Top 10 Most BIZARRE And WACKY MLB Moments

They say you see something new in every baseball game. With 162 games per year from each MLB team, it’s no surprise that there have no shortage of amazing and unforgettable moments, incredible comebacks and epic collapses. There have also been some weird, wacky and wild moments as well and in today’s video, we’ll be counting down 10 of the wackiest most insane moments in MLB history – one in a million moments that will likely never be repeated again. So, without further ado, let’s get into the list..

#10 J.T. Saves The Day

It was Game 5 of the 2002 World Series, the biggest stage in baseball, between the San Francisco Giants and Anaheim Angels. The Giants had 2 men on in the 7th when Kenny Lofton roped an extra base hit into right field. That’s when the Giants tiny batboy, 3 year old Darren Baker, the son of manager Dusty Baker, was a little too eager to run out and collect Lofton’s bat, the bat of his favorite player. As J.T. Snow scored, he saw the little boy wandering around the danger zone with another runner coming in hot behind him and the catcher ready to receive the throw. In one fell swoop, he snagged Darren and carried him to safety. It was an incredible scene and J.T. Snow, despite hitting over .400 and having a great postseason and career, is still remembered largely for being the hero that day. Darren Baker went on to play college ball at Cal and was drafted by the Washington Nationals. He hit .290 in Double-A in 2022.

#9 Attack of the Bugs

It was the 2007 playoffs – more specifically the ALDS – and the weather was unusually warm for an October evening in Cleveland, Ohio. The Yankees were hanging on to a 1-0 lead in the 7th inning when set-up man Joba Chamberlain entered the game to set things up for the Mariano Rivera. Chamberlain had a 0.38 ERA and 12.8 per 9 strikeout ratio that season. He was practically unhittable. He finished off the 7th inning without an issue. “We were dead in the water,” said one Indians player. Then, when Chamberlain took the mound in the 8th, the bugs attacked. The weather and stadium lights attracted an army of midges, small mosquito-like flies, who converged onto the pitching mound precisely during the top of the 8th inning. One Yankees player said,

“I just remember Joba grabbing the back of his neck to wipe off sweat and his hand was black, full of bugs.”

It was impossible for Chamberlain to focus as the bugs completely engulfed him. A walk and two wild pitches later, he gave up the tying run. He was visibly shaken and frustrated as the bugs continued to wreak havoc throughout his entire appearance. Then, the Yankees came up to bat and it was the Indians turn to deal with the bugs – or was it? In the bottom of the 8th, the bugs, who being from the area were obviously Indians fans, had disappeared. Thanks to the midges, the Indians won the game and the series.

#8 The Big Unit vs The Bird

Next up, we have an absolute one in a billion moment I still can’t believe actually happened. It’s only ranked this low because it happened in Spring Training. We all know the story. The premiere pitcher in the game, current Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, was pitching against Giants prospect Calvin Murray in Spring Training. Somehow, a bird happened to fly right through the path of a 95 mile per hour fastball, resulting in the tragic end to the poor bird’s life in an explosion of feathers. In all the years I’ve watched baseball, I’ve never noticed a bird happen to fly right in between the batter and the pitcher. If a bird did happen to fly through that zone, the odds of the baseball thrown by a pitcher and the bird being in the exact same place at the exact same time have to be beyond astronomical. Add to that the fact that it was Randy Johnson who threw the pitch and this incident becomes simply unbelievable. If this happened in a movie instead, I would instantly laugh it off and call the writers out for how unrealistic the scene was, explaining that such a thing would never – could never actually happen. I still can’t believe it actually did.

#7 A 3’7” Pinch Hitter

In 1951, former owner of the Cleveland Indians Bill Veeck purchased the St. Louis Browns and came up with some wild innovations and publicity stunts to compete with the St. Louis Cardinals, the better and more popular team at the time. By far, his most famous decision, was to sign Eddie Gaedel, a 3’7” 60 lb professional performer Veeck found through a booking agency. He was issued a uniform with the number 1/8 and popped out of a paper-mache cake in between games of a doubleheader to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the American League. It was seen at first as one of Veeck’s more mild stunts and the sponsor of the promotion was disappointed. Little did they know what was going to happen in the second game of the Doubleheader. In the bottom of the 1st inning, Browns manager Zack Taylor sent up the little man to pinch hit. He had been added to the active roster, and the umpires had no choice but to let him hit. Even the Browns players had no idea Gaedel would actually play in the game. Pitcher Bob Cain laughed at the absurdity of the situation and the catcher had to catch from his knees. Gaedel walked on four pitchers and bowed to the crowd on his way to first in one of the wildest scenes in MLB history. The A.L President voided the contract the next day because Veeck was making a mockery of the game.

#6 Down Goes Zimmer

It was during the 2003 ALCS between the Yankees and Red Sox when all hell broke lose in Boston. Tempers flaring between teams is nothing new – nor is an all out brawl. However, the scene here was certainly more bizarre than normal. Things started to heat up when an up and in pitch thrown by Pedro Martinez hit Karim Garcia in the 4th inning. A few minutes later, Garcia slid hard into second which resulted in a shoving match and emptying of dugouts. Later, when Roger Clemens threw up and in to Manny Ramirez, it was on like Donkey Kong. 72-Year old Yankee coach Don Zimmer, who momentarily forgot his age, wanted a piece of Pedro and went straight for him. Martinez sidestepped, grabbed Zimmer’s head and threw him to the ground. To make matters more insane, a few innings later, Yankee pitcher Jeff Nelson got into a fight with a Fenway Park employee in the bullpen and Karim Garcia hopped in to assist him.

#5 Pyscho

It was the 2000 World Series, known as the Subway Series, between the New York Mets and New York Yankees. The rivalry was fierce and there had been massive tensions throughout the season between the two teams. There was an especially tense situation occurring between Roger Clemens and Mike Piazza. Piazza had homered in three consecutive at bats against Clemens until their 4th meeting, earlier that season, when Clemens hit Piazza in the head with a fastball, causing him to miss the All Star Game. Every one was eager to see this match-up. What if Clemens hits him again? Would Piazza charge the mound? Or maybe it would be settled on the field – with a big strikeout or another long home run. With all the speculation, no one, and I mean no one, could have predicted what actually went down. Clemens jammed Piazza, causing him to break his bat. What happened next is still inexplicable. Clemens hurled the barrel of the bat, which has now turned into a sharp and dangerous weapon, towards Piazza. What was he possibly thinking? Did he think Mike Piazza intentionally broke his bat and made sure the barrel flew towards him? Well, that would make him the greatest hitter to ever live and is obviously not what happened. Later, Clemens claimed he thought it was the baseball, which makes absolutely zero sense. Even if we took the massive and impossible leap to believe that he couldn’t tell the difference between a baseball and a bat, if he thought it was the ball, he would’ve thrown it towards first base, not angrily towards Piazza. Benches emptied but there was no brawl, as most players were probably completely confused and shocked. Clemens wasn’t even thrown out of the game – probably because no one could believe what they just saw. Just think about how often the barrel of the bat ends up in the pitcher’s hand – it’s extremely rare. How did that exact event happen with these two players at that exact moment in time – their first meeting since the beaning and it was in the World Series. And then, the Clemens actually throws the thing at Piazza. I still can’t believe it.

#4 Two Batters At One Time

This is a screen shot from a game between the Cardinals and Cubs that was played on September 22, 1974. How did this happen? It was a 5-5 game in the Top of the 9th inning and “The Mad Hungarian” Al Hrabowski was on the mound. Hrawbowski was famous for an extended ritual he performed in which he turned his back to home plate, forcing the batter to wait out the ritual. The Cubs were not in the mood on this day and Gary Madlock decided to make Hrabowski wait for him instead, walking away from the batter’s box to add some pine tar to the bat. The umpire, Shag Crawford, ordered Madlock to return to the box. When he didn’t hear him or didn’t comply, Crawford started calling strikes with no one in the batter’s box, which brought out Cubs manager Jim Marshall to argue. The hitter on-deck, Jose Cardenal, got into the argument as well and at one point, had ventured near home plate, when Crawford continued to call strikes. Cardenal instinctively jumped into the batters box to hit around the same time that Madlock ran up and tried to jump in to hit as well, creating an insanely bizarre scenario in which two hitters were in the batter’s box at the same time. Even the announcer literally said on the air that this is some wild shit. Things didn’t end there as an all-out brawl broke out between the two teams, Cardinals player Ted Simmons punched Madlock and Cubs player Andre Thornton suffered a finger injury that ended his season. Order was eventually restored, but it may be the only time in MLB history where two batters were ready to take a swing at the exact same time.

#3 Disco Demolition Night

In 1979, Mike Veeck, the son of the aforementioned Bill Veeck and Chicago White Sox front office promotion manager, came up with a crazy idea. Like father, like son. In Mike’s case, it was not a publicity stunt, rather a promotion that allowed fans to enter the ballpark for just 98 cents if they brought a disco record along with them. The records would all be destroyed in-between games of a doubleheader, officially ending the disco era. Veeck was hoping for at least 20,000 fans as compared to their regular attendance of 5,000. Over 50,000 people showed up with records in hand and many more leapt fences and gates to enter the ballpark during the game. The boxes that fans were supposed to put their records in overflowed and many took them to their seats. Records along with other dangerous items were being thrown around the stadium and the game had to be halted several times. The records were indeed blown up, but they left a huge hole in the playing field, which would’ve made the next game difficult to play even if thousands of fans didn’t storm the field, which they did. They set fire to the field, pulled up bases, destroyed equipment, and took over the stadium. The rioters overwhelmed security and the best could try was to put on the scoreboard “Please return to your seats.” It wasn’t too effective. The second game had to be forfeited by the White Sox and to this day, Disco Demolition Night is one of the most infamous and disastrous promotions of all time.

#2 Independence Day in Atlanta

It was one of the most wacky and unlikely chain of events in MLB history and it started on the 4th of July of 1985 but didn’t end until the 5th. The Mets were in Atlanta and the game, which started like any other game, was quickly becoming something else. There were multiple rain delays, arguments, ejections, and a fireworks display planned for after the game. When that would be, nobody knew. After 9 innings, the game was tied 8-8 and continued into extras. In the top of the 13th inning, the Mets took a 10-8 lead and it looked like this long night would finally be over when with 2 outs in the bottom of the 13th, Terry Harper hit a home run to tie the game. The game continued all the way through until the next day, when the Mets scored another run in the 18th. In the bottom of the 18th, the Braves had run out of position players. Their last hope was a relief pitcher named Rick Camp. Camp was a notoriously awful hitter with a career .061 batting average entering the season. He had never hit anything close to a home run. It looked like this crazy 18 inning game was about to come to an end. Here’s what happened.

Mets players were stunned - Ray Knight threw his hands up in disbelief and Lenny Dykstra dropped to his knees. When Camp stepped up to the plate, the home plate umpire joked “You might as well hit one out, and we can play all night.” The Mets did score 5 in the Top of the 19th and ended up winning the game, but the Camp home run was still was on the craziest moments in MLB history. To make this scene even wilder, the fireworks still went off at about 4 in the morning, prompting 911 phone calls from residents who thought the city was being bombed.

#1 10-Cent Beer Night

It was 1974 and in an effort to improve attendance, the Cleveland Indians decided to hold 10-Cent Beer Night, offering 10 oz beers for just 10 cents with no limit on the number of purchases. What could possibly go wrong? To make matters worse, this promotion occurred in a game between the Indians and Rangers, two teams that had just gotten into a bench clearing brawl a few days earlier, and Indians fans were in a rowdy mood already. Over 25,000 fans showed up to 10-Cent Beer Night, more than double that was expected. Almost immediately, it was apparent there were going to problems. A woman ran out on the field, flashed the crowd, then tried to kiss the umpire. Later, a naked man ran on to the field and slid into second base. The next inning, a father and son ran out on the field and mooned the fans. The stadium started to look like a warzone as fans began randomly setting off firecrackers. Fans threw items like hot dogs onto the field and other naked people started appearing throughout the stadium. Gunpowder and marijuana smoke covered the entire ballpark. By the 7th inning, all the sober fans had already departed, leaving an army of extremely drunk belligerents who stormed the field, armed with knives and clubs formed from portions of the stadium they tore apart. Both Indians and Rangers players grabbed bats and the war was on in one of the most unbelievable scenes in the history of the game. Eventually the players escaped to the safety of the clubhouse and the uncontrollable beasts destroyed the field and stadium for 20 minutes until the police were able to restore order. The Indians were forced to forfeit the game and several players and umpires were injured. The Indians actually had the guts to hold another 10-Cent Beer Night that season, but this time with a 2-Beer per person limit.

Top 10 EPIC COLLAPSES In MLB History

An MLB season lasts 162 games and every one of them count. If there’s one lesson that has been taught over and over throughout baseball history, teams need to get the pedal the metal all the way up until a playoff spot or division title has been mathematically guaranteed. Without that, it doesn’t matter how big of a lead your team has entering September. In today’s video, we’ll take a look at the Top 10 most epic and painful team collapses in MLB history. There are teams that had great seasons up until that final home stretch when everything completely fell apart and when that happens, there’s almost always another team getting hot just at the right time to take that playoff spot from them.

Before I get into the main list, I have 2 honorable mentions – or should I say dishonorable mentions - that didn’t quite make the list.

Honorable Mention #1 – the 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers, who had a 13 ½ game lead at one point in the season, but a red-hot Giants team caught them, forcing a 3-game playoff that led to Bobby Thomson’s shot heard round the world. The fact that this didn’t make my Top 10 tells you what kind of collapses we’re about to talk about.

Honorable Mention #2 – The 2021 New York Mets, who were the first team to spend over 100 days in first place and still finish with a losing record. Their collapse was a bit more gradual and not a complete last minute meltdown, which is why they’re not in the Top 10.

Now, let’s get started with the Top 10.

#10 The 1987 Toronto Blue Jays

In 1987, the Toronto Blue Jays looked prime to win with a team loaded with stars like Fred McGriff, George Bell, Jesse Barfield and even a young Cecil Fielder. Their pitching was stacked with names like Jimmy Key, Dave Stieb and closer Tom Henke. On June 13th, they were 32-20, sitting in first place in the A.L. East. They never took a massive lead in the division and in fact were competing with the Tigers for the division crown, but after they won 2 out of 3 against them in a late September series – and by late I mean around September 27th, it appeared that the division belonged to the Jays. They were up by 3 ½ games with just 7 to play when the Jays completely lost it. They were swept by the Brewers, then had one final 3-game series with the Tigers in which they were again swept, losing each game by 1 run. The Blue Jays lost 7 consecutive games to finish the season and ended up losing the division to the Tigers, who won their final 4 games to clinch the championship and send the Blue Jays home.

