It’s the nature of the workforce. Whether it’s an office job, restaurant or even a Major League Baseball team, there are always going to be those people who just make things difficult. They complain too much, cause fights and create an overall negative atmosphere. In sports, they’re called Clubhouse Cancers. And in baseball, there are plenty of players who seem like, wherever they go, which oftentimes is all over the place because no team wants to keep them for long, they cause trouble. Today we’ll be counting down the Top 10 Players with reputations as huge clubhouse cancers. As a disclaimer, I don’t personally know any of the players on this list and have never shared a clubhouse with them, but based on interviews from teammates, constant drama and even some interesting events caught on film, the evidence suggests that the 10 players on this list are not the greatest teammates and have earned the title of “Clubhouse Cancer.” Before I get into the list, I’d like to mention three players not on the list that are sure to be mentioned in the comment section.
Alex Rodriguez
One is Alex Rodriguez, who was certainly no stranger to controversy. He created lots of distractions and was disliked by many teammates. However, many teammates such as Mariano Rivera, have spoken very highly of A-Rod and he has shown some signs that he’s not a completely self-centered jerk, such as the willingness to switch positions so Derek Jeter could remain at shortstop. He may have been a clubhouse cancer, but didn’t quite make my Top 10.
Barry Bonds
Neither did Barry Bonds, who certainly had a massive ego and didn’t get along with the media at all. Nor did he get along with his teammates all the time – the obvious example being Jeff Kent, another player known for being somewhat of a problem in the locker room. Late in his career, word got out that Bonds had his own TV and massaging recliner in the clubhouse. However, he was able to stay with the same team for 15 years and some former players, like Kevin Frandsen, have defended Bonds. Even if he was a jerk behind the scenes, the stories aren’t quite bad enough to propel him into my Top 10.
Ty Cobb
Lastly, there’s Ty Cobb, one of the most misunderstood players of all time. Cobb was certainly no stranger to a fight and not the most pleasant teammate of all time – his intensity was over the top and he would not tolerate any one slacking off in the slightest. However, his reputation as a massive racist, a murderer and one of the worst human beings ever was caused by poorly researched articles and documentaries, which have been recently debunked. As far as his clubhouse presence, ex-teammate Del Pratt said “I never had a bad word with Ty. He was set on winning, and he would do whatever he could to win a ballgame, but he wouldn’t toss a player aside without helping him be better. I learned more from Cobb than any man I ever played with.” Look forward to a video dedicated to Ty Cobb soon. But for now, let’s get started with those who did make the Top 10 list.
#10 Jonathan Papelbon
Known for a strong arm and even stronger mouth, Jonathan Papelbon kicks off today’s Top 10. He took speaking what’s on his mind to the next level, criticizing teammates and fans. After leaving Boston to sign with the Phillies, Papelbon said,
“The difference between Boston and Philadelphia, the Boston fans are a little bit more hysterical when it comes to the game of baseball. The Philly fans tend to know the game a little better.”
He wasn’t always polite to the Phillies fans either, however, especially after a blown save in which he heard a few boos and did this in response. When he left Philly, Papelbon basically insulted every one of his teammates saying,
"I was one of the few that wanted to win. I was one of the few who competed and posted up every day,”
He was a master at saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, but Papelbon didn’t just use his mouth to get into trouble. He got into altercations with every one, even the radio and TV personalities. He apparently got into the face of commentator Howard Eskin and the two had to be separated. Superstars weren’t off-limits either, as he was suspended in 2015 for throwing directly at Manny Machado’s head and later that season, yelled at and proceeded to choke Bryce Harper in one of the most unbelievable moments ever caught on tape in an MLB dugout. Papelbon was simply all-around one of the greatest drama-kings in the history of the game.
