. He would later admit, "It was my fault, the way I got off of the Cubs. It was my fault, not the Cubs' fault."
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Carlos Gomez Made Himself A Target For Pitchers
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In his last two seasons in Major League Baseball, Carlos Gomez played in 223 games and was hit by 40 pitches. While not all of those were intentional, it's likely more than a few were thanks to his love for showy bat flips and slow trots.
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For Gomez, it was a part of the fun. After one particular bat flip against the Pittsburgh Pirates sparked a major brawl, the slugger said, "I've been doing this for eight years. They know that I do that. It’s not to disrespect nobody."
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Gary Templeton Made Sure St. Louis Hated Him
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Gary Templeton started his MLB career with the St. Louis Cardinals, but he made sure he didn't stay there. Tired of the city and team, he flipped the bird to several fans one game after being ejected. With no choice but to move him, St. Louis shipped him off to San Diego.
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Speaking about his time with the Cardinals, manager Whitey Herzog said, "Templeton doesn't want to play in St. Louis. He doesn't want to play on (artificial) turf. He doesn't want to play when we go to Montreal. He doesn't want to play in the Astrodome. He doesn't want to play in the rain. The other 80 games, he's all right."
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Barry Bonds Broke Records And Hearts
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Barry Bonds went from one of the game's most beloved players to one of its biggest villains. The winner of multiple National League MVP awards and the reigning single-season and career home run champ, Bonds is more known today for his alleged use of steroids.
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In San Francisco, Bonds is still loved like family, but in every other baseball city, he is known as one of the game's biggest cheaters and will likely never make the Hall of Fame as a result.
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Albert Belle Was Known For His Personality
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Albert Belle was an incredibly consistent offensive force during his MLB career. He's one of six players ln league history to have nine consecutive seasons of 100 RBIs or more. Despite this production, he was also a locker room problem and not the easiest personality to play with.
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As Buster Olney wrote in The New York Times , "It was a taken in baseball circles that Albert Belle was nuts... The Indians billed him $10,000 a year for the damage he caused in clubhouses on the road and at home, and tolerated his behavior only because he was an awesome slugger."
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Ryan Braun Lied To Everyone
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Just when it seemed the steroid era of MLB was over, along came Ryan Braun. A superstar for the Milwaukee Brewers, he was also one of the most likable players in the league. When he denied his first positive test for PEDs, it was easy to believe him.
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Two years later he was linked to the Biogenesis scandal and came clean, releasing a statement that read, "I realize now that I have made some mistakes. I am willing to accept the consequences of those actions."
Milton Bradley is more than just a board game maker. Keep going to find out how the former slugger landed on our list!
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The 2017 Houston Astros Cheated For Rings
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Unfortunately for the 2017 World Series champion Houston Astros team, it's impossible to choose just one player to make this list. Two years after winning it all, it was revealed the team cheated, stealing pitches from opposing teams and using trash cans to signal when pitches were coming.
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Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman, and George Springer had their reputations crushed, and it will be a long time before non-Houston fans will find forgiveness in their hearts.
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Pete Rose Was Banned From The Hall Of Fame
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Ron…

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