#9 The 1934 New York Giants

The 1934 St. Louis Cardinals caught the 1934 Giants against all odds

The 1934 Giants were absolutely stacked. They had three future Hall-of-Famers, Mel Ott, Bill Terry and Travis Jackson, in their starting lineup. The rotation included two pitchers who won over 20 games that season in Hal Schumacher and another Hall-of-Famer, Carl Hubbell. The team spent the vast majority of the season in first place and had a 7-game lead on September 6th. They struggled a bit during the next week, but with just 14 games left to play, still held a 5 ½ game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals. Then, the two teams met in a 3-game series and the Cardinals won 2 out of 3. Led by the powerful slugger Ripper Collins and their Ace Pitcher, Dizzy Dean, the Cardinals continued to stay hot, slowly gaining on the Giants. Still, with five games left in the season, the Giants were up by the three games and their only remaining games were against two bottom feeders in the league at the time, the Dodgers and Phillies. The Cardinals needed to win just about every game the rest of the way and hope that the Giants would somehow lose every one of their five remaining games. That’s exactly what happened. The Giants lost their final five games of the season and the Cardinals swept the Reds to propel them into first place, making the Giants the first team in MLB history to blow a 7-game lead in September.

#8 The 2007 New York Mets

The Mets are a team that have some of the most unbelievable comebacks in baseball history but also a team known for massive late-season collapses. The 2021 Mets know something about collapsing as they spent more than 100 days in first place yet still finished with a losing record. Neverthelss,they got nothing on the 2007 Mets. After a rough loss in the 2006 playoffs, the Mets entered 2007 motivated and ready, with a wealth of talent that included Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Tom Glavine and Billy Wagner. They won the first four games of the year and after 14 games, were 11-3. The domination continued throughout the season and on September 12th, the Mets held a 7 game lead in the division with the best record in the league. With 17 games left in the season, the playoffs seemed to be in the bag. Then, they lost a game by 1 run against the Phillies. Then, they lost another, this time by 2 runs. Then they lost another, by 4 runs. Then, they were blown, losing by 8 runs. What the hell was going on? The losing streak reached 5 games before they finally won a game. Despite the skid,The Mets had held such a strong lead in the division that with 7 games to go, they were still up by 2 ½ games. They had favorable matchups against two teams at the very bottom of the division - the Florida Marlins and Washington Nationals along with one make-up game against the 73-82 Cardinals. They were swept by the Nationals and lost the makeup game to the Cardinals. After splitting the first two games with the Marlins, the Mets had to win Game 3 in order to prevent The Phillies, who won 4 of their last 5, to take the division. Tom Glavine could only get one batter out and the Marlins pounded the Mets 8-1. They lost the division and the incredibly hot Colorado Rockies overtook them for the Wild Card Spot. The Mets somehow blew a 7-game division lead with 17 games left and didn’t even get a wild card spot as consolation.

#7 The 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers

Newspaper Clipping from October 1st, 1962 reporting on the Dodgers & Giants Pennant Race

Coming in at #7 on my list of the worst late season collapses in MLB history is going to be the 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers. This is a team that was having an absolute dream of a season, entering into September with an 88-47 record, then going on a 7 game winning streak to apparently solidify their place as the #1 team in the National League. Only The Giants could dream of catching them, but they were 4 games back with just a week left to go in the season. The Dodgers were running on all cylinders, led by elite starters Don Drysdale and and Sandy Koufax. They had a chance to clinch the pennant during a 3-game series against the expansion Houston Colt 51s, but lost 2 out of 3. Then, all they had to do was manage one win during a 3-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals. They were swept. Miraculously, the Giants caught the Dodgers and both teams were tied with a 101-61 record at the end of 162 games. The teams played a 3-game series to determine the pennant, just as they had done in 1951. And just like in 1951, the series went to a third game with the Dodgers looking strong late in the game. They had a 4-2 lead going to the Top of the 9th inning when the Dodgers imploded. Four walks, a wild pitch and an error later, the Giants had taken a 6-4 lead. They went on to win the game by that score, winning their first pennant in San Francisco. The Dodgers lost 12 of their last 16 games to blow the pennant in ‘62.

#6 The 1969 Chicago Cubs

A black cat prances around in front of the 1969 Cubs dugout

It was the historic 1969 season, the first season of division play and the Chicago Cubs looked destined to make a push for their first World Series championship since 1908. At the All-Star Break they had an incredibly impressive 61-37 record with a 5 game lead over the 2nd place Mets. By mid-August, that lead had increased to nine games. On September 2nd, they were 32 games over .500, led by superstars like Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins, Ron Santo and, of course, Ernie Banks. Then, the Mets suddenly caught fire, going on a 10-game winning streak. The Cubs on the other hand, who hadn’t lost more than 4 in a row all season long, lost 8 straight. Still, the Cubs held on a lead in the division. Then, on a September 9th game between the two teams, a black cat showed up in front of the Cubs dugout and pranced back and forth a couple times before running off. Whether one believes in the supernatural or not, this couldn’t be a good sign. Sure enough, the Cubs continued to fall apart and the Mets kept winning. New York went 38-11 and finish out the season and not only won the division, but won it by an absolutely insane 8 games, despite being back by 9 games in mid-August. The Cubs lost 18 of their final 26 games to finish off the collapse. This, of course, was part of the story for the 1969 Miracle Mets, who went on the win the World Series.

#5 The 2009 Detroit Tigers

On May 10th, 2009, The Detroit Tigers won a baseball game in Cleveland, which propelled them into first place in the American League Central. Nearly 4 months later, entering into September, they had never relinquished that first place spot and continued to look amazing, winning 6 consecutive games to start the month. They entered into a series against the last place Royals with a strong 7 game lead over the Twins. Undoubtedly, fans were preparing for a World Series push in October. This was when everything began to fall apart. The Tigers were swept by Kansas City and went on to lose 9 out of 12 games. The Twins, meanwhile, were heating up, and at one point in September, won 11 out of 12. On September 29th, the teams met up in a 4-game series. If The Tigers could win 3 out of 4, they would clinch. The series ended up in a 2-2 split. Still, The Tigers held a 2-game lead in the division with both teams entering the final 3-game series of the season. If The Tigers could win one game out of the 3 and the Twins lose just one out of 3, Detroit would clinch. The Twins did what they had to and swept the Royals. Meanwhile, the Tigers lost game one against the White Sox in a game full of ejections and hit by pitches. Their superstar Miguel Cabrera decided it was good night to go hang out and get drunk with some White Sox players. He got into an altercation with his wife and had to be picked up at the police station by the Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski. Needless to say, he didn’t have his best game, going 0-4 as the Tigers lost 8-0. They won the last game of the year, but with the Twins sweep of the Royals, the teams ended the 162-game season tied, necessitating a 163rd game to determine the division winner. In an insane game that went 12 innings, the Tigers blundered several opportunities to win the game and in end, the Twins were victorious, knocking the Tigers out of the playoffs on October 4th. It was an absolutely unbelievable meltdown and to this day, one of the most epic collapses in MLB History.

#4 The 1978 Boston Red Sox

Coming up next is the 1978 Boston Red Sox, a team loaded with talent. A few names you might recognize include Dennis Eckersley, Luis Tiant, Carlton Fisk, Jim Rice, Fred Lynn, Dwight Evans and Carl Yastrzemski. The team got off to a red-hot start, winning 19 of their first 30 games and cementing themselves into first place. By June, they were 45-19 and 7 games ahead of the Yankees. Come September 1st, the Red Sox were on a 6-game wining streak, holding a 6 ½ game lead in the division with a month to go. Then, they entered into a rough patch, losing 5 out of 7 games. That’s when the 2nd place Yankees came to town for a 4-game series. If the Red Sox could just manage a split, any hope the Yankees had at that point could be put to bed. Instead, the Yankees swept the series and could smell first place, sitting just 3 ½ games back. The Red Sox continued to fall, losing 5 of the next 6. This epic collapse allowed the Yankees to tie for the division lead at the end of the year, forcing a one-game playoff. During this game, the Red Sox had a 2-0 lead entering into the 7th inning. It was looking like maybe they could pull through after all. That’s when Bucky Dent came to the plate. Incredibly, against all the odds, the Yankees came back from 6 ½ games back in September to win the game and the division.

#3 The 1995 California Angels

Lee Smith, closer for the 1995 California Angels

By 1995, Angels fans had gotten used to late-season collapses. It had happened multiple times in the 80’s, and when they did make the playoffs, things got even more painful. However, the 1995 California Angels looked like a Team of Destiny. They had a powerful rotation anchored by Mark Langston and Chucky Finley to go along with an incredibly talented lineup featuring the likes of J.T. Snow, Chili Davis, Jim Edmonds and Tim Salmon. They even had a future Hall-of-Famer as their closer with Lee Smith. Unsurprisingly, the Angels dominated the league for months, building an 11-game lead by early August. Suddenly, the Seattle Mariners received a massive jumpstart from the return of Ken Griffey Jr. who had been injured since May. He made his return on August 15th and beginning on the very next day, the Angels suddenly lost it, losing 21 of 25 games. Nevertheless, their lead was so strong it seemed insurmountable and with just two weeks left in the season, they somehow still maintained a 6-game lead. Then they lost 9 more in a row. In an absolutely incredible turn of events, the Seattle Mariners came back from 11 games back in August to tie the Angels for the division lead at the end of the season, forcing a one-game playoff. In that game, the Mariners sent the intimidating future Hall-of-Famer Randy Johnson to the mound. He threw 150 pitches to seal the deal, defeating the Angels 9-1 and ending their playoff hopes. The Angels were 66-41 on August 20th with a 12 ½ game lead over the Mariners and went 12-44 the rest of the way, including two 9-game losing streaks. It was one of the most monumental meltdowns ever.

#2 The 2011 Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves

I’m going to cheat a little and put two in one since this was an epic dual collapse that the baseball world witnessed in 2011. Consider this 2a and 2b. The Atlanta Braves were essentially a lock to make the playoffs, holding a 8 ½ game lead over the Cardinals for the Wild Card on September 1st. Meanwhile, in the American League, the Red Sox had a 9 game lead for the Wild Card just in case they didn’t win the division, which they led by a game over the Yankees. The tailspin began for the Braves on September 2nd, as they began a 3-game series against the Dodgers. They lost the series 2-1. No big deal, right? Then they were swept by the Phillies in a series that included a 9-0 shutout. The bullpen, which had been lights out all season led by closer Craig Kimbrell, began to struggle and the offense went cold. The Cardinals had gotten red-hot and were gaining ground. The two teams met on September 9th for a 3-game series and the Braves were swept. By the end of the season, the Cards were hot on their trail and won 4 of their last 5 games to overtake the Braves, who lost 5 consecutive games to end the season.

During this monumental meltdown, the Red Sox weren’t faring much better, as they went 7-20 in the month of September, giving up the division to the Yankees. The Wild Card was in danger too, but a Rays loss and Red Sox win on the last day of the season would clinch it. It seemed as everything was going to work out as the Yankees were beating the Rays 7-0 in the 8th inning and the Red Sox led the Orioles in the bottom of the 9th with Jonathan Papelbon ready to close it out. Then, in a horrifying turn of events for Red Sox fans, the Orioles rallied, scoring 6 runs in the 8th and another in the 9th to tie the game. Up stepped Evan Longoria in the 12th inning to cap off the most epic dual collapse in MLB history.

1. The 1964 Philadelphia Phillies

1964 World Series Phillies Ticket

They were one of the most dominant young teams to ever take the field for the majority of 1964, led by Dick Allen, Johnny Callison and 19-game winner Jim Bunning. They were 47-28 at the All Star Break, and didn’t slow down from there, building a 6 ½ game first place lead by September 20th. That’s right – they had a 6 ½ lead on September 20th with just 12 games left in the season. The team literally began to print World Series tickets and Sports Illustrated held a photo shoot with the team for the cover of their World Series edition. There were two teams tied for 2nd place – the Reds and Cardinals, both 6 ½ back. As fate would have it, the Phillies schedule had them playing both teams down the stretch. First, they took on the Reds in a 3 game series that began on September 21st. They were swept. At the time, it wasn’t that big of a deal as they still held a 3 ½ game lead with about a week to go. Luckily, they had a fairly easy 4-game series against the middle-of-the-road Milwaukee Braves. They were swept again, bringing them to a 3-game series against the Cardinals, who smelled blood. The shell-shocked Phillies were once again swept, bringing their overall losing streak to 10 games. The Cardinals took over first place and won the pennant by a single game in what had to be the most epic and unexpected collapse in the history of the game. The team completely fell apart defensively and offensively while the manager Gene Mauch burned out his two best starters by starting them over and over during the losing streak. There have been many horrible collapses in MLB history, but the 1964 Phillies come in at #1 on my list.

Ranking the MLB COMMISSIONERS!!

Welcome to another Humm Baby Baseball countdown and in today’s video, I’ll be ranking the MLB Commissioners from worst to best. There have been 10 commissioners in the history of Major League Baseball, beginning with Kenasaw Mountain Landis in 1920. Of course, we all know the current commissioner, Rob Manfred. Half of the commissioners were active during my lifetime and their actions had constantly had a major impact on my enjoyment of the game. However, I will try not to be biased and give a fair evaluation of each commissioner, offering positives and negatives. Of course, some of the negatives I give may be positives for others, such as a rule change that I hate but others may love. For this reason, every one’s ranking will be different and I’d love to hear yours down in that comment section below. With that said, let’s get started.

And a lot of people probably assume that Rob Manfred will come in at #10 as the worst commissioner of all time. If you made that assumption, congratulations. Coming in at #10 as the worst commissioner in MLB History of my list is indeed Robert Manfred.

#10 Rob Manfred

Rob Manfred assumed the office of the Commissioner of baseball in January of 2015 and has been a complete disaster since that time. He listed several potential MLB cities and advocated for expansion, and there has been no obvious progress on that. He began instituting rule changes meant to improve pace of play, which only made the game look more amateurish, such as runners simply jogging to first for an intentional walk instead of taking four balls. The rule changes continued with more each year, including forcing managers to leave their pitchers in to face at least 3 batters and more recently, starting a runner on 2nd base in extra innings, which was supposedly a safety measure, but had been enforced in the Minors before the pandemic and was well on its way to the Majors. Speaking of the pandemic, the public bickering between the owners and players was absolutely out of control under Manfred as they were supposedly negotiating how they could have a 2020 season. Manfred said they would unequivocally 100% play baseball that year. Five days later, he backtracked, saying he wasn’t confident they would have a season at all. Manfred was also heavily criticized on how he handled the Astros cheating scandal, a scandal that occurred in 2017 under his watch. He referred to the World Series Trophy as a “chunk of metal.” In 2021, he stripped the City of Atlanta and local baseball fans of the All Star Game over a Georgia Voting Reform Law, and opinions on this were mostly divided politically. MLB has been terrible at marketing players under Manfred, who has said that players like Mike Trout need to market themselves. Under Manfred, the Minor Leagues were completely reassembled, resulting in 42 cities losing their affiliated team and labor relations were strained to the point that the 2022 season was in jeopardy after Manfred and the owners instituted a lockout. They went radio-silent for over a month, showing no signs of faithful negotiations or updates for the fans. On the positive side, he has unified all fans and players in their desire to see him fired as soon as humanly possible.