#9 Trevor Bauer
Long before his current controversy and suspension, which I’ll get to, Bauer was known as a clubhouse cancer. He was selected by the Diamondbacks in the first round of the 2011 MLB Draft, but reportedly clashed with teammates during the 2012 season, resulting in the D-Backs trading him to Cleveland. After the trade, Bauer released a diss-track titled “You Don’t Know Me,” after D-Backs catcher Miguel Montero stated that Bauer “never wanted to listen.” With The Indians, the controversies continued. In 2016, he missed a Game 2 playoff start because he sliced his finger while repairing a drone. He tried to start Game 3, but had to come out in the first inning when blood started dripping from his finger. He made more headlines in 2019 when he appeared to harass a female college student on twitter. Later that year, frustrated that he was being taken out of a game, Bauer threw a ball over the centerfield fence. Terry Francona said what we all were thinking. He won the Cy Young Award with the Reds in 2020 and was a risky free-agent option for teams that off season given his controversial past. The Dodgers took a chance on him with a 3 year/$102 million deal. It could be said that it wasn’t the greatest deal for LA, as Bauer was accused by a woman of sexual assault and ended up being suspended for two years despite the DA deciding not to criminally charge him. The Dodgers canceled his bobblehead night and pulled his merch from the team store and website. Reports came out that the majority of Dodgers players don’t want him back. Bauer may or may not be a horrible person, but based on his history, he’s certainly a major distraction to a clubhouse.
#8 Carlos Zambrano
Next on the list is a 3-time All-Star pitcher who could also swing the bat with big power. His name is Carlos Zambrano and he was not only a great all-around ballplayer but also a serious hothead. During his career, it seemed like he was good for at least one suspension per season. He got into altercations with any and everybody, including his own teammates such as the case in 2007 when he got into a major slugout in the dugout with his catcher, Michael Barrett, after a passed ball and errant throw by Barrett. The list of Zambrano controversies is lengthy and quotes from his teammates don’t help his case. Speaking of his teammates, he once called out his entire team after a tough loss, calling them a bunch of “Triple-A Players.” When things aren’t going his way, he tends to take out his anger on the batter – in a painful way. In August of 2011, he was ejected after throwing at Chipper Jones twice during a particularly bad outing. After the game, he said he was walking out on his team and retiring. Instead, the Cubs suspended him for 30 days. Zambrano’s teammate Ryan Dempster said
“He’s made his bed. Let him sleep in it. It’s not like it’s something new.”
By 2011, he wore out his welcome in Chicago and was traded to Miami, where he pitched in just one more big league season.
#7 Rogers Hornbsy
Coming in at #7 is a Hall-of-Famer and two-time MVP who was apparently hated as a player and manager. Rogers Horsnby wanted nothing to do with his teammates, having no interest in hanging out after the games, but stories indicate he wasn’t just an introvert. He apparently had an abrasive personality and was simply mean and nasty with every one. Hornsby once said “Baseball is my life. It’s the only thing I know and care about.” In 1926, the Cardinals traded him to the Giants, where he hit .361 and had an OPS over 1.000. The Giants traded him after one season anyway. Then, he hit an incredible .387 for the Boston Braves. After that one year, they traded him too. After his career, he became a manager and was fired several times. He was let go by the 1932 Cubs in the middle of the season, and the Cubs went on to win the pennant. The players voted against him receiving a share of the extra earnings. Hornsby also had off-the-field issues, including gambling addictions and various lawsuits against him, one for knocking over an elderly man with his car in 1919. In a biography about Hornsby, Charles Alexander wrote
“Hornsby never seemed to understand that by itself brilliance in his chosen field just wasn’t enough. To survive, prosper, and keep others respect, he would also have to accommodate himself to what others thought and felt.”
It seems that the bottom line is that Rogers Hornsby was one of the greatest players of all time – but certainly not the nicest guy of all time.
