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spt_MLB_Top_Jerks.appFooter = "By Bob Cook, MSNBC.com contributor";
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spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i++] = new Array("","Introduction","Brewers fans heckle Barry Bonds during a game in May.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060503/060502_bonds_vlg8p.vlarge.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Jed Jacobsohn", "Getty Images", "358", "231", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i-1].body = "As long as there has been baseball, there have been irritating personalities whose combination of arrogance, annoyance and downright sociopathy have turned off fans, opponents and, sometimes, teammates.
The curriculum vitae for jerkdom is uncomplicated. First, you must be good –- bad players who are jerks aren’t worth the trouble (Michael Jordan, for example, was no peach to be around). Second, you must have a knack for riling others merely by your presence.
And third, you must not be shy in informing people you don’t think are your equals that they, indeed, are not your equals. In some cases, a team can’t win without a jerk or two to shake things up once in a while. In some cases, a jerk who tears down one team can build up his next one. That’s why jerks always seem to get a second, and third, and fourth, or more, chance.
The 10 players who make this list do so mostly by reputation, and in most cases it’s a reputation well-earned.";
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i++] = new Array("","Barry Bonds","Barry Bonds","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060210/060210_bonds_vmed_10a.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Blair Bunting", "Getty Images file", "298", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i-1].body = "
OF, SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Image: The steroid-fueled king of the jerks; Tyrannosaurus Jerk.
Attitude: Avogadro’s Number (6.022 X 10 23) is needed to calculate the staggering numbers of atoms in 12 grams of carbon-12. It also is required to calculate the staggering arrogance located in 12 grams of Bonds’ ego.
Transgressions: Being the last and most prominent steroid-tainted players standing. Being stand-offish (to put it mildly) to teammates, opponents, coaches, reporters, etc. Failing to stand in awe of the all-time greats whose numbers he has bettered. Starring in a reality-TV show that somehow makes him less likeable than he already was. Having a mistress (this is America, not France). Never ‘fessing up about why his head size grew so much late in his career -– literally as well as figuratively.
Mitigating factor: With no reputation for baseball-related violence (except toward Jeff Kent), he stays behind Ty Cobb, Billy Martin and Albert Belle on the all-time jerk list.";
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i++] = new Array("","Milton Bradley","Milton Bradley","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Slideshows/_production/twisp_060925_/twisp_060925_07.vlarge.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "George Nikitin", "AP", "308", "278", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i-1].body = "
OF, OAKLAND ATHLETICS
Image: Totally unhinged.
Attitude: Disgruntled, angry, tired of the Monopoly jokes.
Transgressions: Was traded out of Cleveland after battles over his attitude came to a head after he was benched for failing to run out a pop fly in a spring training game, which caused him to leave the team without permission, which led the Indians to option him to the minors.
“He’s got a bad rap,” Dodgers general manager Paul DePodesta said. In first year with Dodgers (2004), Bradley gets suspended four games for tossing baseballs onto the field after getting ejected, then another four games for taking bottle thrown onto the field and throwing it back at fans, then later called a Los Angeles Times beat reporter an “Uncle Tom.” In 2005, his second year, responds to white teammate Jeff Kent’s criticism of lack of hustle by saying Kent “doesn’t understand African-American players.” Dodgers deal Bradley to A’s; in other news, DePodesta loses his GM job.
Mitigating factor: Bradley is hardly the first person to get angry at something Jeff Kent has said or done.";
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i++] = new Array("","A.J. Pierzynski","A.J. Pierzynski","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060615/060615_whitesox_hmed_9a.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Linda Kaye", "AP", "273", "345", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i-1].body = "
C, CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Image: As annoying and unsettling as Icy Hot in the jockstrap.
Attitude: Like the Dead Boys’ classic punk album, he’s young, loud and snotty. Even though he's 30.
Transgressions: Pierzynski’s name got more associated with “cancer” than Lance Armstrong during his time in Minnesota and San Francisco. With the Giants, opponents said Pierzynski bad-mouthed Giants pitchers to them at the plate. Giants pitcher Brett Tomko copped to being the source of previously anonymous complaints about Pierzynski’s desire to play cards rather than talk over the opponent’s starting lineup.
Once he arrived with the White Sox in 2005, Pierzynski put a $100 bounty up for any Sox player who hit a home run off of Tomko; Joe Borchard learned of this when he couldn’t figure out how a $100 bill found its way into his locker during a spring training game against San Francisco. Finds way to annoy people even when he presumably isn’t doing anything wrong -– witness the Cubs’ Michael Barrett punching Pierzynski in the face after he cleanly barreled over Barrett. (Dodgers players reportedly cheered when they saw Pierzynski getting punched.)