#9 William Eckert

Coming in at #9 is the 4th commissioner in MLB history, William Eckert, who was an extremely decorated Lieutenant General in the U.S. Air Force, serving during World War II. In 1965, MLB Club owners needed to vote for a new commissioner and decided to hire Eckert, who was completely unknown in baseball circles and hadn’t even watched a game in person in over 10 years. They wanted some one who wasn’t connected with baseball who had strong leadership skills with an understanding of business and bureaucracy. He accomplished very little during his tenure and drew much criticism for his handling of whether or not to cancel games after the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. He wasn’t completely clear and his meek response caused confusion as to whether there would be games or not – some teams played and some didn’t. He knew nothing about the business of baseball and oftentimes sat still during moments of major controversy in which leadership and guidance was needed. He was so clueless about the game, he hadn’t realized that the Dodgers had moved to Los Angeles and once referred to the Cardinals as “the Cincinnati Cardinals.” He stayed up late at nights just studying the game of baseball, learning names of superstars and trying to be prepared for whatever question the media ask lest he look like a complete fool. One of the few positives regarding Eckert is that he was one of the first to promote the game internationally. He once said

 “I can visualize within the foreseeable future the spread of major league baseball on an international scale to include Japan, Canada and several Latin American countries. I see major league baseball as a means of contributing to international friendship.”

He accompanied the Dodgers to Japan in 1966 on a goodwill and exhibition tour. It was also during his term that union leader Marvin Miller was hired as the head of the Player’s Association. Eckert violated several union laws, albeit possibly unintentionally, and was no match for Miller. The player’s union began to show its strength and the owners voted Eckert out as commissioner in 1968. Cubs owner Philip Wrigley, realizing that hiring an outsider was a mistake, said that baseball needed a “baseball man.”

#8 A. Barlett Giamatti

The only reason Giamatti is this low on the list is because he was only commissioner for five months before tragically dying of a heart attack at age 51, so he never got the chance to really improve or destroy the game. He was, however, President of the National League for nearly three years before becoming commissioner and fought to improve the fan experience at ballparks. He was tough and quick when it came to handing down punishments and suspensions. Once he became commissioner, he reorganized the administration by creating a deputy commissioner to assist him, a position that still exists. He is most famous for dealing with the betting scandal of Pete Rose. After a report showed the Rose had bet on 52 Reds games in 1987, Giamatti and Rose negotiated a deal in which Rose would voluntarily accept a lifetime ban from the game with the ability to apply for reinstatement in a year. He did not have to publicly admit guilt and, in fact, denied that he bet on games for many years thereafter. Unforunately, Giamatti died a few days after this agreement. Giamatti, a lifelong baseball fan, may have turned out to be a fine commissioner, but sadly, he ended up being the William Henry Harrison of MLB Commissioners, dying too early in his term to really tell how good or bad he would have been.

#7 Bowie Kuhn

After forcing out William Eckert, owners hired that “baseball man” they wanted with the much more baseball-savvy Bowie Kuhn, who at 42 became the youngest commissioner in history. He made the unfortunate decision to ban both Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle from being involved in Major League Baseball because they had associations and sponsorships with casinos even though neither were directly involved with gambling, much less gambling on the game of baseball. His time as commissioner is filled with labor issues, including the first strike in MLB history in 1972 and the 1981 work stoppage, both which resulted in the cancellation of games. There were also labor disputes in ‘73, ‘76 and ‘80. Free Agency was created during his time as commissioner but he fought hard to prevent it, preferring to keep the old reserve clause system. Kuhn denied Curt Flood’s initial request to become a free agent and the dispute went all the way to the Supreme Court, who ruled in Kuhn’s favor. However, the union was able to negotiate the start of MLB Free Agency in 1975. On the positive side of things, Kuhn fought hard to allow Negro League players to be eligible for the Hall of Fame. He also came up with the idea to have a World Series Night Game, assuming more people would watch due to being off work. The game drew in a record 61 million viewers. He made a controversial decision in 1974 that I believe was probably correct in order to maintain competitive integrity. Hank Aaron was 2 homers away from breaking Babe Ruth’s record and the Braves wanted to bench him for the 3-game series in Cincinnati to start the season so he could break the record at home. Kuhn ruled he had to play in at least 2 of the 3 games. He was also swift and quick with suspensions, although he is the first commissioner to be aware of the steroids issue and the first to do nothing about it.

#6 Bud Selig

During Selig’s time as Commissioner, I was not a huge fan. However, he did accomplish a lot during his reign as MLB Commissioner, including nearly 20 years of labor peace. It has to be noted that Selig was acting commissioner during the 1994 strike, and despite the fact that labor relations were already horrible when he took over in 1992 due to collusion by the owners, he was the acting commissioner when a strike prevented the World Series from happening, something two World Wars didn’t do. However, since baseball resumed in 1995, there was continuous peace throughout Selig’s time as Commissioner. He also instituted the Wild Card and expanded playoffs in 1994, which would prevent a situation like the one that occurred to the 1993 San Francisco Giants after winning 103 games but missing out on the playoffs because they happened to be in the same division with a team that won 104. The economics of the game were mostly healthy under Selig and teams were bringing in major revenue, which allowed many beautiful stadiums to be built. Whether some changes to the game during Selig’s term are good or bad depend on each fan’s viewpoint – but in general, inter-league play and instant replay are considered successful innovations in the game. He also created a rule I hated, which was making the All-Star Game determine which team had home field advantage in the World Series. This was possibly a knee-jerk reaction to the controversy caused after he ended the 2002 All Star Game in a tie. His biggest black eye might be the steroid-era. Selig knew steroids were rampant in the game but did next to nothing about it until he was pressured to do so by Congress. He turned a blind-eye to steroids during the 90’s when McGwire and Sosa were making headlines. It became obvious that any one could do it and get away, which led to more players doing it, such as Barry Bonds, who saw what was going on with McGwire and Sosa and decided he better do it too. Selig claims that he never knew or heard a thing about steroids during the 90’s. Either he is lying, which is most likely, or was completely ignorant about what was going on in the game. Whatever the case, he finally did begin to establish testing and punishments for PED’s, but the damage was already done. Overall, Selig is a mixed bag and falls right around the middle at #6

#5 Peter Ueberroth

The Commissioner of Baseball when I first became a fan in 1987 was Peter Ueberroth, who was hired in 1984 after overseeing the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He was an impressive commissioner in the early years, immediately resolving an umpire dispute that almost lead to them striking during the 1984 postseason. He also quietly, behind the scenes, helped negotiate collective-bargaining agreements between players and owners, ensuring the no games were lost. He reinstated Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays, who were banned from working in Major League Baseball due to associations with casinos. He was also a key player in pushing the Chicago Cubs to install lights so that night games could be played at Wrigley Field and was swift in dealing with cocaine issues by suspending numerous players. Ueberroth negotiated massive contracts with CBS and ESPN and attendances improved dramatically under his leadership. The baseball industry became profitable for the first time in years and every team was benefiting from increased revenue.

Unfortunately, despite all the positives, there is one negative that keeps him from being ranked higher on this list and that is his involvement in the MLB Collusion Scandals of the 80’s. In 1986, the MLB Player’s Association filed a grievance after noticing no teams were willing to sign major free agents. Stars such as Kirk Gibson and Tommy John received zero interest. This continued throughout the mid-80’s and most stars had to re-sign with their previous teams. Andre Dawson, desperate to play on natural grass, took a massive pay cut to sign with the Cubs despite being an absolute superstar in the prime of his career. The players filed more grievances until an arbitrator ruled that the owners and conspired to restrict player movement. Peter Ueberroth played a major role in this and had given the message to owners to keep salaries as low as possible. Owners were ordered to pay millions in damages and any of the free agents affected were allowed to offer their services to any team without losing their existing contracts. Ueberroth resigned as Commissioner before the 1989 season.

#4 Fay Vincent

Next up is Fay Vincent, who took over for Bart Giamatti after his untimely death. He had a shaky start as Commissioner – literally, as an Earthquake brought the 1989 World Series to a halt. He made the right call in delaying the World Series for 10 days. There was also a lockout during 1990 Spring Training, but Vincent worked with both sides and helped work out an agreement in order to save a 162-game season. Later that year, he banned Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for life because he paid a gambler to dig up dirt on his player Dave Winfield. Steinbrenner was later reinstated. Vincent appointed a committee for statistical accuracy, which determined that Roger Maris’ 61 home runs in the 1961 season was indeed a true MLB single season record despite the schedule having 162 games instead of the 154 games that Babe Ruth’s schedule had. Vincent also started the expansion process, helping bring in the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins into Major League Baseball. However, owners did not appreciate Vincent as player salaries rose and Vincent was not afraid to openly criticize owners and past commissioners for collusion. He seemed like a solid commissioner who avoided major controversy and avoided making major rule changes for the sake of making rule changes. The owners voted him out, however, leading the way to Bud Selig as acting and eventually official Commisioner. Vincent also receives some criticism for not taking a stronger stance against the use steroids in baseball, although he did send a memo to all teams in 1991 explaining that any player who uses an illegal substance including steroids are subject to discipline including possible expulsion from the game. Of course, steroids were not nearly as rampant during Vincent’s time as Comish. After being voted out, Vincent said,

“To do the job without angering an owner is impossible. I can't make all twenty-eight of my bosses happy. People have told me I'm the last commissioner. If so, it's a sad thing. I hope they [the owners] learn this lesson before too much damage is done.”

#3 Kenasaw Mountain Landis

Coming in at #3 is the first Commissioner in the history of Major League Baseball, Kenasaw Mountain Landis. Landis, a former U.S. Federal Judge, was hired in the aftermath of the 1919 World Series Gambling Scandal, in which several members of the White Sox threw the World Series.

“We want a man as chairman who will rule with an iron hand,” said National League President John Heydler. “Baseball has lacked a hand like that for years. It needs it now worse than ever.”

They got exactly what they wanted as Landis came down hard on the 8 players involved in the scandal, banning each for life, regardless of the fact that they were acquitted by in a Chicago trial. He made a statement that made it loud and clear - no player involved in the throwing of a game will ever play professional baseball again. It was a major priority for Landis to rid the game of gamblers and crooks and he continued to ban and suspend any players involved in gambling. Under Landis the Minor Leagues became affiliated with the big leagues although credit for this mostly goes to Branch Rickey. Before his time as commissioner, all minor leagues were unaffiliated alternate leagues. This innovation is still felt today when attending Minor League Games and watching young prospects from Major League organizations. He also made it a law that all teams must disclose their transactions in both the Majors and Minors. His ruthless approach cleaned up the game and helped create the Minor League system we know today. On the downside, although he did proclaim that no rule prohibits black players from playing in the Majors, he did nothing to proactively help get rid of the gentleman’s agreement, an agreement among owners not to sign black players. He never encouraged teams to sign any player who would help their team regardless of race, even though Landis had the power and strength to destroy the color barrier as early as the 1920’s. Had he done this, his legacy would have been a hundred times stronger today.

#2 Ford Frick

Next up is the third Commisioner in MLB history and #2 on my list, Ford Frick, a lifelong baseball fan. He was a sportswriter and National League President before becoming commissioner, the first to have no political background. Before becoming commissioner, Frick was a pioneer in helping to create the Hall of Fame after proposing the creating of a Baseball Museum to honor the greatest players to ever play the game. As commissioner, he helped Major League Baseball grow massively across the country with expansion teams, television contracts, creating an international presence and a college scholarship system. New teams that entered the league were the Mets, Astros, Angels and Senators. He also approved the first team moves in over 50 years, which included the Giants and Dodgers moving west, creating Major League Baseball from coast to coast. Overall, however, he laid low and allowed the game to thrive without meddling. One writer wrote that

“He understood his role. He was a caretaker, not a czar.”

If only the current commissioner understood such things. That said, Frick had one major negative that he is remembered for and it is the decision to make a distinction between Babe Ruth’s single-season record of 60 home runs for a 154 game season and Roger Maris’s record of 61 for a 162-game season. This was a decision that was influenced in large part by the media, which he used to be a part of.

#1 Happy Chandler

Coming in at #1 is the second Commissioner in MLB history, Happy Chandler, a career politician who owners voted in as commissioner so they could have more influence in Washington D.C. He turned out to be a great commissioner, but not so much for the owners. His biggest contribution to the game was facilitating the breaking of the color barrier in 1947. After Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey announced to promotion of Jackie Robinson to the Dodgers, Chandler supported the decision and approved Robinson’s contract, even though he had the power to void it. After Phillies manager Ben Chapman hurled racist remarks at Robinson one game, Chandler threatened every team with disciplinary action should any race-based taunting happen again. Also, any player who decided to strike due to Robinson’s presence in the league would be indefinitely suspended. Ford Frick, who was N.L. President at the time, supported Chandler in this decision. Chandler made these decisions regardless of the opinion of the owners, many of whom were against allowing Robinson to play. Dodgers Pitcher Don Newcome said,

"Some of the things he did for Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella and [myself] when he was commissioner of baseball – those are the kinds of things we never forget. Chandler had cared for black players in baseball when it wasn't fashionable.”

Chandler was the Commissioner who decided to put umpires on the outfield foul lines during the playoffs back in 1947. Additionally, he negotiated a multi-million dollar contract with Gillette and the Mutual Broadcasting System for radio rights to the World Series, with the proceeds going into a player’s pension fund that he created. It was the first pension for players and gave him the reputation as a player’s commissioner. Unsurprisingly, the owners were not fond of his performance and voted him out in 1951. Although he was generally great to players, he did go to extremes to keep labor peace, such as threatening to ban players if they organized a strike. Another situation he dealt with was a Mexican League opening up and offering huge money to MLB players to come play in their league. Chandler threatened a five year ban if any player left MLB to play in the Mexican League and didn’t return before April 1st. These were questionable decisions, but overall, Happy Chandler was an outstanding commissioner and comes on my list as the best in MLB history.

Top 10 MLB Clubhouse Cancers of ALL TIME

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.

Top 10 MLB FLASH IN THE PANS Of ALL TIME.. Here Then Gone ONE-HIT Wonders!!

Welcome to another Top 10 Ranking and in today’s video, we’ll be looking at the Top 10 Flash in the Pans – players who were absolutely elite for a short amount of time but were unable to sustain that success for very long. To make this list, players had to have between 1-3 amazing seasons that created big hype and expectations. However, they ended up being here and gone flash in the pan players who could never replicate that success again.