#6 Carl Everett
Next on the list is a very talented player who many considered to be a complete nutjob. Despite being a 1st round pick with a fantastic combination of speed and power, he played for 8 teams in 14 years, never spending more than three seasons in one place. He was outspoken with his beliefs and some of these, such as the denial that dinosaurs ever existed and his belief that the moon-landing was a hoax, seem fairly harmless. However, his comments became more controversial and offensive when he said that he would consider retiring if he ever had a gay teammate, or at the very least, he would “set him straight.” His beliefs aside, Everett also went into frequent tirades, getting into verbal disputes with umpires, opponents, teammates, coaches and managers. During one argument, he headbutted the umpire, resulting in a 10-game suspension. Teams would get tired of dealing with him after a couple seasons and trade him somewhere else. His issues stretched beyond the baseball field as well. In 1997, he and his wife temporarily lost custody of his two children when bruises were noticed all over his 5-year old daughter. After retirement, he has been arrested at least twice – once for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and again for assaulting a family member. Everett was a great ballplayer but, apparently, an even greater clubhouse cancer.
#5 Hal Chase
Next up we go back to the early days of the game with Hal Chase, a degenerate gambler who was involved in nearly every major scandal in the early days of baseball. He began his career with the Yankees, then known as the Highlanders. He was very good hitter but played elite defense – at least when he was not throwing games. He got along poorly with teammates and ignored his coaches and managers. According to several interviews, he would miss practices, skip games due to “illness,” and was simply the definition of a clubhouse cancer. In 1910, manager George Stallings said he would resign if Chase was not released. He was eventually traded to the White Sox where he made enemies with White Sox owner Charles Comiskey and A.L President Ban Johnson by jumping into the Federal League, a third league formed to compete with the A.L. and N.L. He was blackballed from the A.L. but later returned to play with the Reds. Reds manager and former Giants pitcher Christy Mathewson accused him of betting on and throwing games. As a first baseman, he perfected the art of making fielders throws look errant by arriving late to the bag. The Reds would go into terrible losing streaks, due in large part to strange errors or baserunning blunders by Chase. He also uncharacteristically missed signs and made mental mistakes. According to his teammate Ed Roush,
“He was the best first baseman I ever saw. He also the worst if he wanted to lose a game. You could tell after an inning or two whether he was there to win or lose.”
Despite being known as one of the most spectacular fielders of all time, he made 402 errors in just 10 seasons. It’s likely many if not the majority of them were intentional. He was later accused of playing a major role in the White Sox 1919 World Series Scandal, even though he was no longer with the White Sox or Reds. His entire career is filled with stories of gambling, scandals and throwing games, which couldn’t have been good for the clubhouse.
#4 Albert Belle
Albert Belle was one of the most terrifying players to pick up a bat – he was fiercely competitive and extremely talented, scaring the hell out of his opponents. Problem is, he scared the hell out of everybody else too and was an absolute menace in the locker room. According to Buster Olney -
“Few escaped his wrath: on some days he would destroy the postgame buffet ... launching plates into the shower, and after one poor at-bat against Boston, he retreated to the visitors' clubhouse and took a bat to teammate Kenny Lofton’s boombox. Belle preferred to have the clubhouse cold, below 60 degrees, and when one chilly teammate turned up the heat, Belle walked over, turned down the thermostat and smashed it with his bat. His nickname, thereafter, was "Mr. Freeze."
The Indians had to bill him $10,000 a year for the damage he would case in clubhouses on the road and at home. Another lowlight of Belle’s career was getting suspended for a corked bat then convincing teammate Jason Grimsley to sneak through the ceiling panels into the umpire’s dressing room to replace the corked bat with a legit one. He was disliked by the media as well and was only tolerated because of his amazing production which included 9 consecutive years of 100 or more RBIs. After retirement, he spent time in jail for stalking and was arrested for indecent exposure and DUI.