Of course, the next day Pierzynski mocked Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano after hitting homer off of him. No wonder 18 percent of players surveyed by Sports Illustrated picked Pierzynski as player they would most like to see beaned -– the highest percentage of any player.
Mitigating factor: Only someone as annoying as Pierzynski would have thought to run to first base on the “dropped” third strike by Angels catcher Josh Paul during the 2005 AL Championship Series, turning the momentum the White Sox’s way and blazing their path to their first World Series title since 1917.";
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i++] = new Array("","Jeff Kent","Jeff Kent","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060221/060221_kent_vlg_4p.vlarge.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Richard Drew", "AP", "358", "253", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i-1].body = "
2B, LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Image: Mr. Intense, in all the wrong ways.
Attitude: He thinks he’s the only player who tries.
Transgressions: Only talks to teammates when he’s yelling at them for something he thinks they’ve done wrong. In 2002, had fistfight with teammate Barry Bonds in the San Francisco dugout when Bonds came to the defense of David Bell, who Kent was yelling at for a base-running mistake.
Kent claimed he and Bonds had fought at least a “half dozen”
times; next day, indicated to reporters he would no longer comment on the incident -– by mooning them. Ripped Milton Bradley last year for not hustling on basepaths, leading the black Bradley to brand the white Kent as a racist. Teammates aren’t only ones to feel his wrath; Kent has been suspended numerous times for spitting at, arguing with or touching umpires.
While he has made veiled statements leading you to believe he thinks Bonds is juiced, also has asked how people know Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth didn’t use steroids. No wonder that with 2,000-plus hits in his career, he’s been with six teams.
Mitigating factor: Managed to make Bonds, for once in his life, to look like something resembling a caring human being.";
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i++] = new Array("","Randy Johnson","Randy Johnson","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/070111/070111_dBackJohnson_vmed_3p.vlarge.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Paul Connors", "AP", "358", "240", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i-1].body = "
P, ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Image: Scary-looking in every way, from his killer fastball to his killer mullet.
Attitude: Thin-skinned, whiny.
Transgressions: Injured Mariners teammate David Segui in 1998 in a fight Johnson initiated because Segui wouldn’t turn down his clubhouse stereo. Carried on a mutual, unhealthy rivalry with fellow Diamondbacks ace Curt Schilling that led Schilling to push for trade to Boston.
Showing a little Jeff Kent style, shoved teammate Luis Gonzalez into a watercooler in 2004 over his alleged lack of hustle. After signing with the Yankees in 2005, introduces himself to New York media by giving stiff-arm to cameraman. Later gave stiff-arm to mother of his previously unreported 16-year-old daughter, suing her for $97,000 in child-support he said was unwarranted –- not a good PR move for a guy making $16 million a year.
Mitigating factor: Segui had been kind of a jerk himself in blasting music despite other teammates asking him to turn it down.";
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i++] = new Array("","Carl Everett","Carl Everett","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/050616/050616_everett_vmed_6a.vlarge.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Nam Y. Huh", "AP file", "330", "278", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i-1].body = "
DH, CURRENTLY UNEMPLOYED
Image: Taking the fun out of religious fundamentalism.
Attitude: Dark, judgmental and just plain weird.
Transgressions: Believes the Bible is infallible, and that he is, too. Known for declaring dinosaurs didn’t exist, man probably didn’t really walk on the moon, and that “demons” have caused him to cheat on his wife on the road, though he defended himself to the Chicago Sun-Times by saying that at least it was away from his wife.
Once lost custody of children for “excessive corporal punishment.” Also traded often because of run-ins with managers, whether over lack of hustle or angry confrontations over decision-making, such as when he ripped up a lineup card in front of Houston’s Larry Dierker because it didn’t feature him in the lineup. Called the Red Sox organization racist and “full of lies” after his 2000-01 stint there. After White Sox let him go to Mariners, declared Chicago would not be able to defend World Series without him.
Mitigating factor: When the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in February asked Everett, “Ginger or Mary Ann,” he responded correctly: “Mary Ann.”";
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i++] = new Array("","Jose Guillen","Jose Guillen","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060406/060406_guillen_vmed_7p.vlarge.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Frank Franklin Ii", "AP", "297", "278", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i-1].body = "
OF, SEATTLE MARINERS
Image: Shortest fuse in the majors.
