MLB Power Rankings: 15 Players That Hear the Boo-Birds the Most
When a baseball team is on a road trip, which players hear boos from the crowd the most? Which players get booed so much their own fans even join in?
Why does a player get booed? Is it simply because of the team they're on or is it just because of the person they are?
Here are the 15 baseball players I believe hear the boos the most when they visit other team's stadiums. I'll also try to explain why I believe these players hear the boo-birds and where they hear them the most.
This list is not in any particular order.
Johnny Cueto
1 of 15
Johnny Cueto gets booed for his attitude and his kicking of Chris Carpenter and Jason LaRue during a brawl. LaRue suffered a concussion and had to retire (one of many concussions he received).
Cueto received a seven game suspension for his actions during the brawl. Cueto said he was just protecting himself during the brawl.
There's always been an etiquette to baseball brawls (mainly just pushing and shoving) and kicking crosses the lines (after all, they wear metal cleats).
Cueto will mainly hear boos in St. Louis but not many fans around the country like this guy.
A.J. Burnett
2 of 15
A.J. Burnett gets booed mainly because he never seems to pitch well, unless there's money to be made. If he's not in a contract year, he's very inconsitent on the mound. He does have some of the best stuff in the game, yet never seems to use it.
Francicso Rodriguez
3 of 15
There are a couple reasons that Francisco Rodriquez gets booed; pick your favorite:
- during the All-Star game in 2008 in Yankee Stadium, he said he should have been the closer instead of Mariano Rivera
- last year he was arrested for fighing his father-in-law in front of kids in the clubhouse
In my opinion, K-Rod is just another example of a player that feels he's better than he actually is and feels he's entitled to more than he actually deserves.
Rodriguez will hear boos everywhere he goes, no one likes this guy, and his own fans can barely stand him.
.png?w=256)
Brandon Phillips
4 of 15
Brandon Phillips is booed for opening his mouth making comments about the Cardinals and about St. Louis and then basically starting a brawl in the first inning of a game.
Another example of a moody player that lets his attitude cause problems.
Like his teammate Johnny Cueto, Phillips will mainly hear the boos in St. Louis, but isn't liked by most baseball fans.
Nyjer Morgan
5 of 15
Nyjer Morgan is another one of the young, cocky players that baseball seems to have more and more of each year.
Baseball fans don't like players that haven't played long enough or well enough to be that cocky.
Baseball fans especially don't like players that throw balls into stands at fans or start brawls because you don't like how you're being pitched after you separate the opposing team's catcher's shoulder the night before.
If Nyjer Morgan doesn't change his attitude, he's going to have a long career of being booed everywhere he goes ahead of him.
Hanley Ramirez
6 of 15
Hanley Ramirez is booed for his attitude. Unlike most of the young, cocky players in this list, Hanley actually has the talent and has proven it on the field.
However, it's Ramirez' lackadaisical attitude that many fans have issue with. He can be very lazy and has no qualms about quitting on a play or calling out his manager.
This is why Hanley is booed everywhere he goes. Baseball fans expect and demand players give 110 percent at all times and when you don't, they let you know.
Carlos Zambrano
7 of 15
Carlos Zambrano gets booed for three reasons:
- he celebrates every strike out like he won the World Series
- he can be very inconsistent; he's a Cy Young candidate one game and the next looks like one of the worst pitchers in the league
- his temper; he's gotten into several fights with teammates
Baseball fans expect a little bit of class from the players and when they celebrate an out in the fourth inning like you would the final out of Game 7 of the World Series, they take issue with it (Zambrano isn't the only one that does this). This is why Big Z gets booed everywhere on the road.
Baseball fans also expect their own players to be very good, all the time. Cubs fans will boo Zambrano because he (like A.J. Burnett or Daisuke Matsusaka), has a problem with consistency. All players have bad stretches during a season, but when you come out and say "I'm going to win the Cy Young", you need to pitch like it game after game. This is why Cubs fan boo him.
Baseball fans want their players to have some fire. But, if that fire is constantly getting you ejected or fighting with teammates, they're not going to like it. This is another reason Cubs fan boo him.
Jonathan Papelbon
8 of 15
Jonathan Papelbon has been one of the better closers in baseball since he entered the league.
