25 Biggest Attention-Seekers in Baseball

In baseball, and any sport for that matter, you're going to have your attention whores.  No matter how you look at it, some players out there are going to want to just focus on the game while others are all about the spotlight.

Take Manny Ramirez, for example.  He's easily one of the most threatening hitters of all time, but his legacy will be defined by his volatile personality known as "Manny Being Manny" and known PED use rather than his winning two World Series rings and one World Series MVP award.

Of course, Manny Ramirez is not the only one in baseball history who has made a career out of being a complete attention seeker.

Here, in no particular order, are the 25 biggest ones in MLB history.

Logan Morrison

Logan Morrison has become a legend in his own right by way of his infamous Twitter account.  He's a notorious joker, and rumor has it that this account has gotten him in trouble with his Miami Marlins.

I'll admit that the guy makes me laugh, but the shocking attitude is getting a bit tired.  Saying crazy stuff on Twitter is one thing, but making a joke audition tape for MLB Fan Cave is just way too much.

Joba Chamberlain

Joba Chamberlain plays on my beloved New York Yankees, but I can see why his post-strikeout fist pump ticks some people off.  It's showboating in the worst way, and as someone who considers himself an old-school baseball mind, I consider it almost offensive.

Still, it's pretty awesome if it happens late in a close game against the Boston Red Sox.

Robin Ventura

There are many ways to keep yourself occupied during a rain delay, especially as a player.  You can chill in the dugout, lounge in the clubhouse, etc...

Yet, if you're former New York Mets third baseman and current Chicago White Sox manager Robin Ventura, you put your attention-seeking helmet on and completely ham it up for the fans, dressing as teammate Mike Piazza and using the tarp as a Slip-N-Slide!

It's definitely showboating but also funny as hell.

Roger Clemens

Forget the possible steroid use and the combative way he's handled the situation.  Roger Clemens has earned his attention-seeking stripes by coming out of retirement three or four times.

The icing on the cake?  The way he announced his return to the New York Yankees in May 2007.  Check out the video to the left.

Cecil Fielder

Recently, Cecil Fielder has been talking a lot about his son Prince, from whom he was estranged for many years.  The former power hitter has gone on record saying he was "disappointed" in his son and his actions in recent years.

Call me crazy, but Fielder just sounds like a bitter ex-player whose career ended prematurely.  Instead of accepting the fact that his horrific conditioning kept him from lasting longer in the majors, he's now got a reputation as a borderline fame whore who could also have major gambling problems.

At this point, it seems like he just says things so he'll stir up controversy and find his name in the news.

Babe Ruth

I love hearing stories about Babe Ruth and have a ton of respect for him, but let's be honest.  Nobody poses for a picture like this one without hoping it will turn a few heads.

Joe Charboneau

There are only three words to describe Joe Charboneau: stone cold crazy.  Here's a guy who dyed his hair crazy colors, Rodman style, opened beers with his eye socket, drank said beer with a straw through his nose and apparently did his own dental work.

I'm sorry, but nobody does that because they enjoy it.  They do it to get a rise out of people and in the case of "Super Joe," he certainly achieved that goal.

Bill "Spaceman" Lee

Um...do I really need to explain this one?  Look at the nickname, then look at the picture, then take into account the fact that Lee actually agreed to have this picture shown to the public.

Attention-whoring for the win!

Billy Martin

Billy Martin wasn't so much attention-seeking as he was brutally honest.  Still, he made outspoken statements to the press regularly, almost encouraging team management to reprimand him.  Sure enough, he was hired and fired by the New York Yankees five times.

Seeing as how he never changed his ways, the attention-seeking behavior speaks for itself.

Ryan Braun

I love watching Ryan Braun play, but the way he's handled the aftermath of his victorious appeal is kind of shady.  For those out of the loop, Braun tested positive for PEDs during the offseason and was facing a 50-game suspension.  Instead, he appealed the decision on grounds that his urine sample was not handled properly and subsequently won.

While other players in his situation (hard to say since he's the first) would have just taken the decision, said thank you and been done with it, Braun didn't take that road.  He instead took a different approach and held a press conference that basically criticized MLB's drug testing system, which in my eyes looks like him giving the middle finger to Bud Selig.

That's the worst kind of attention-seeking, and if Braun keeps it up, I might just have to get rid of his jersey.

Barry Bonds

First Barry Bonds allegedly juices during his career, and then he adds to his already tarnished image by showboating following a milestone home run.  I understand it was a big moment in his career, but did he really have to ham it up and watch the ball leave the yard?

That's just bad sportsmanship, but Bonds didn't seem to care because the spotlight was all on him again.

A.J. Pierzynski

A.J. Pierzynski is someone whose work ethic you can't help but admire, but his personality is...well, unpredictable.  I mean, come on.  Who appears on Monday Night Raw and doesn't want to get all the attention?

Rickey Henderson

I have no clue how to explain Rickey Henderson.  He is the all-time leader in stolen bases, but the Hall-of-Famer is better known for regularly speaking in the third person and his overall outspoken attitude.

I'm sorry, but you don't speak in the third person without wanting to draw attention to yourself.  Just ask Bob Dole.

Ozzie Guillen

Like Billy Martin, Ozzie Guillen is more brutally honest than he is an attention-seeker.  Still, with some of the things he's said, it's clear that he gets a bit of a kick out of stirring the stew a little bit.