Attitude: Angry, vengeful.
Transgressions: His obituary will lead with the fact the Angels suspended Guillen late in 2004 despite Anaheim being in the teeth of a pennant race -– and despite Guillen hitting 27 home runs and 104 RBI.
Proverbial last straw came when manager Mike Scioscia lifted Guillen for a pinch-runner, and Guillen responded by screaming at his manager and tossing his glove at him.
Had ripped management in previous stops in Oakland and Tampa Bay. Has played with seven teams in 10 seasons.
“There's a reason why he's been with so many teams and why it's gone bad for him each time,\" Angels reliever Brendan Donnelly once said of Guillen.
Mitigating factor: Knows when to get revenge. Informed Nationals manager Frank Robinson during 2005 game that Donnelly might have something illegal on him. Umpires found pine tar on the heel of Donnelly’s glove and threw him out. The next batter, Guillen, hit a two-run home run to a key a 6-3 victory.";
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i++] = new Array("","Kenny Rogers","Kenny Rogers","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/061022/061022_rogersUmpire_vlg_9p.vlarge.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Ron Vesely", "MLB Photos via Getty Images", "316", "278", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i-1].body = "
P, DETROIT TIGERS
Image: Hothead, especially when filmed.
Attitude: Angry, intense, especially when filmed.
Transgressions: Run-ins with TV news crews, particularly one two years ago in which the then-Rangers pitcher tried to wrestle the camera away from one shooter, knocking him to the ground. While he appealed his 20-game suspension, played in the 2005 All-Star game, thus directly even more cameras in his direction as the fitness of his playing the game was debated.
Mitigating factor: He stunk at that All-Star game.";
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i++] = new Array("","Frank Thomas","Frank Thomas","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/061013/061013_frankThomas_vmed_6p.vlarge.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Jed Jacobsohn", "Getty Images", "358", "247", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i-1].body = "
DH, TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Image: Player who doesn’t know his career is over.
Attitude: Demands to be treated like it’s 1995.
Transgressions: Never the greatest teammate in the world and a constant complainer about his pay, Thomas was called out by ex-teammate Ozzie Guillen as the biggest clubhouse problem almost upon his arrival as the Chicago White Sox’s new manager in 2004. After leaving Sox for the Oakland A’s before this season, complained in newspaper interview he wasn’t treated with the respect he deserved. Sox GM Kenny Williams responded by calling Thomas “selfish” and “an idiot,” and said his teammates wouldn’t miss his “whining.”
Mitigating factor: At least everyone is pretty sure that he put up his big batting numbers without steroids.";
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i++] = new Array("","Todd Jones","Todd Jones seems like a nice enough fellow, unless you're gay.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060625/060625_tigers_cards_hmed_2p.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Rebecca Cook / Reuters", "Reuters", "273", "403", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i-1].body = "
P, DETROIT TIGERS
Image: Hard-working, dependable.
Attitude: Tries to do what it takes to get the job done, even if he doesn’t have the out-of-this-world ability to do it.
Transgressions: Wow, doesn’t exactly sound like a jerk, right? Jones makes the list, though, for his infamous 2003 comments, made to the Denver Post, in reference to a play about a gay major league baseball player: \"I wouldn't want a gay guy being around me. It's got nothing to do with me being scared. That's the problem: All these people say he's got all these rights. Yeah, he's got rights or whatever, but he shouldn't walk around proud. It's like he's rubbing it in our face. 'See me, Hear me roar.' We're not trying to be close-minded, but then again, why be confrontational when you don't really have to be?\" Jones, then a Colorado Rockie, later apologized –- for making his thoughts public.
Alas, Jones is hardly the only player to feel this way. Ask Carl Everett how he feels about homosexuality.
Mitigating factor: Jones, who has moonlighted as a columnist and blogger over the years, had some words of wisdom about baseball jerks in a 2005 column for The Sporting News: “Baseball has a funny way of weeding out guys. If you're a good player and you're a jerk, it's like all of baseball makes a mental note of the fact that you're a jerk. The minute your skills diminish, you're done -- whether you're a cleanup hitter, a front-line starter or a premier closer. You're not allowed to go from ace to fifth starter or everyday player to bench guy or closer to long man. General managers won't let you near their prospects because they don't want you to poison the future.\""; spt_MLB_Top_Jerks[i++] = new Array("spt_0530_MLB_biggest_jerks","Vote: Who's worst?","","","","", "lv2", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); // END editorial data