However, there are two reasons he gets booed, not only in Yankee Stadium simply for being a member of the Boston Red Sox, but in every stadium including Fenway Park:
- non-Red Sox fans will boo him for celebrating every save like he just got the save in Game 7 of the World Series. As with Carlos Zambrano, fans expect some class from the players and "acting like they've been there before".
- Red Sox fans weren't happy with his "down year" in 2010, especially with Daniel Bard having a much better year. When the set-up man is having a great year and the closer isn't, this will lead to your own fans booing you.
Carlos Gomez
9 of 15
Carlos Gomez, like several other players on this list, has a cocky, arrogant attitude that has yet to be earned on the field.
He's just another player that thinks he's better than he actually is and has no problems letting everyone, including his coaches and teammates know.
You know you're arrogant when even Ron Gardenhire can't get along with you (and why the Twins traded him to the Brewers).
As I've said many times so far, if you're arrogant but don't back it up with your play on the field, no fans will like you.
Jose Reyes
10 of 15
Jose Reyes gets booed by Mets fans because of his attitude and the sheer number of injuries he's suffered.
He also gets booed by other fans simply because of his attitude. While it's not as bad as some of the other players in this list, his celebrating and general cockiness just turn fans off.
Players like Reyes need to find the right level of cockiness that fans like and want to see in their favorite team's players or they risk being booed forever.
A.J. Pierzynski
11 of 15
There is so much for baseball fans to hate about A.J. Pierzynski.
He will do whatever he can to get an advantage, like running to first on a strike three call he thinks bounced first on the hope that the umpire thinks so too.
He is very aggressive. He'll bowl over catchers then get up and slap the plate.
He'll whine about every call.
Ozzie Guillen said it best in 2005 during the White Sox World Series victory parade, "If you play against him, you hate him, if you play with him, you hate him a little less". This sums up every baseball fan's feelings about A.J.
Kevin Youkillis
12 of 15
Kevin Youkillis is one of the most underrated players today in my opinion.
However, his scrappiness, passion and intensity isn't liked by fans around the league.
He also has a temper which has caused problems in the past.
I think Youk gets booed by other fans simply because they wish Youk was on their team and can't stand the fact that he's not. Fans always hate that a visiting player is more intense or passionate than most of their own players.
Derek Jeter
13 of 15
Why does Derek Jeter get booed?
In Boston, it's because he's a New York Yankee and because all their fans think he's highly overrated and over-hyped (personally I believe isn't overrated, but is severely over-hyped).
Jeter gets booed elsewhere mainly because many fans don't like players that are over-hyped. If you think of other over-hyped athletes such as Tim Tebow, the main reason they're hated around the world isn't because of their play on the field but instead because of the way news outlets such as ESPN keep telling us they're the best ever, they're the greatest etc.
Jeter gets booed at home only when he's playing bad. If he doesn't improve over his 2010 season and show he's still worth all that money, the boos at home are only going to get worse. Jeter will go from one of the most beloved Yankees in history to one of the most hated pretty quickly. Yankee fans expect excellence at all times and will let you know when you're not delivering and Jeter hasn't delivered for an eternity to Yankee fans (more than one season ago).
Alex Rodriguez
14 of 15
Being a member of the New York Yankees is the smallest reason ARod gets booed.
Whether it's leaving Seattle to go to the highest bidder or his public persona (which many consider fake) or using steroids (and his bad apology) or his failures in pressure situations (before the 2009 post-season), there's so many reasons Alex gets booed.
If you add in his "bush league" plays like the Arroyo Glove Slap or the "I Got It" play, it just adds fuel to an already blazing inferno.
No matter what Alex does, he just seems to constantly add fuel to that fire. He's the one guy in baseball that will never be able to do anything right, no matter what he does. A fan somewhere will find fault or take exception with it (whether it's deserved or not).
The thing is, Alex brought all this on himself, plain and simple.
Milton Bradley
15 of 15
Milton Bradley is booed everywhere because nothing is ever his fault.
Fans are racists, he doesn't get enough playing time; pick an excuse and Milton's used at it some point in his career for why he plays bad.
Bradley had one good season in his career and earned a huge paycheck because of it but never delivered on the field afterwards.
Bradley is quick to blame everyone he can for his failings, except the one person who's fault it truly is, himself.
Bradley is the epitome of the arrogant player that hasn't done anything to prove he's as good as he thinks and that's the one thing all baseball fans can't stand.
.png?w=480)