Derek Jeter

I love Derek Jeter, but the guy has more endorsements that I can count.  I understand that he's marketable and has the charisma to sell products, but it's getting kind of crazy with all the commercials he does.

Still, they're fun to watch and for your enjoyment, I've picked one of my favorites.

Curt Schilling

Curt Schilling is easily one of the most dominant pitchers to ever play the game, but his love for the spotlight gets a bit annoying.  First, he turns heads with his outspoken political views.  I understand that one is entitled to their own opinion and I love how passionate he is about it, but I staunchly believe that politics and baseball don't mix.

Second, the bloody sock story.  OK, Curt.  We get it.  You pitched a game with a bad ankle and won, but there's no need to still celebrate it nearly 10 years later.

On top of that, the video game talk.  You have a job with ESPN as an analyst, but you're also going around discussing your passion for video games.  Pick a trail, buddy, and stop hogging the spotlight!

Jonathan Papelbon

Um....OK?  I always thought Jonathan Papelbon was a nut, but this little dance he does here just cements his status as Mr. Spotlight Whore 2007, when this video was taken.

At this point, I'm not sure I can ever listen to Dropkick Murphys again.

Bryce Harper

Oh, Bryce Harper.  You're so good, but you don't know the first thing about knowing your place as a rookie.  I'll admit, I thought that this kiss-blowing incident was kind of funny, but you were only 18 years old at the time.

At this stage in your career, especially when you were only playing A-level ball, the cocky attitude and attention-seeking just isn't going to help your potentially awesome legacy.

Jose Canseco

Jose Canseco's post-MLB career is just a laundry list of attention-seeking.  First, he wrote the book that pretty much started the crackdown on steroid use in the game.  That, I can deal with.

Then, he appeared on the crazy VH1 reality show, The Surreal Life.  Again, I can deal with that but am saddened that I can't find video footage of it to share with you.

But pursuing a mixed martial arts career and facing 7'2" Hong Man Choi in your debut fight?  That just has publicity stunt written all over it.

Oh, and for those who are wondering, Canseco lost by TKO 1 minute and 15 seconds into Round 1.  Check out the video!  It's hilarious.

Reggie Jackson

Had I been alive during the prime of his career, I'm sure that Reggie Jackson would have been one of my favorite players.  He was a great outfielder with an electrifying bat, and his quirky personality was kind of fun.

However, I won't shy away from the fact that the man dubbed "Mr. October" loved the spotlight.  He had more endorsements and appeared in more commercials than any other ballplayer of his time.

His spotlight attitude actually got him in trouble when he first joined the New York Yankees in 1977, when he supposedly said in an interview, "I'm the straw that stirs the drink.  Munson can only stir it bad."

Munson, of course, was beloved Yankee catcher Thurman Munson, who had won the AL MVP Award the previous season as the team reached the World Series for the first time since 1964.

Jackson was a great player overall, but his spotlight hogging kept him from being on another level of greatness for sure.

Nyjer Morgan

When it comes time to draft for fantasy baseball this year, I really don't know who I'll be drafting should I pick this guy.  Will my outfielder be Nyjer Morgan or his quirky, spotlight-loving alter-ego, Tony Plush?

Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez has been the highest-paid player in baseball since 2001 and is due to make $32 million in 2012.  He doesn't need to do commercials, and yet here he is dancing around in his boxers and playing guitar hero with some other equally-rich pro athletes.  The spotlight whoring here is off the charts!

Oh, and let's not forget how he famously opted out of his 10-year, $252 million deal during Game 4 of the 2007 World Series.  To take away from the Red Sox winning their second title in four years with an announcement of free agency is attention-seeking in one of the worst possible ways, and A-Rod is guilty as charged here.

Manny Ramirez

I don't really understand how "Manny Being Manny" lasted so long.  Were I the manager of his team and I caught him doing any of the stuff he pulled, from faking an injury to going inside the outfield wall during a pitching change and using his cell phone, I'd have suspended him immediately.

Yet Ramirez and his attention-loving, dread-locked head made an Olympic sport out of being a head case, and he took home the gold repeatedly.  He's now playing for the Oakland A's as a washed-up PED user, so I guess we're about to find out just how much "Manny Being Manny" he has left in him.

Pete Rose

Right now, I kind of feel sorry for Pete Rose.  He's easily one of the greatest contact hitters in baseball history and the all-time leader in career hits, and he isn't in the Hall of Fame because of a lifetime ban from the game, stemming from betting on baseball.

On top of that, he has even admitted to his wrongdoings, and still hasn't been enshrined in Cooperstown.  That probably stems from the fact that his primary admission came in a book he wrote that was released on the same day as the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, essentially taking the spotlight away from those being honored.

Pete, I love you, but that was just plain stupid and attention-whorish of you.

Brian Wilson

Ever since becoming a household name thanks to an interview with Jim Rome in 2010, Brian Wilson has become known for three things: his quirky personality, his ginormous beard, and his scary mohawk.  The best part about it all is that Wilson knows he's completely out of this world, and he has embraced it fully.

I mean, come on.  Who shows up on Lopez Tonight dressed like a sea captain (complete with pipe) and at the ESPYs in a spandex tuxedo?  No matter how you look at it, Brian Wilson is an attention-seeker, and I absolutely love it.