10. Mark Prior

Mark Prior

The first player on the list is one of the most hyped up prospects of all time, Mark Prior. He was taken in the 1st round twice. My busts videos have received quite a bit of criticism for not including Mark Prior, but the reason I didn’t is simple – he did have one great year in the big leagues. After being taken second overall by the Cubs, Prior went 5-2 with a 2.29 ERA in the minors before being called up. He had a decent rookie year, going 6-6 with a 3.32 ERA but followed it up with the season the Cubs were hoping for. In 2003, Prior threw a shutout in his second start of the season and ended the year going 18-6, making the All Star Team and striking out 245 batters in 211 innings. He helped the Cubs make the playoffs then threw a complete game 2-hitter in the NLDS. He also pitched extremely well in the NLCS, winning Game 2 then throwing 7 scoreless innings in Game 6. Unfortunately, this was that historic moment when the Cubs completely collapsed. We all remember the Gonzalez error, the Bartman incident, Moises Alou freaking out over it and the complete meltdown that occurred, leading to the Marlins victory. However, Mark Prior still had a fantastic season and for that year alone, doesn’t belong in a Top 20 Busts list in my opinion. He fits better in this Flash in the Pan list as Prior only pitched three more seasons in the big leagues, struggling with injures and under performance the entire time. He continued to pitch in the minors and independent leagues for years, but continued to struggle to stay healthy. He retired in 2013 after a stint with the Reds Triple-A team, but for a short time in 2003, he did live up to the hype.

9. Chase Headley

Coming up next is a San Diego Padres second round pick who first got called up to the big leagues in 2007. By ‘09, he was a regular in the lineup, hitting around .265 per year with about 9-12 home runs. Suddenly, in 2012 at age 28, Headley had his breakout season that no one saw coming – not even Headley himself who set a goal of hitting 15 homers and 75 RBIs. Instead, he crushed 31 bombs and led the league with 115 runs driven in. He finished 5th in the MVP voting, won a Silver Slugger and won the NL Player of the Month award twice during the season. He also had a great year defensively and took home a Gold Glove. Headley set a career high in basically every offensive category and was suddenly on the verge of becoming a legit MLB superstar. That is, until 2013, when he was injured in Spring Training and after returning, reverted back to the normal Chase Headley, hitting just .250 with 13 home runs. In 2014, he was traded to the Yankees with whom he later signed a 3-year deal. He was a regular in the lineup for them but never got close to replicating his amazing 2012 season. He returned to the Padres in 2018 but was released after hitting just .115 in 52 at bats. Although Headley had a respectable 12 year career, he was a legitimate power hitting star for a quick flash in 2012.

8. Ubaldo Jimenez

Ubaldo Jimenez

One team that has always struggled to find elite starting pitching has been the Colorado Rockies. However, at one time, they had what appeared to be hands down the best pitcher in the game. The Rockies drafted Ubaldo Jimenez as an amateur free agent in 2001. He worked his way slowly through the minors, but eventually earned a call up in 2006 after going 14-4 between Triple and Double-A. He became a solid arm in the rotation but nothing overly spectacular. That is, until 2010, when Jimenez suddenly took his performance to another level, starting with the first no-hitter in Rockies history on April 17th. He won five games in the month of April alone and set a franchise record with 25 1/3rd consecutive scoreless innings then broke his own record later that season, throwing 33 straight. He won 11 of his first 12 starts, maintain an ERA under 1. By the All-Star Game, he was 15-1 with a 2.2 ERA. The Rockies appeared to have found the elite starter they were looking for. He finished the year 19-8 with a 2.88 ERA, struggling a bit down the stretch. This remarkable performance put his name on the map and is what likely allowed him to play another 7 seasons in the big leagues. He never came close to repeating it. He started 2011 going 6-9 with a 4.46 ERA and was traded to Cleveland. There, he went on to lead the league with 17 losses in 2012. He had a nice rebound in 2013, going 13-9 with a 3.3 ERA but 2010 was his only All Star season and Jimenez ended up retiring in 2020 after being released from his second stint with the Rockies.

7. Zoilo Versalles

Zoilo Versalles receiving the MVP Award

Versalles was a Cuban ballplayer signed as by the Washington Senators in 1958. He played well in the minors but struggled in the bigs after his first callup in 1959, hitting just .153 with a homer. In 1960, it was more of the same as he hit .133, causing the Senators to trade him to the Twins. He found his comfort zone there and ended up a regular in the lineup, hitting .241 with 17 homers in 1962. In 1963, he led the league in triples and bumped his average up to .261. However, everything came together in 1965 when Versalles suddenly became a hitting machine, finding the gaps, driving the ball down the lines and hitting for power with 19 home runs. He ended up leading the league in doubles, triples, runs and total bases and was second in hits. He made the All-Star Team, had a 7.2 WAR for the season and won a Gold Glove. Unsurprisingly, he won the American League MVP Award. At just 26 years old, it looked like Versalles might be on a Hall of Fame path. Unfortunately, his performance declined after that season as he hit just .249 in 1966 then .200 in ‘67 with just 6 home runs despite 581 at bats. He never led the league in an offensive category again after the amazing 1965 season. He bounced around a bit but never played in the big leagues again after hitting .191 with for the 1971 Braves. Sadly, he struggled financially after retirement and ended up having to sell his MVP Award. Although Versalles certainly didn’t have a Hall-of-Fame career, he should still be remembered for an amazing run in the mid-60’s when he was, ever so briefly, one of the best players in the game.

6. Dontrelle Willis

Next up is the D-Train, Dontrelle Willis, who was taken in the 8th round by the Chicago Cubs in the year 2000. He was traded to the Marlins in 2002 and went 12-2 with a 1.83 ERA in the minor leagues. In 2003, he was a regular in the Marlins rotation and had a phenomenal rookie year, going 14-6 with a 3.3 ERA, taking home the Rookie of the Year. Willis had a memorable old-time baseball windup that included a high leg kick and massive twist of the body. By 2005, Willis was one of the best in the game and started the year 5-0 with a 1.29 ERA. He made the All Star Team and finished the year with a 22-10 record, leading the league with 7 complete games and 5 shutouts. He finished 2nd in the Cy Young voting to Chris Carpenter but did win the Warren Spahn Award, given to the best left-handed pitcher in each league. The hype around Willis was massive as a Rookie of the Year winner who had just won 22 games as a 23-year old. Unfortunately, this was the height of his success. He started 2006 by going 1-6 with a 4.93 ERA and ended the year with a 12-12 record. In 2007, he went 10-15 with a terrible 5.17 ERA, leading the National League in runs allowed. He spent the rest of his career trying to stay off the disabled list, bouncing around from team to team but never winning more than 2 games in an entire season. His last year was 2011, when he went 1-6 for the Reds. Willis continued to attempt comebacks through 2015, when he finally announced his retirement from the game.

5. Kevin Maas

Kevin Maas

Next up is Kevin Maas. Maas was a big time prospect for the Yankees who appeared to be the real deal once he made it to the majors. Maas was taken in the 22nd round but showed immense talent in the minor leagues by hitting 28 home runs in 1988 with a .271 batting average and .382 on-base percentage. He became one of the Yankees top prospects and was promoted midway through the 1990 season. The Yankees hoped that they had found their next great Yankee slugger, who could eventually be the heir to Don Mattingly. He came out of the gate on fire, starting his career about as hot as possible, crushing 10 home runs in his first 72 at bats, an MLB record at the time. In one 3-game series in Texas, Maas homered off Kevin Brown, Bobby Witt and Nolan Ryan. Despite not being called up until July and only playing in 79 games, he still managed to crush 21 home runs and finished 2nd in the Rookie of the Year only because he played half a season. Maas was a dead pull hitter and pitchers, catchers and coaches certainly studied him going into the 1991 season. He had a huge sophomore slump, hitting just .220. He managed to hit 23 home runs but it took almost twice as many at bats as he had when he hit 21 the prior season. By 1993, he turned into a fringe prospect, bouncing back and forth between Triple A until moving on to other organizations in 1994, who kept him in the minors. Maas hit .193 including his final big league homer for the Twins in 1995 and was out of baseball two years later. During his brief rookie year, Maas put on an insane display of power that has rarely been seen. He was one of the greatest flash in the pans of all time.

4. Eric Gagne

Next up is a pitcher who had an interesting path the big leagues, not signing when drafted by the White Sox in the 30th round of the ‘94 draft to attend Seminole State College in Oklahoma. He wasn’t drafted in 1995 at all but signed as a free agent with the Dodgers. He was a starter in the minor leagues and showed excellent stuff, going 12-4 with about a 10 per 9 strikeout ratio in 1999. Through his first 5 big league starts, Gagne had a 2.1 ERA. However, the Dodgers needed a closer entering the 2002 season and thought Gagne might work in the role. It turned out they were right as he dominated batters, striking out 114 in 82 innings of work while saving 52 games for LA. He made his first All Star Team and immediately became known as one of the elite closers of the game. Then, in 2003, he was even better, closing out a league leading 55 games with a sick 1.2 ERA. He averaged 15 strikeouts per 9 innings and easily won the Cy Young Award despite being a reliever. He had his third and final successful season in 2004, saving 45 games with a 2.19 ERA. Unfortunately, injuries limited his 2005 season he had to have Tommy John Surgery. He experienced several setbacks and other injuries as he attempted to come back. He became a free agent by 2007 and signed with the Rangers, but continued to struggle with injuries although he managed 16 saves. He pitched for the Red Sox and Brewers later on but with limited to no success. He attempted a comeback with the Dodgers in 2010 but was released during Spring Training. It is unfortunate that Gagne wasn’t able to have a healthy and long MLB career but for three years, there was nobody more feared coming out of a bullpen than Eric Gagne.

3. Mark Fidyrch

Mark Fidrych

Although his success was short-lived, Mark “The Bird” Fidyrch is one of the memorable players of all time. This 6’3” pitcher was drafted by the Tigers and brought a fun quirkiness to the mound as well as, for a while, pure domination. After spending his first two years in the minors, Fidyrch was a non-roster invitee during 1976 Spring Training. He impressed enough to make the Opening Day roster, then, after throwing a 2-hit complete game in his first start, earned a spot in the rotation. The fans loved watching him, as he would march around the mound after each out, talk to the baseball and not allow the groundskeepers to work on the mound during the game. He completed nearly every game he started as the All Star Game approached and was elected not only to play in the game, but start it. Fidrych continued to show amazing stamina and stuff as he finished out the year with 19-9 record, 2.34 ERA and an incredible 24 complete games, including 4 shutouts. He won the Rookie of the Year award and finished 2nd in the Cy Young voting to Jim Palmer. The next season, Fidrich started to experience injury issues, starting just 11 games. He went 6-4 with a 2.89 ERA and was elected to the All Star Game although he couldn’t play due to injury. He was able to appear in just 7 games over the following two seasons, suffering from a torn rotator cuff that was never diagnosed or treated properly during his career. He made his last MLB appearances in 1980, going 2-3 with a 5.68 ERA. It is sad that Fidyrch’s injury was never diagnosed as he was a control pitcher who didn’t rely on heat and could have had a long and successful, perhaps a Hall of Fame, career, had he gotten the proper treatment. Still, he will always be remembered for his hilarious antics and amazing personality, along with his phenomenal rookie season.

2. Tim Lincecum

Tim Lincecum with Fresno Grizzlies mascot, Parker

Coming in at #2 is Tim Lincecum, who the Giants drafted 10th overall in the 2006 MLB Draft. It was seen as a slight risk given Lincecum’s smaller frame, but he absolutely dominated the minor leagues and the hype was through the roof in 2007 as he went 4-0 with a 0.29 ERA through 5 starts with the Fresno Grizzlies. He struck out 46 batters in 36 innings. The Giants were forced to promote him that year and he showed signs of brilliance, but it wasn’t until 2008 when The Freak hit his full potential. The domination was next level and Tim Lincecum became an instant superstar, striking out 265 batters and going 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA. He took home the Cy Young Award and was elected to the All Star Game. The following season, he did again – All Star Game and Cy Young Award - going 15-7 with a 2.48 ERA and 261 strikeouts. A star was born. He declined a bit in 2010, but was still solid, helping the Giants win their first World Series in San Francisco. He also pitched well in 2011 but his strikeout ratio fell to the lowest of his career and poor run support helped cause an unimpressive 13-14 record. By 2012, he was simply bad, going 3-10 with a 6.42 ERA during the first half. The 2-time Cy Young Award was demoted to the bullpen for the 2012 playoffs. He continued to pitch with the Giants through 2015, but never found the magic from his Cy Young Award seasons and eventually had hip surgery and signed with the Angels. He went 2-6 with a 9.16 ERA. After missing the entire 2017 season, Lincecum made one last comeback effort with the Rangers in 2019, but pitched poorly in Triple-A and never made it back to the big leagues. It should be noted that Lincecum did throw two no-hitters outside of his Cy Young seasons and was very effective in the postseason for the Giants. Still, Lincecum was easily the most unhittable and dominant pitcher in the game for a 2-year period until a slow decline led to the unfortunate end of his career.

1. Denny McLain

Denny McLain

Another extremely interesting character who pitched for the Tigers is Denny McLain. He began his pro career with the White Sox organization in 1962 and threw a no-hitter in his Minor League Debut. The Tigers were able to claim him on waivers by 1965, he was a regular in the rotation, going 16-6 with a 2.61 ERA. McLain was a great arm for the Tigers and continued to pitch well until suddenly, in 1968, he took it to another level entirely. During the first half of the year, he went 16-2 with a 2.09 ERA, putting himself on a pace to win over 30 games. He only got better from there, lowering his ERA to 1.96 for the year and finishing with an incredible 31-6 record, taking home not only the Cy Young Award but also the MVP Award. He had 280 strikeouts and just 63 walks, the best strikeout to walk ratio in Tigers history until Justin Verlander came along. McLain also completed an insane 28 games. The following season, he won 24 games and took home another Cy Young Award. He looked like a future Hall of Famer until suddenly the downfall began in 1970. Before the season even started, his off-the-field gambling issues became public and he apparently had connections to organized crime. McLain had always been an interesting character. For example, he was late to the 1969 All Star Game because he had a dental appointment. He barely pitched in 1970 due to three separate suspensions, one of them due to carrying a gun on the team flight. He was traded to the Washington Senators but led the league with 22 losses in 1971 and did not get along with his manager, Ted Williams. He pitched for the A’s in ‘72 and Brewers in ‘73 but had an ERA above 6 both seasons. Since retiring, McLain has been arrested multiple times and spent time in prison for trafficking cocaine, embezzlement, racketeering and mail fraud. During his sentencing in 1985, he said “I don’t know how you get to where I am from where I was 17 years ago,” McLain said. He was referring to the amazing 1968 season – still the last time in MLB history a pitcher won 30 games.