#3 Vince Coleman
Coming in at #2 is Vince Coleman, who was the National League’s version of Rickey Henderson in the 1980’s. He stole a ridiculous 110 bases during his rookie season. At one point in 1989, he stole 50 consecutive bases without being caught. However, he was controversial from the beginning, getting along poorly with coaches and teammates, constantly getting into fights and arguments. After the Cardinals traded him to the Mets, there were stories that he ignored the coaches signs on the basepaths and did whatever he wanted. He was also no stranger to controversial comments, once responding to a question about Jackie Robinson by saying “I don’t know nothin’ about him. Why are you asking me about Jackie Robinson?” Robinson’s widow, Rachel, later responded by saying “I hope he’ll learn and be embarrassed by his own ignorance.” Things took a horrifying turn later when Coleman was named, along with two of his teammates, in a sexual assault complaint filed by a woman in Florida, but he was never charged. In September of 1992, he got into a fight with manager Jeff Torborg and was suspended for the rest of the season. In 1993, he injured Doc Gooden by carelessly swinging a golf club in the locker room. Then, Coleman did the unthinkable – he lit a very powerful and explosive M-100 firecracker and threw it into a crowd of autograph-seekers outside Dodger Stadium, injuring three people, including two children. A 2-year old girl was seriously hurt, suffering cornea damage to her eye and lacerations on her face. The Mets were done with him at that point. He was charged and somehow only received community service and even continued his career after the Mets traded him to Kansas City. However, he bounced around several teams for the next 4 years before retiring.
#2 John Rocker
Next up is former Atlanta Braves closer John Rocker, whose controversial comments had to create major distractions in the clubhouse. He made his big league debut in 1998 and by 1999 became the closer, finishing the season with 38 saves. That year, he had some not-so-nice things to say about New York City and its people in an interview. I don’t want to repeat, so here is the recording:
He also insulted New York Mets fans, calling them degenerates. He was suspended for the first 14 games of the 2000 season. Outfielder Brian Jordan said
"You've got one guy being a cancer time and time again. Eventually, it's going to have an effect on the team."
The Braves traded Rocker to the Indians, and things didn’t exactly work out well in Cleveland. He reportedly didn’t get along with teammates and during the 2001 ALDS, he threw water at fans in Seattle. His offensive comments continued in 2002 with the Rangers, when he used several slurs to insult patrons of a Dallas restaurant. He pitched poorly in Texas, but refused to be demoted to the Minor Leagues, so they released him. After a brief stint with Tampa Bay, he retired but the comments didn’t. He later defended Ozzie Guillen after using a gay slur against a reporter and defended the use of steroids in baseball, saying that of course he used them. Rocker had a great arm for a couple years, but is one of the most hated MLB players of all time.
#1 Milton Bradley
One of the biggest trouble-makers in the history of the game and my #1 clubhouse cancer has to be Milton Bradley. In his 12-year career, Bradley played for 8 teams, causing problems everywhere he went. He was drafted by the Expos in 1996 and was suspended in the minors for starting a fight after getting hit by a pitch. That was just the beginning. After being traded to the Cleveland Indians, he created controversy after controversy both on and off the field. He was pulled over for speeding, but refused the ticket then sped away without permission to leave, resulting in a 3-day jail sentence. He got into frequent fights and run-ins with opponents and teammates. He often didn’t hustle or run out pop flies, resulting in him being barred from Cleveland’s training camp. In April 2004, the Indians traded him to the Dodgers. That season, he was ejected from a game in June and decided to throw a bag of baseballs onto the field and a few into the crowd as souvenirs. In September, he was suspended for the remainder of the year and required to attend anger management after an altercation with an unruly fan. He also had more run-ins with the cops and police were called to his home three times for possible domestic violence, but no charges were filed. Later, with the Padres in 2007, Bradley went on a massive tirade against an umpire and tore his ACL during the blowout. He signed with the Rangers for the 2008 season. During one game, Royals play-by-play announcer Ryan Lefebvre had a few negative thoughts on Bradley, which caused Bradley to storm out of the Rangers clubhouse and climb up four flights of stairs to get to the announcer and presumably kick his ass. He was held back by Ron Washington and others before he could get to Lefebvre. He went to the Cubs and quickly wore out his welcome after publicly criticizing the team and the fans. They suspended him then traded him to Seattle. He made headlines for abandoning his property in Chicago without paying rent. With the Mariners, it was more of the same including multiple ejections and fights, getting booed for lack of hustle, flipping off Texas Rangers fans, getting arrested for making threats against a woman, and getting suspended for bumping an umpire. After his career, he has been charged multiple times for domestic violence and in 2018, was charged with spousal battery and sentenced to 36 months of probation and 52 weeks of domestic violence counseling.