The 20 Most LOPSIDED Trades In MLB History

There have been thousands of trades in the history of Major League Baseball, some that are barely noteworthy and others that change the entire baseball landscape. Many of these blockbusters deals include massive MLB superstars that are oftentimes dealt for hot up-and-coming prospects. Sometimes the deal works out for both sides, but typically after enough time has passed it is clear who won and who lost the deal. Of course, just like in a baseball game, with a trade, sometimes you win.. and sometimes you win big. Today’s video will be counting down the Top 15 most lopsided trades in MLB history – trades that brought huge value to one side while the benefit to the other side is almost if not completely nil. As always, be sure to comment in that comment section down below your thoughts on the list and any huge lopsided trades I missed that could also have been considered for the Top 20. So, let’s gets started.

#20 - Jose Bautista for a PTBNL!?

Jose Bautista with the Pittsburgh Pirates

In 2008, the Pittsburgh Pirates had a player named Jose Bautista, who had already played for four different teams. He had never made an All Star Team and in 2007, he hit .254 with 15 home runs. The last place Pirates didn’t think he was good enough to be part of their future and traded him to the Blue Jays for a player to be named later. That player ended up being being Robinzon Diaz, who played in just 44 more big league games. Bautista went to Toronto and suddenly transformed, making 6 straight All Star Teams and finishing in the Top 10 for MVP 4 times. He led the league in home runs twice, including 54 bombs in 2010. In 2011, Bautista drove in 132 runs and had an OPS over 1.000. He became an absolute MLB superstar that the Pirates let go for a player to be named.

#19 – The Padres Get Their Face of the Franchise

In July of 2015, the Chicago White Sox made a great move by signing a very young Fernando Tatis Jr. as an international free agent. He had all the tools and looked like a future superstar. Less than a year later, they made a terrible move by trading him to the San Diego Padres along with Erik Johnson for James Shields and cash. Even at the time of the trade, Shields was past his prime and had gone 2-7 with the Padres that year. It was an easy decision for San Diego to dump the struggling Shields and get a young prospect with a massive ceiling. Shields went 16-35 with a 5.31 ERA over 3 seasons with Chicago, never reaching the postseason. Tatis Jr. rocketed through the minors and then lived up to the hype, leading baseball with 42 home runs in 2021. I won’t rank this one too high since Tatis was such a young prospect, there’s no way the White Sox could’ve known he would be this good. Also Tatis Jr. has run into some issues lately with injures and a PED suspension, but at the end of the day, this trade was still ridiculously lopsided and makes the Top 20.

#18 – The Pirates Trade Willie Randolph

The Pittsburgh Pirates had a nice steal in the 7th round of the ‘72 Draft when they selected Willie Randolph. By 1975, he looked big league ready, hitting .339 in Triple-A while stealing 14 bases without being caught. The Pirates at that time were trying to win a World Series and needed pitching, so they sent Randolph to the New York Yankees along with Ken Brett and Dock Ellis in exchange for Doc Medich, who had won 19 games for the Yankees in 1974. Medich won just 8 total games for the Pirates while Willie Randolph helped the Yankees win a World Series in 1977 and go on the play 13 years for the Bronx Bombers. He made 6 All Star Games and had an 18 year career. To add insult to injury, Dock Ellis went to New York and went 17-8 with a 3.19 ERA in 1976.

#17- The Cubs Give Their Rival Lou Brock

Lou Brock with the Cubs

The next trade ends up on the list not only because it involves a Hall of Famer but it also occurred between rivals. In 1964, the Chicago Cubs decided to part ways with a young player named Lou Brock. He had incredible speed but had hit just .257 throughout his first 2 ½ seasons. They sent Brock along with pitchers Jack Spring and Paul Toth to St. Louis for outfielder Doug Clemons and pitchers Bobby Shantz and Ernie Broglio. The Cubs were considered the winners of the deal for picking up Broglio, who had won 21 games in 1960 and had just gone 18-8 with a 2.99 ERA the prior season along with a former 24-game winner and MVP in Shantz and a solid prospect in Clemons. All they had to do is give up a struggling Jack Spring and Paul Toth and this young guy who could run fast, but didn’t look like he had the brightest future. Or so they thought. Brock hit .348 with 12 homers the rest of that season for the Cardinals and never slowed down, going on to make 6 All Star Games and steal a record 938 bases. Brock ended his career with over 3,000 this and was a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame.

#16 – The Mariners Help The Red Sox Finally Win a Ring

It was 1997 and the Seattle Mariners needed some bullpen help. So, they did what lots of teams do and traded away a few prospects for an established MLB player. That player was relief pitcher Heathcliff Slocumb, who had just saved 31 games the previous year for the Red Sox. However, in 1997, he was struggling, with a 5.79 ERA. The M’s traded for him anyway and sent a mid-tier pitching prospect named Derek Lowe along with 1st round pick Jason Varitek, a catching prospect in Triple-A. Slocumb continued to struggle with Seattle and ended up leaving in free agency after 1998, going 2-6 with a 4.97 ERA and just 13 saves throughout a season and a half with the Mariners. Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek, on the other hand, both made multiple All-Star Teams and became key members of the Boston Red Sox, helping them break the Curse of the Bambino and win it all in 2004. During Lowe’s best season, he won 21 games for the Red Sox and Varitek hit at least 20 home runs three times. Varitek stayed with the Red Sox his entire 15 year career and helped them win another World Series in 2007. This trade has to go down as one of the most lopsided of all time.

#15 – The Giants Trade An Elite Closer

While preparing for the 2004 season, the San Francisco Giants, coming off a National League Championship in ‘02 and NL West Championship in ‘03 needed to find a new catcher to replace Benito Santiago, who left in free agency. To do that, they made a trade with the Minnesota Twins, sending Boof Bonser, Francisco Liriano and a young reliever named Joe Nathan to the Twins for A.J. Pierzynski. Liriano made an immediate impact for the Twins, going 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA and making the All Star Team. He went on to have a 14 year MLB career. However, the real loss was Joe Nathan, who became an elite closer, making 6 All Star Teams and closing out 377 games in his career. As for the Giants, they got stuck with Pierzynski, who has a reputation as a clubhouse cancer and it was a match made in hell. Pitchers reportedly hated him and threatened a mutiny if the Giants didn’t trade him. According to one story, pitcher Brett Tomko asked him before a game if they could go over the opposing hitters. Pierzynski ignored him and kept playing cards for 20 minutes. The Giants failed to make the playoffs in 2004. This trade wouldn’t have been so bad if Pierzynski, who was a talented 26-year old catcher, stuck around and helped the Giants. Instead, he was released after the season and went on to be an All Star in Chicago. For a one-year clubhouse cancer, the Giants traded away a borderline Hall-of-Fame closer and solid starter.

#14 – The Padres Trade The Wizard

It’s hard to picture Ozzie Smith in a non-Cardinals uniform but for the first four years of his career, he was a San Diego Padre. Smith finished 2nd in the Rookie of the Year voting and won two gold gloves in San Diego. Ozzie’s agent was very vocal with his displeasure with his client’s salary and got into heated arguments with the Padres owner Ray Kroc. Yes, the McDonald’s guy. Finally, the Padres decided to just trade him, sending him in a package deal to the Cardinals for Garry Templeton, who created plenty of controversies of his own in St. Louis due to his lackadaisical style of play. The Cardinals fans were happy to see him go, but had no idea what they just got in return. Ozzie Smith ended up being a Cardinals legend, winning 11 more gold gloves and making a total of 15 All Star Teams. Templeton did play for the Padres for 10 years, which is why this trade isn’t higher on the list, but he only made 1 All Star Team and was never as good as he was in St. Louis. It ended up being one of the worst trades in Padres history.

#13 – The Marlins Lose Yelich

One team known for moving superstar names for spare parts that never really pan out is the Miami Marlins, and this won’t be their final appearance on today’s list. One of their worst trades occurred just a month after they shipped Giancarlo Stanton to the Yankees – a terrible trade itself - and it involved a young star named Christian Yelich. The Marlins sent him to Milwaukee and in return they got a top prospect named Lewis Brinson along with Isan Diaz, Monte Harrison and Jordan Yamamoto. Brinson was the main prospect in the trade, and he did have some MLB experience with the Brewers but hit just .106 in 47 at bats. The Marlins made the deal anyway and Yelich immediately became one of the best players in baseball, winning the MVP in 2018 and leading the league in batting average, slugging percentage and OPS in 2018 and 2019. Meanwhile, all 3 offensive prospects the Marlins received including Brinson hit under .200 and offered virtually nothing of value. Yamamoto had an 18.26 ERA in 2020 before being traded to the Mets. It was an embarrassing trade for the Fish.

#12 – Ryne Sandberg Comes to Chicago

Many casual baseball fans may not realize that Ryne Sandberg was not a Chicago Cub for his entire career and in fact made his big league debut as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies. Despite hitting .293 with a .352 on-base percentage for the Triple A Oklahoma City 89ers in 1981, the Phillies decided they didn’t need Sandberg since they had Manny Trillo at second base. They traded him to the Cubs along with Larry Bowa, a 5-time All Star who had played for the Phillies for 12 years, for Ivan DeJesus. De Jesus hit .239 for the Phillies while Sandberg went on to have a Hall of Fame Career with the Cubs, becoming one of the greatest second basemen in MLB history.

#11 – The Yankees Trade Away the Crime Dog

In December of 1982, The Yankees traded prospect Fred McGriff along with Dave Collins, Mike Morgan and cash to the Blue Jays for Tom Dodd and Dale Murray. The Yankees traded away a lotto winning draft pick in McGriff, who they got in the 9th round along with 2 other players and even cash for Dodd, who never played a game for the Yankees and ended his career with 3 big league hits and Murray, who won 3 total games for Yankees. Meanwhile, Dave Collins hit .308 for the Jays in 1984 and led the league in triples and Mike Morgan went on to be an All Star and have a 22 year big league career. This would have been a terrible trade for the Yankees even if they didn’t include Fred McGriff, who went on to hit 493 home runs, including a league leading 36 for the 1989 Blue Jays. He has also now, finally, been elected into the Hall of Fame.

#10 – The Padres Trade Away The Crime Dog

You thought we were done talking about the newest Hall of Famer Fred McGriff? Not yet. He has been traded multiple times and credit goes to the Blue Jays, who actually got some value for him, picking up Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar when they traded him to the Padres. Unfortunately, the Padres weren’t so smart, sending him to the Atlanta Braves in 1993 for Vince Moore, Donnie Elliot and Melvin Nieves. I’m ranking this one higher than the Yankees, because at least the Yankees didn’t know McGriff would be a superstar. The Padres knew what they had and still traded him to Atlanta for some spare parts. Fred McGriff helped the Braves catch the red-hot Giants in 1993 to win the division and win it all in 1993. He went on to lead the Braves in homers and RBIs during his tenure. Over in San Diego, Vince Moore never made it to the big leagues. Donnie Elliot went 0-1 and was out of baseball by 1995. And Melvin Nieves hit .207 for the Padres. That’s the risk you take when you sell an established superstar for prospects.

#9 – Bagwell Becomes an Astro For Life

Jeff Bagwell with the New Britain Red Sox

Jeff Bagwell will, of course, always be known as a Houston Astro. However, he was actually born in Boston and grew up a die-hard Red Sox fan. Then, in 1989, he was drafted in the 4th round by his favorite team and hit .333 for their Double-A affiliate, the New Britain Red Sox. It looked like an amazing story in the making until, eager to get some immediate bullpen help, the Red Sox shipped him to Houston for a veteran arm named Larry Anderson. Anderson threw just 22 total innings for the Red Sox and lost Game 1 of the ALCS, in which the Red Sox got swept. Meanwhile, Jeff Bagwell went to win the Rookie of the Year in Houston and have a Hall of Fame career that included 449 home runs and an MVP Award in 1994.

#8 – The Dbacks Land Gonzalez

In 1998, the Arizona Diamondbacks entered into Major League Baseball as an expansion team and with their 9th pick, drafted a talented young outfielder from the Dodgers named Karim Garcia, who had been ranked as high as the 7th best prospect in baseball. At just 22 years old, he was expected to be a mainstay in the Arizona lineup for years, but instead, they surprisingly traded him to the Tigers for a journeyman named Luis Gonzalez, who was usually good for around 10-15 homers a year. Garcia hit just .240 for the Tigers before being shipped off and then bounced around a bit, ending his career with a -3.2 WAR. Gonzalez, on the other hand, became a superstar and made his first All Star Team in 1999, leading the league with 206 hits. His power suddenly exploded as he crushed 26, 31 and then an insane 57 home runs in 2001. He made 5 All Star teams with Arizona and had the game winning hit in the 2001 World Series. This was a trade that didn’t seem unreasonable at the time, as no one could have ever predicted that Gonzalez would be a 5 time All-Star with 57 home run type power, but ultimately it turned out as one of the most lopsided trades in baseball history.

#7 – Mark McGwire Leaves Oakland

By 1997, it was difficult to imagine Mark McGwire in any other uniform besides that of the Oakland Athletics. He had been there for 12 years, made 9 All Star teams and was already approaching 400 career home runs. However, he was unhappy with the A’s overall performance and was ready to move on to a winner as a free agent, so the A’s felt forced to trade him. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was that in return for one of the greatest sluggers of all time, the A’s got pitchers Eric Ludwick, T.J Matthews, and Blake Stein. They initially asked for more – the A’s wanted a more established starter such as Alan Benes or Matt Morris along with top prospect Manny Aybar, but the Cardinals refused. Eventually, the A’s relented and made the deal. Ludwick and Stein won a total of 6 games with the A’s. T.J. Mathews stuck around longer, but he had a 4.78 ERA in 5 seasons for Oakland. Meanwhile, Mark McGwire went on to make headlines as he broke the single season home run record in 1998 and hit 220 home runs with St. Louis. Of course, these accomplishments have since been tainted by the revelation of the steroid era, but the trade of McGwire to the Cardinals is still one of the most lopsided in MLB history.

#6 – The Mets Give Up On Ryan

One of the best draft picks of all time was Nolan Ryan, who was taken in the 12th round by the Mets in 1965. Ryan had insane strikeout stuff, but struggled with his control and went 10-14 in 1971. During the 1971-72 offseason, the Mets decided to package him up with Leroy Stanton, Francisco Estrada and Don Rose and send him to the California Angels for a 6-time All Star named Jim Fregosi. Unfortunately, Fregosi never made another All Star team again and hit .232 for the Mets in 1972. By 1973, he was out of the organization. Most of the 4-man package didn’t really work out for the Angels either, with one obvious exception. Nolan Ryan hit his stride in California and averaged 21 wins per season for his first 3 years there, suddenly making All Star Teams and receiving Cy Young votes. He threw 4 no-hitters with the Angels and ended up with 7 over his career, which also included 324 wins and a record 5,714 strikeouts. It’s amazing that in order to pull of the trade of Nolan Ryan for Jim Fregosi, it was the Mets who had to throw in three additional players. It was without a doubt the worst trade in New York Mets history.

#5 – The Expos Trade The Cy Young Award Winner

Another Hall of Famer like Fred McGriff who was involved in not one, but two horrible trades, is Pedro Martinez. An honorable mention would be the Dodgers sending him to the Expos for Delino Deshields. It was a terrible trade, but at least they didn’t know just how good he would become. However, in 1997 The Expos traded Pedro, who had just won the Cy Young Award with a 1.9 ERA and 13 Complete Games to the Red Sox for Carl Pavano and Tony Armas Jr. They were obviously afraid he would leave in free agency, but how they only got two average prospects in incomprehensible. Pavano was a 13th round pick who showed some decent stats in the minors but went 24-35 for the Expos. Armas Jr. was in the low minor leagues at the time of the trade and ended up posting a 4.45 ERA during his time with the franchise. Martinez, on the other hand, went on to win 23 games in 1999, two more Cy Young Awards and have a Hall-of-Fame career. It is understandable that the Expos would trade a Cy Young Award winner if they thought he would leave in free agency, but you absolutely have to do better than that.

#4 – Marlins Send Miggy to Detroit

The Marlins have made some bad trades, but none worse than the December 2007 deal that sent Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to the Tigers for a package of prospects. That package included six players, one of whom never made it the majors and the rest who did little to nothing for the Marlins, although Andrew Miller went on to be a good reliever for other teams. Another prospect, Cameron Maybin, ended up back in Detroit later on, hitting .315 for them in 2016. Willis didn’t do much in Detroit, but The Tigers did get a franchise player in Miguel Cabrera, who won four batting titles, back to back MVP’s and a Triple Crown. He has established himself as a future Hall of Famer and will certainly wear a Tigers hat on his plaque. It is amazing that not one of the 6 prospects ever made much of an impact in Miami.

#3 – Tigers trade a Detroit-Native and Future Hall of Famer To Atlanta

Although Detroit certainly won the Miggy deal, they lost this next one. It is another example of a team trading away a young player who rooted for them as a kid. In this case, it’s John Smoltz, who grew up in Detroit as a hardcore Tigers fan. Appropriately, he was drafted by the Tigers, but although he had a great arm, his minor league numbers weren’t exactly eye popping. They decided to let him go for a more experienced big league arm and traded him to the Braves for Doyle Alexander. Alexander admittedly pitched well in Detroit for a little while until he led the league in losses in 1989 and retired. However, the Tigers lost out on a superstar and John Smoltz went on to become both an elite starter and closer for the Braves, becoming the first player in MLB history to record 200 wins and 150 saves. He helped Atlanta win a World Series in 1995 and won the Cy Young Award in 1996. At the time of this trade, it seemed like an easy win for the Tigers but in hindsight, it’s one of the worst trades in MLB history.

#2 – The Expos Trade The Big Unit

In the second round of the 1985 MLB Draft, the Montreal Expos made a great selection, taking a 6’6” beast in Randy Johnson. He had insane strikeout stuff but was also very wild, striking fear into the batters who dared to step into the box against the Big Unit. He got off to a rough start in the big leagues in 1984, going 0-4 while walking 26 batters in 29 innings. It’s understandable why the Expos decided to trade him for a more established and trusted starter. They sent him, along with Gene Harris and Brian Holman, to the Seattle Mariners for Mark Langston and Mike Campbell. Langston had a great career but only played a partial season with Seattle before signing with the Angels. Mike Campbell stayed in Triple-A Indianapolis the rest of the year before leaving, having never played a game with the Expos. Meanwhile, the Seattle Mariners picked up an all-time legend. It took a couple years to really figure out his command but once he did, Johnson became the best pitcher in the game, racking up 5 Cy Youngs, 10 All Star Selections, and 4 ERA titles. He helped the Mariners make the playoffs twice before moving onto Arizona, where he won a World Series ring and co-World Series MVP with Curt Schilling. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015 on his first ballot. This was without a doubt one of the worst trades in MLB history.

#1 – Boston Trades The Babe… For Cash

Babe Ruth with the Boston Red Sox

It was one of the most stunning moves in the history of the game. Back in 1919, the Boston Red Sox had on their roster the best baseball player to ever walk the Earth. His name was George Herman “Babe” Ruth. He was one of the best pitchers in the game, but even better at hitting. So much better, in fact, that the Red Sox moved him to the outfield and in 1919, he hit a then-record 29 home runs. This was a number that was unheard during this era. He also had a .322 batting average and was clearly on the verge of becoming an absolute baseball God that would change the entire game. So, what did Red Sox owner, Harry Frazee, do to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? He made a deal with Yankees owner Colonel Jacob Ruppert and traded Ruth to the Yankees for $100,000, which would help him fund his plays and musicals. At least he knew there was no point trying to trade Babe Ruth for players.

“I should have preferred to have taken players in exchange for Ruth, but no club could have given me the equivalent in men without wrecking itself, and so the deal had to be made on a cash basis.”

-Harry Frazee

When the Yankees got Babe Ruth, they weren’t the Yankees we know today. They had never even been to a World Series, much less had won any. They were by far the least popular team in New York and didn’t even have their own stadium – The Giants were kind enough to let them use theirs. Ruth changed all that and the Yankees began a dynasty that lasted for decades. Ruth’s popularity allowed the Yankees to build a new stadium and they started to attract more talent, more fans and, of course, more money for the owners. There is a high likelihood that if Babe Ruth never came along, the Yankees would have moved to the west coast instead of the Giants or Dodgers. They could’ve been the San Francisco Yankees. Instead, the team went on to win 27 world championships and counting and are a team of legends that began with Ruth and was followed by the likes of Lou Gerhig, Joe Dimaggio, Mickey Mantle, Don Mattingly, Derek Jeter and Aaron Judge. Sadly, the effect on the Red Sox seemed to be just the opposite, as the Curse of the Bambino initiated a massive drought in World Series Championships for the Red Sox, who at the time of the trade, already had four rings. They would not win another for 86 years.

10 More MLB Draft BUSTS...

Today, we’ll be counting 10 more busts from professional baseball. I received a lot of great suggestions, but there are certain players who, while they certainly never lived up to the massive hype, still had solid MLB careers. Gregg Jeffries, for example, was supposed to be a next-level superstar, but was never that great. Still, he had a 14 year career, made 2 All Star teams and had a career .289 batting average. He even appeared on the 2006 Hall of Fame ballot and got two votes. So, for the purposes of this list, that is not a bust. For me, a bust is a high draft pick, highly touted prospect who generates big hype and had a far less than average big league career if he made it to the big leagues at all – and a major bust certainly never made an All Star team. So, let’s get started with ten more busts.

10 Bill Bene, P.

Bill Bene

Back in the 1980’s, baseball cards of draft picks usually weren’t a thing. However, this Bill Bene card was fairly hot for a short while. Bene was taken 5th overall in the 1988 Draft by the Dodgers, the same team that also drafted Mike Piazza that year – with 1,390th pick. They also took Erik Karros with 140th. Luckily, those two worked out. The same cannot be said for Bill Bene, who had a lively arm that the Dodgers loved. Scouts saw his stuff and thought that he could be an elite arm, but needed some professional coaching to improve his control, which was absolutely terrible in college. It was a huge gamble to take him so high – and the Dodgers lost the bet. Bene went 5-0 in his professional season, but he must’ve gotten some solid run support, because he walked 45 batters in 65 innings and gave up 33 runs for an ERA of 4.55. The next year, in A-ball, the numbers started to become ridiculous and video-gamish in a bad way. In 27 innings, he struck out a decent 24 batters.. but walked 56. His ERA ballooned up to 12.64. In 1990 at Vero Beach, things really got out of hand as he walked 96 batters in 56 innings. The run support finally ended for Bene too, as he went 1-10 with an ERA of 6.99. If Bene wasn’t the 5th overall pick, he would’ve been released a long time ago at this point. Instead, he came back year after year, sometimes showing slight improvements in his control but never being able to consistently command the zone whatsoever. In 1994, still in the Dodgers organization, he walked 49 batters in 50 innings with a 6.04 ERA, strictly coming out of the bullpen at this point. Mercifully, the Dodgers released him. The Reds took a chance on him the next year with their Double-A team, but he walked 9 batters in 4 innings to end the experiment. He missed the ‘96 season and made a comeback attempt with the Angels in 1997, but the control just wasn’t there. Even at this point, he struck out 70 batters in 68 innings, but walked 66, going 0-4 with a 6.68 ERA. He was finally out of baseball, but continued to get busted even later in life, as he was arrested and sentenced to 6 months in jail in 2012 for operating a counterfeit karaoke business without paying taxes. Once a bust, always a bust.

9. Bubba Starling, OF

Bubba Starling

A recent massive prospect, Bubba Starling was a 3-sport star and the #1 baseball recruit in the nation back in 2011. He was seen as the most athletic player in the entire draft and the Royals took him with the 5th overall selection, just ahead of Anthony Rendon, who the Nationals took at #6. Starling was also taken ahead of Francisco Lindor, Javy Baez, George Springer and Brandon Nimmo in an extremely talented draft class. His minor league career was nothing special. In a full season in A Ball in 2014, he hit just .218 with 8 home runs and 17 stolen bases. Still, he slowly moved through the system, battling injuries at times, until finally making his big league debut in 2019, 8 years after he was drafted. In 56 games, he hit .215 with 4 homers and a .255 on-base percentage. In the shortened 2020 season, he was even worse, hitting just .170 in 35 games. That offseason, he was non-tendered by the Royals. Starling re-signed a minor league deal for 2021 and played his last year of professional baseball with Triple A Omaha, hitting .258 with 7 home runs before announcing his retirement from the game. He retired with a .204 MLB batting average.

8. Preston Mattingly, SS.

The next bust was taken in the first round of the 2006 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers and his name is Preston Mattingly. This 6’3” 200 lb power hitter, the son of should-be Hall of Famer Don Mattingly, impressed scouts in High School with massive power, speed and a great glove. Like his dad, he signed out of High School and went to Rookie League, where he hit .290 with a home run. In 2007, with the Great Lakes Loons in A Ball, he struggled, hitting just .210 with 3 home runs in 404 at bats. This wasn’t a great sign for Mattingly’s development and he wasn’t promoted to High A until 2009, when he hit .238 with just 8 home runs despite over 500 at bats. This was a situation where a player didn’t get hurt, wasn’t rushed to the big leagues, wasn’t self-destructive or addicted to drugs… he simply couldn’t hit that well at the professional level. Perhaps, as the son of Don Mattingly, he was overvalued. His last year was 2011, when he hit .232 with 5 home runs. He signed with the Yankees in 2012 but was released before the end of Spring Training. Mattingly, however, did return to college to play Division I basketball and was hired by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2021 to be their Minor League Director.

7. Ben McDonald, P

Next up is a 6’7” 212 lb machine who led the 1988 U.S. Olympic baseball team to a gold medal and helped Louisiana State reach the College World Series twice. His name is Ben McDonald and he was taken as the #1 overall pick in the 1989 MLB Draft and given a signing bonus of $350,000. Unfortunately, like many draft busts, we was rushed to the Major Leagues. McDonald pitched in only 2 minor league games in A Ball, throwing 9 solid innings , allowing 2 runs and 10 hits while striking out 9. It was a nice start to his minor league career but certainly not enough to warrant an immediate call up after two minor league games. He was brought up anyway and against major league hitting, the young prospect allowed 7 runs in 7 1/3rd innings while striking out just 3. He had some moderate success the next year and eventually became a part of the Orioles rotation but fell quite short of the hype, never making an All Star Team and eventually retiring with a 78-70 record and 3.91 ERA. McDonald wasn’t a massive bust, but as an #1 overall selection, he still makes this list.

6. Kiki Jones, P

In the first round of the 1989 MLB Draft, the Dodgers were fortunate to have three selections. Two of them, 22nd overall Tom Goodwin and 28th overall Jamie McAndrew, made it to the big leagues. The other pick, who was taken as the 15th overall selection, never made it to the big leagues. His name – Kiki Jones. He was a High School phenom who struck out 100 batters in 61 innings with a 1.14 ERA. Baseball America named him the country’s top High School prospect. In his first minor league season in the Pioneer League, he dazzled, going 8-0 with a 1.58 ERA, including two complete game shutouts. Instantly, Jones became one of MLB’s hottest up-and-coming Minor League prospects. Unfortunately, that was the last great season of pro baseball Jones would have. The next year, after going 3-3 with Bakersfield in A Ball, Jones season ended due to tendinitis. He made 9 starts at Vero Beach in 1991, going 3-1 with a 4.1 ERA, but continued to struggle with injuries In 3 starts at Double A in 1993, Jones went 0-1 with a 4.5 ERA. His strikeout numbers were gradually dropping off as well. By 1994 he was completely out of baseball. Jones made a comeback attempt in 1998 with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization but was ineffective in 3 appearances in high A. His last hurrah was a brief run with the Rangers High A team in 2001, when he went 0-1 with an 18.69 ERA. Jones is one of the many sad stories of insanely talented young pitchers getting injured early in their minor league careers and never being able to make it to the big leagues.

5. Calvin Murray, OF

Calvin Murray with the San Francisco Giants

As a Giants fan, long before the three World Series championships, I remember vividly the hype around an up-and-coming prospect named Calvin Murray. He was a such a highly touted prospect that he was drafted in the first round not once, but twice – first by the Cleveland Indians in 1989, then by the San Francisco Giants in 1992. After not singing in ‘89, Murray went to college at Texas and hit .351 with 47 stolen bases during his Junior year. The Giants took him ahead of future superstars Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon. Murray was known as a guy who could fly, play elite defense and hit for average. The Giants also thought he could develop some big power. Unfortunately, while he could certainly run and play defense, he struggled to hit consistently at the professional level and lingered in the Giants farm system for 7 years. He did show improvement, however, and in 1998, hit .293 between Double-A and Triple-A. He had his breakout minor league season in 1999 when he hit .334 with 23 home runs and 42 stolen bases for the Fresno Grizzlies. Giants fans, myself included, thought we had a future All-Star who just took a little more time than normal to develop. Unfortunately, that year in Triple A was the last time he would show that kind of talent. In 2000, he hit .242 with 2 homers for the Giants with 9 stolen bases. In 2001, the Giants decided to just put him in the lineup for an extended period and really find out what they had. He hit .245 with 6 homers in 326 at bats, certainly not horrible but not particularly good either. The Giants traded him to the Rangers, he bounced around a bit for a few years and was out of baseball after 2005. Murray had a .231 career MLB batting average with 8 homers in 633 at bats and 22 stolen bases. He’s a name I remember well because he was in the system for so long, but never worked out at the big league level.

4. Billy Beane, OF

One of the most famous busts in MLB history is Billy Beane, the man who went on to become the GM of the Moneyball era Oakland A’s and who was portrayed on the big screen by one Brad Pitt. Before all of that, he was considered one of the top prospects in High School – a 5-tool talent who hit over .500 during his sophomore and junior years. Scouts projected him a future superstar and it was the New York Mets who grabbed him in the first round of the 1980 MLB Draft. The Mets also took two other players in the first round – Darryl Strawberry and John Gibbons, both of whom they put in Rookie Ball. As for Beane, he started in Low A and hit just .210 with a home run. The next year, he hit .268 but struck out 125 times in 403 at bats. His trip through the system was slow. In 1983, while Strawberry was in his first full MLB season, Beane was still in Double-A, hitting .246 with 11 homers. In ‘84, again in Double-A, he performed well enough to finally earn a callup to the big leagues, where he went 1 for 10. Despite another strong minor league season in 1985, the Mets seemed ready to move on from Beane and traded him to the Twins, who gave him his first extended shot in the big leagues. Beane hit .213 with 3 home runs. He also played briefly for the Tigers and A’s, never making it at the MLB level as a player. Fortunately, he has since become a successful baseball executive despite being one of the most noteworthy busts in MLB history.

3. Eddie Bane, P

Drafted in the first round out of Arizona State in 1973, Eddie Bane was considered a can’t miss pitching prospect, good enough in college to be elected into the College Baseball Hall of Fame. His career college stats are ridiculous – a 40-4 record with a 1.64 ERA. He broke and still holds the ASU strikeout record and even threw a perfect game. Bane also won a silver medal in the 1971 Pan-American Games. Unfortunately, the Twins made the same mistake the Rangers made with the first overall selection in the ‘73 draft, David Clyde, and promoted Bane directly to the big leagues. He completely bypassed the minors, which, of course, is a recipe for disaster. He went 0-5 with the Twins in 1973 with a 4.92 ERA. Like Clyde, he showed signs of brilliance and had a few good games here and there, but simply wasn’t ready for the big leagues. So, they put him in Triple-A for the next couple years where, after first getting used to life in the big leagues, had to begin his minor league career. He was finally called back up in 1975, started 4 games and went 3-1 with a 2.86 ERA. This would be his best season. The next year, Bane went 4-7 with a 5.11 ERA and never pitched in the big leagues again. Bane showed massive potential throughout his pro career but the mishandling of him by the impatient Twins front office was likely a major contributor in Bane never being able to really take off in the big leagues.

2. Donovan Tate, OF.

In the 2009 MLB Draft, the San Diego Padres had the third overall pick and with it, took Donovan Tate, a 6’3” 200 lb. High School superstar. He was a 5-tool talent with insane speed, a powerful arm and big stats – a .512 batting average and 9 bombs his Senior Year, which led his team to the Georgia State Championship. The Padres snagged him, offering a $6.7 Million Bonus, and taking him ahead of Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt and Mike Trout. Unfortunately, the massive talent he showed in High School never translated to pro ball. In his first year, Tate hit .222 with 2 homers in rookie ball. The next year, he played in only 39 games in A Ball, struggling with injuries such as a sports hernia, broken jaw and sprained shoulder. He also had problems with non-PED drug abuse and in June of 2011, was suspended and required to attend a drug treatment program. He stayed relatively healthy in 2012, but hit just .226 with one home run in 440 at bats in A Ball. Tate stuck around that level through 2016, never making it to the Double A. The 26-year old retired from baseball and returned to college to play quarterback for the Arizona Wildcats. The Padres, especially during the 2000’s, were known for poor drafting but this may have been their biggest bust of all as he never even made passed High A.

1. Dustin Ackley, 2B/OF

Dustin Ackley with the Los Angeles Angels

My #1 bust in today’s article is Dustin Ackley, who was drafted just before Donovan Tate – which makes him the 2nd overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft. Number 1, by the way, was Stephen Strasburg. Ackley was a fantastic college player who broke several North Carolina records including 119 hits in a season, which he did in 73 games. In his three college seasons, he hit .402, .417 and .417 respectively with 22 bombs in his final year. He won multiple player of the year awards and was ranked as the #1 college prospect in many publications, including Baseball America. He was considered the best and most professional-ready offensive player in a draft that included Mike Trout. The Mariners were confident enough in his abilities to agree to a 5-year $7.5 million MLB contract before he signed. His first full season in the minors was split between Double-A and Triple-A. He hit .267 with 7 homers, not terrible but definitely not second-overall pick numbers. He looked better in 2011, hitting .303 with 9 homers through 66 games, earning a promotion to the big leagues. He hit .273 with 6 bombs and would be a regular for the Mariners in 2012. Unfortunately, he wasn’t great, hitting just .226 with 12 homers and an on-base percentage under .300. He ended up back in Triple-A for a portion of 2013, hitting well, but still struggling at the big league level. He had a few good streaks and definitely showed some potential from time to time, but would fall into prolonged slumps, and never got close to becoming the player he was supposed to be. Eventually, the Mariners dealt him to the Yankees. He battled injuries there for 2 years, never contributing much, then signing with the Angels, where he stayed in Triple-A for two years. Finally, in 2019, the Mariners signed him to return to his original organization, but he was released during Spring Training. He ended up hitting .241 with 512 hits and over 2,000 big league at bats, which is why he didn’t quite make my Top 10 busts, but given the fact that he was one of the most decorated college players ever and he was hyped up to the best offensive player in the draft, he certainly earned bust status in my opinion.

The Top 10 Most Inspirational MLB Comebacks of All Time

One of the greatest stories that occur in sports is the player comeback. It is so celebrated that MLB gives out the Comeback Player of The Year Award in both leagues every season. In 2021, the winner in the National League was Buster Posey, who won it for the second time in his career. The first time, in 2012, Posey came back from a horrific injury that ended his 2011 season to win the MVP award and lead the Giants to a World Series Championship in 2012. In the American League, the winner was Trey Mancini, who underwent an operation to remove a malignant tumor and 6 months of chemotherapy. Five months later, he was on the field again and won a World Series ring with the Astros in 2022. Amazing comebacks like these are somewhat rare, but do happen and today we’ll be counting down 10 more inspiring comeback stories. Before getting to the main list, however, I have two more honorable mentions in addition to Posey & Mancini.

Honorable Mention: WW2 Heroes

Former MLB pitcher Bob Feller serving at WW2

An extremely honorable mention goes to all the players who stopped their careers and went to serve their country in World War II, many of whom returned to the majors just as good if not better after three or more years of not playing the game. Some of the bigger names include Hank Greenberg, Yogi Berra, Warren Spahn, Bob Feller, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. Ted Williams hit 521 home runs despite missing three entire seasons due to the war. Had the war not happened, he would have easily surpassed 600 homers and 3,000 hits. Many players were also seriously injured and still fought back to continue their careers. Cecil Travis suffered frostbite and nearly had his feet amputated and still returned to the Majors. Dixie Howell was held at a German POW Camp for 6 months. When he was finally freed by the Allied Forces, the 6’2” pitcher whose normal weight was 210 weighed 135 lbs. After missing five full seasons, he came back to go 8-3 with a 2.93 ERA for the White Sox.

Honorable Mention: Drew Robinson

Drew Robinson

In one of the most incredible stories in professional baseball history, we have former Texas Rangers prospect Drew Robinson. Robinson played 7 seasons in the minor leagues, hitting 20+ home runs in 2015 and 2016, then making the Rangers Opening Day Roster in 2017. He struggled and ended up bouncing back and forth between the big leagues and the minors, finishing the year with a .224 average and 6 homers. Robinson was eventually traded to the Cardinals, where he spent most of 2019 in the minors. So far, his MLB career had not gone the way he had hoped. On January 6th, 2020, he signed as a Free Agent with the Giants. Unfortunately, that was the year Spring Training suddenly ended due to Covid-19. Robinson returned to his home in Las Vegas, struggling with severe depression during a very depressing time. He decided to end his life, and attempted to do so with a handgun which he aimed at his temple and fired. Miraculously, he wasn’t killed and decided he wanted to live, calling 911 for help. He lost one eye, along with his sense of smell and taste. Robinson figured his baseball career was over, but after taking a round of batting practice, realized his ability to see the ball and time his swing wasn’t much different. The decision to swing must be made within a split second and muscle memory plays a huge role. As long as he could see the ball with one eye, Robinson believed he could still play. And the Giants gave him the opportunity. In an incredible comeback, Drew Robinson returned to professional baseball in 2021 and played in 38 Triple-A games for the Sacramento Rivercats. He hit three home runs, but unfortunately struggled to make consistent contact and never made it back to the big leagues, which is why he’s an honorable mention. Still, the fact that Robinson survived a suicide attempt using a gun to the head, lost an eye and still hit three more professional home runs is an incredible story of its own. Now, let’s get to the Top 10.

10. Tommy John

He has a name that no baseball fan hasn’t heard of. But long before Tommy John’s name was known for a surgery, he was a prospect with the Cleveland Indians. He had a great curveball and established himself as one of the premiere starters in the game after being traded to the White Sox. In 1968, he made the All Star Team and had an ERA of 1.98. Later, after being traded to the Dodgers, he went 16-7 in 1973 with a 3.1 ERA. In 1974, he was 13-3 with a 2.59 ERA. At this point, he had had a more than solid 12 year big league career, leading the league in shutouts twice and in win-loss percentage twice. Unfortunately, it was at this time when he had what was considered at the time to be a career-ending injury – a torn UCL. There was no coming back from that. That is, until orthopedic surgeon Frank Jobe, who worked for the Dodgers, performed a ligament replacement surgery on John. It was a revolutionary procedure that has since become standard surgery for pitchers, allowing them to continue their careers after injuries that were once career-ending. Tommy John indeed recovered while missing the 1975 season and returned in ‘76, going 10-10 with a 3.09 ERA. The next year, for the first time in his career, he won 20 games and finished 2nd in the Cy Young voting. The procedure was a massive success as Tommy John not only recovered but appeared to be even better. He made three straight All Star Teams and won 20 or more games in 3 out of 4 seasons. John played an incredible 14 more seasons after the surgery, giving him a 26 year career in which he won 288 games. He should certainly be in the Hall of Fame. The surgery has, of course, since been known as Tommy John Surgery, or simply “Tommy John.” Although his comeback has since become standard, since he was the first to do it and came back with such an insane degree of success, Tommy John is included in today’s list of the Top 10 comebacks of all time.

9. Jose Rijo

Most hardcore baseball fans from the late 80’s and early 90’s will remember Reds pitcher Jose Rijo, who was a constant in the Reds rotation for many years. In 1991, he went 15-6 with a 2.51 ERA, finishing fourth for the Cy Young Award. He won 111 games over 12 seasons, made an All Star team and led the Reds to a World Series ring in 1990, utterly dominating the A’s by going 2-0 with a 0.59 ERA. In 1995, he was limited to only 14 starts due to elbow injuries. Later that offseason, he had to have Tommy John surgery. Unfortunately, shoulder injuries in 1996 caused further issues and Rijo ended up needing 4 major surgeries. He was basically done with baseball and in October of 1998, became an unrestricted free agent who hadn’t played in 3 years. 1999 came and went and Rijo was unable to play. At this point, he was already considered a Reds legend who had a great 12-year career. He even appeared on the 2001 Hall of Fame Ballot, receiving one vote. Then, on July 1st, in the middle of the 2001 season, the Reds signed the 36-year old Rijo. Now coming out of the bullpen, Jose Rijo began his rehab assignment in Single A more than five years after his last professional pitch, as some one who had already appeared on the Hall of Fame Ballot. He worked his way through Double A then Triple A and finally got his call back up to the big leagues, where he had a 2.12 ERA in 13 appearances. He returned in 2002 as well, pitching out of the bullpen and starting 9 games before retiring. Rijo’s story may not be the most dramatic, but considering he was out of the game long enough to appear on the Hall of Fame ballot and still came back to give the Reds a strong bullpen arm is absolutely amazing and Jose Rijo makes #9 on this list.

8. Sean Burroughs, 3B

Coming in at #8 is third baseman Sean Burroughs, the son of Jeff Burroughs, who hit 240 big league home runs. Sean was supposed to be even better. As a child, he was a baseball prodigy, elite as both a pitcher and hitter. Burroughs threw back-to-back no-hitters in the Little League World Series and later led the USA to a gold medal in the 2000 Olympics. Burrough’s Minor League career started with a bang when he hit .363 in A Ball with 85 runs driven in. In 2001 in Triple A, he hit .322. Sports Illustrated touted him as a “can’t miss” prospect. And at first, they seemed to be right. Burroughs hit .286 in his first full season then .298 in 2004. He had a solid on-base percentage, didn’t strike out much, and looked like he was on a path to a successful big league career, Then, his career suddenly fell apart. A slide into second base at Dodger Stadium caused a broken blood capsule in his leg. He was traded to Tampa Bay, where he hit just .190 and spent most of 2006 in Triple A. He played in a few minor league games with the Mariners organization in 2007 and then was out of baseball. Burroughs ended up wandering the streets of Las Vegas, struggling with substance abuse. Burroughs said that when he was at his worse, he was eating cheeseburgers out of garbage cans. Fortunately, his story doesn’t end there. Nearly three years after his last professional game, Burroughs decided to try to get his life together and play baseball again. He says “I was out of shape with big, black bags under my eyes. Bad hair, hadn’t shaved for weeks on end. Hadn’t eaten anything other than french fries and Sluprees.” Burroughs moved back in with his parents, started working out, got back in baseball shape and called his agent to find any opportunity anywhere. His agent got in touch with the Diamondbacks and convinced them to sign him to a Minor League deal. He tore Triple A up that year, hitting .412, earning a callup to return to Major League Baseball. He hit .273 with the Diamondbacks, hitting his first MLB home run in 6 years. Burroughs retired after 2013 and never became the superstar he was expected to become, but had one of the most inspiring comebacks in MLB history.

7. Matt Bush

Matt Bush as a young prospect with the Padres organization

Up next is the #1 overall pick in the 2004 MLB Draft, Matt Bush. He was a shortstop and pitcher with an incredible arm and powerful bat. In High School, Bush hit .450 with 11 home runs while maintaining a 0.73 ERA on the mound. He was a 5-tool talent with an insane ceiling. However, troubles began before his professional career even got going. He was suspended for taking part in a fight outside of a bar in Arizona. He eventually hit just .192 with no home runs in his first Minor League season. The next season, his first full year, he hit just .221 with 2 homers in A Ball despite 453 at bats. Things weren’t looking on the field for the first overall pick. Off the field, things were even worse. He was arrested a second time for fighting in a bar, and received multiple DUIs. He showed up to games hung over and in 2007, hit .204 with a single home run. The Padres considered him a complete bust and traded him to the Blue Jays, who put him on a zero tolerance policy. That lasted about a month when Bush reportedly threw a baseball at a woman’s head, then banged on her car window after she drew markings on his face at a party. The next day, he was released and missed the entire 2009 season. Every comeback attempt from there was thwarted by another of his insane antics. In 2012, he was set to began the season in Triple A with the Rays organization, now as a pitcher, until he crashed his car three times in a matter of hours, first colliding with another car on an illegal U-turn, then hitting a light pole, then knocking a 72-year old man from his motorcycle, severely injuring him. He left each scene of each accident. He spent the entire 2012 season in jail and was charged with a long list of counts including one count of DUI with serious bodily injury and two counts of leaving the scene of an accident. He was released from prison in October 2015 and hadn’t played a game of professional baseball in over four years. He got a job at Golden Corral and, in an attempt to return to the game, held a showcase right there in the Golden Corral parking lot, since it was the only place was allowed to go. Incredibly, he impressed Rangers scouts enough that they brought him to Texas in December for a more formal tryout and to make a very long story short, Bush signed with the Rangers, went to the Minors and earned his first call up to the Major Leagues, 12 years after being taken first overall in the 2004 MLB Draft. Bush was kept on a no-tolerance policy with several requirements and stipulations and this time, he stuck to it. He went 7-2 with a 2.48 ERA in 2016 and began an MLB career that continues today with the Milwaukee Brewers. Although there’s no possible way to excuse Bush’s behavior early in his career, he did serve his time and completely change his life, while making one of the most improbable comebacks of all time.

6. Rick Ankiel

Rick Ankiel with the Astros

Coming in at #6 is a former pitcher named Rick Ankiel. In High School, Ankiel was a stud, going 11-1 with a .47 ERA and 162 strikeouts in 74 innings. He was a hot name in the draft and was selected in the 2nd round by the St. Louis Cardinals, receiving a signing bonus of $2,500,000. He immediately impressed in the low minor leagues, striking out 222 batters in 161 innings with an ERA of 2.63. The next year between Double A and Triple A, he was even better with a 2.35 ERA and 194 strikeouts in 134 innings. He didn’t walk a ton of hitters and showed the same confidence he had in High School. There was no reason to think Ankiel wouldn’t be an Ace in the big leagues. He had an impressive rookie season in 2000, going 11-7 with a 3.5 ERA and 194 strikeouts, finishing second in the Rookie of the Year voting. The Cardinals made the playoffs that year and in Ankiel’s first playoff start, something strange happened. After throwing two scoreless innings, he suddenly had a complete meltdown, walking four batters and throwing 5 wild pitches in one inning. It was considered a freak incident and since the Cardinals won the game, no one thought much more of it. That is, until his next start, Game 2 of the NLCS, when 5 of Ankiel’s first 20 pitches went past the catcher. He was removed. In his next appearance, it was more of the same – he faced four batters, walked two and threw two wild pitches. Rick Ankiel had the yips. He returned to the team in 2001, and his problems were not fixed. In 24 innings, he walked 25 batters and threw five wild pitches, causing a demotion to Triple A where he went completely next level, walking 17 batters and throwing 12 wild pitches in 4 1/3rd innings. Later, a left elbow sprain and Tommy John surgery kept him largely out of MLB for the next two years. His career was basically over. Or was it? During 2005 Spring Training, Ankiel announced he was switching to the outfield to be a hitter. He had to start his career all over, going back to Single A, where he showed impressive power, earning a callup to Double A. Unfortunately, he injured his knee in 2006 Spring Training and missed the entire year. Was this the end of his career? Not even close. In 2007 in Triple A, Ankiel crushed 32 home runs, earned a promotion to the big leagues, and smashed a home run in his first big league game as an offensive player. He went on to play 7 years in the big leagues as a hitter, finishing his career with 251 home runs along with some dramatic postseason bombs, such as a game winning home run for Atlanta in the 2010 NLDS against the Giants. For one of the best pitching prospects in the game to get the yips and completely lose his control then turn around and have an extremely strong career as an MLB hitter despite not regularly hitting since High School is absolutely incredible and Rick Ankie’s comeback is one of the greatest in MLB history.

5. Tony Congliaro

Next up is Tony Congliaro, who played mostly for the Boston Red Sox. His pro career started in 1963 when he tore up the Minor Leagues, hitting .363 with 24 home runs. The next year, he was in the Red Sox lineup and hit .290 with 24 home runs followed by a league leading 32 bombs in 1965, becoming the youngest American League player to ever lead the league in home runs. The Red Sox had a superstar on their hands and he made the All Star Team in 1967. He hit his 100th home run at just 22 years old. Then, everything changed during a game on August 18th, 1967 against the California Angels. Facing pitcher Jack Hamilton. A pitch struck Congliaro in the face, causing a linear fracture of his left cheekbone, a dislocated jaw and severe damage to his left retina. He was carried off the field on a stretcher and it was questionable if he would ever play again. Congliario’s eyesight was permanently damaged. He missed the next two seasons entirely. Then, in 1969, 2 and a half years after playing his last game, Congliario attempted a comeback. The Red Sox were happy to give him the opportunity, but didn’t know what to expect. Congliario’s comeback was astonishing as he hit 20 home runs with a .255 average driving 82 runs. The next year, he set a career high in home runs and RBIs with 36 and 116 respectively, while hitting .266. His amazing comeback inspired the Tony Congliaro Award, which has since been awarded to those who overcome adversity. Unfortunately, his eyesight worsened as he entered his thirties and Congliario was forced to retire, but the fact that he came back from such a horrific injury to play four more years, including a career year is truly inspirational.

4. Josh Hamilton

Josh Hamilton after being drafted first overall by the Devil Rays

Coming in at #4 is another #1 overall pick in the MLB Draft, Josh Hamilton. He was an absolute beast in High School, hitting .529 with 13 home runs in 25 games in his Senior Year. He could fly on the basepaths and had a cannon for an arm. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays took him first overall in the 1999 Draft and that year, he hit .312 with 10 home runs in the low minor leagues. The next year, he made the South Atlantic League All Star Team, hitting .302 with 13 home runs in 96 games. Unfortunately, things began in unravel in 2001 after he was involved in a car accident, resulting in injuries to his parents. After landing on the disabled list due to back injuries, Hamilton hung out at tattoo parlors, purchasing two tattoos a day while abusing cocaine and alcohol. He had plenty of cash, with a $3.96 million bonus, and used it to fall deeper and deeper into this new lifestyle. The Devil Rays sent him to the Betty Ford Center, but he checked himself out after just 8 days. In 2003, he failed to show up for a mandatory drug test and was suspended by MLB. He was out of baseball completely now, graduated from cocaine to crack, and lived the life of a junkie, even stealing from his family to feed his addiction. A few times, Hamilton tried to come back to baseball but continued to either relapse or get arrested. Finally, in 2006, a man named Roy Silver hired Hamilton to work at his Baseball Facility in Florida, where he stayed clean and slept on an air mattress in one of the offices. In 2007, after being removed from the 40-man roster, the Cubs claimed Hamilton in the Rule 5 Draft, promptly trading him to the Reds. Part of the stipulation of the Rule 5 Draft is the player must stay on the Major League Roster for an entire season or be returned to the original team, in this case the Devil Rays. Hamilton tore it up in Spring Training in 2007 and earned a spot on the roster, making his big league debut 8 years after being drafted. He hit .292 with 19 home runs, an absolutely incredible feat considering he had barely played the game in the past 5 years. The Reds traded him to the Rangers that offseason, and he became an absolute superstar in Texas, hitting .304 with 32 home runs and an insane 130 runs driven in. He got the attention of every MLB fan at the home run derby that year, smashing a record 28 home runs in the first round. He made 5 straight All Star teams, won an MVP in 2010 and hit four home runs in a single game. He eventually experienced some relapses and injuries, which slowed his career down, but Josh Hamilton had a ridiculous 5-year stretch in Texas, proving that had he never fallen into a lifestyle of drugs & alcohol, Hamilton would have easily had a Hall of Fame career and possibly been one of the greatest to ever play the game. Still, the fact that he came back from depths of darkness he was in to come back and be a superstar MVP player is still incredible and one of the greatest comebacks of all time.

3. Dave Dravecky

Next up is a pitcher named Dave Dravecky. He was a solid left-handed arm in the San Diego Padres rotation for several years in 80’s, making an All Star team in 1983 and maintaining an ERA around 3 every season. Only July 4th, 1987, the San Francisco Giants traded for him, along with Craig Lefferts and Kevin Mitchell, for Mark Grant, Mark Davis and Chris Brown. He pitched well for the Giants, including a shutout performance in the 1987 playoffs against St. Louis. In 1988, he was pitching well with a 3.16 ERA after 7 starts when a cancerous tumor was found in his pitching arm. It was a rare and aggressive tumor known as a desmoid tumor. Unfortunately, it was positioned on his left deltoid muscle, a muscle that is needed by pitchers to even pitch. Doctors would have to remove the tumor and surrounding muscle, a huge portion of his arm, in order to save his life. The surgery was performed in October of 1988 and half of the deltoid muscle was removed. The humerus bone was frozen as well in order to kill all of the cancerous cells. Doctors advised him that he would never pitch again. Dravecky had other plans. His rehab was astonishingly fast, going from not being able to move his arm at all, to lifting 1 lb. Dumbbells, to actually pitching all in a matter of months and by 1989 Dravecky already felt ready to pitch again, although doctors urged him to wait until at least 1990. They feared that the frozen humerus bone could snap if stressed too early. But Dravecky was determined to return that year and he did, returning to the minors in 1989 on rehab assignment, where he threw 3 complete games. There is no possible chance a pitcher would be allowed to complete any games so early in their comeback attempt today, given the circumstances. But in 1989, it happened – he threw three complete games and a shutout with an ERA 1.8, convincing the Giants he was ready for his official comeback game. It occurred on August 10th, 1989, in an amazing day at Candlestick Park. Dravecky pitched 8 innings, defeating the Reds 4-3, despite the doctor’s prediction that he would lose 95% of the use of his left arm. It was one of the most inspiring comebacks of all time and there was absolute magic in the air that day in San Francisco. Unfortunately, it was short-lived as during his next start in Montreal, he felt a strange tingling in his arm, continued to pitch anyway and broke his arm on a pitch. Later, the cancer returned with a vengeance and he had to have his arm amputated. Although he probably should have waited until 1990 to come back as doctors recommended, Dravecky is an absolute amazing athlete with incredible determination and his comeback was one of the most inspiring moments in baseball history. Dave Dravecky continues to travel the country and give motivational speeches today.

2. Eddie Waitkus

Coming in at #2 on my list of the Top 10 Inspirational MLB Comebacks of all time is first baseman Eddie Waitkus. He began his pro career with the Cubs organization in 1939, hitting .326 in the minor leagues and earning his first promotion to the big leagues by 1941. In ‘42, he spent the year in the Minors, hitting .336 for the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League. Then, WW2 happened. He was a hero, earning four bronze stars. On one occasional, he left his foxhole, entering into enemy gunfire to save his comrade’s life. He returned to baseball in 1946, after missing three entire seasons due to the war, and hit .304 for the Cubs, eventually becoming an All Star first baseman. But the story doesn’t end there. This was just the first comeback. In June of 1949, Waitkus was hitting well for his new team, the Phillies, with a .306 batting average. But there was a mad fan from Chicago who had worshiped Waitkus named Ruth Ann Steinhagen. She had created a “shrine” to him with hundreds of photos and newspaper clippings. Steinhagen even set a plate for him at the dinner table. After he left to play for the Phillies, she fantasized about killing him. When the Phillies came to Chicago for a series against the Cubs, she checked into the same hotel he was staying in and had the bellboy give him a note urging him to see her for some important information that he would want to know. When he arrived at her room, she shot him with a .22 caliber rifle. There are some disputes over what, if anything, was said, but according to Watkus’s friend and roommate, Waitkus told him that she said “If I can’t have you, nobody else can.” The bullet barely missed his heart and during the operation, he almost died several times. Incredibly, Waitkus recovered and returned in 1950 and played 6 more years in the Majors. He hit .289 in 1951 and .291 in ‘53. His story was part of the inspiration for the film “The Natural.” Eddie Waitkus makes #2 of this list because he not only made an amazing comeback from being a war hero, but he also came back from being shot and nearly killed by an insane fan.

1. Lou Brissie

Lou Brissie with his baseball card

My #1 most inspirational comeback in MLB history goes to former MLB pitcher Lou Brissie. Brissie was born in Anderson, South Carolina in 1924 and grew up in the town of Ware Shoals, a location where the most popular baseball was played in local textile leagues. Brissie’s career began in 1940 on the Ware Shoals baseball team. He was a talented young pitcher who, as a dominating lefty at 6’4”, caught the attention of Philadelphia A’s manger Connie Mack in 1941. He signed with the Athletics on 1941 with the understanding that he would pitch for three years in college and then begin his professional career. Unfortunately, before he could complete his college career, war broke out and he joined the United States Army. Before going off to war, he was stationed at Camp Croft in South Carolina. One day on leave, he rejoined the War Shoals team for a game and struck out 22 batters. By 1943 he had been deployed to Italy, and his unit, the 88th Infantry Division, saw a lot of action and suffered many casualties. After 14 months fighting, in December of 1944, his unit came under heavy artillery fire. At least 12 men were killed in the attack and one explosion went off near Brissie, whose last memory before falling unconscious was of himself half in and half out of water with one foot severely damaged and the other completely missing. He was left for dead and found several hours later, with his left tibia and shinbone shattered into 30 pieces. Doctors informed him the leg would need to be amputated but Brissie persuaded them to try and save it so he could eventually play ball again. He had 23 surgeries and 40 blood transfusions performed over 2 years, reconstructing his leg with wire. Connie Mack heard about the severity of the injury and wrote to Brissie, saying that his duty was to to get well and whenever he was ready to play, Mack would make sure he got the opportunity. “That meant an awful lot to me,” said Brissie. “It was a tremendous motivator.” Eventually, after a year of rehab, he could walk with a cane. In 1945 as Shibe Park, he held a workout for Connie Mack, trying to pitch on crutches. Mack later said, “I’ll never forget how he looked last summer, he had just undergone an operation and was about to undergo another one. He was on crutches and I thought, ‘Poor boy. He’ll never be able to pitch again.’” For another year, he kept rehabbing and pushing through pain to learn how to pitch again. Finally, in 1947, 6 years after he first signed with the A’s, Connie Mack gave him the opportunity he promised. He was sent to A Ball and was amazing, going 23-5 with a 1.91 ERA and 278 strikeouts. After the Minor League season, he was promoted. Against all odds, Lou Brissie made it to the big leagues. In 1948, he went 14-10 with a 4.13 ERA, kicking off a 7 year Major League career. After retirement he confirmed that he pitched through severe pain every game. His career ERA in a respectable 4.17 and there’s no telling how good he would have been had the injury never occurred. But what he did was even more impressive and is #1 on today’s list as the most inspirational comeback in baseball history.

And that does it for today’s article on the most inspirational comebacks in MLB history. There are many others I’m sure I missed so please feel free to share them in the comments section below. Thank you so much for checking out the blog and remember, as Lou Brissie once said, “If someone tells you that you cannot climb the mountain, you set out and find a way to do it.”