20 Biggest Phonies in Major League Baseball History

Every so often, players make their debut in Major League Baseball, and while on the surface they look like innocent young men trying to make their mark on the sport that they love, in some cases it’s just a mask.

Now, the word "phony" can describe a variety of players. There are players who proved to be phonies through the illicit use of performance enhancing substances, and there are also the phonies who adopt some type of a persona to make themselves appear more intimidating than they really are, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

With this particular article, we are going to take a look at both types of phony ballplayers, both the good and the bad.

Here then are the 20 biggest phonies in baseball history.

20. Carl Pavano

Now you might wonder why current Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Carl Pavano would have made this list. Well, New York Yankees would certainly be happy to tell you why.

Pavano, coming off a year for the Florida Marlins in which he posted a record of 18-8 with a 3.00 ERA in 2004, was given a four-year, $39.95 million contract by the Yankees.

Pavano started off okay in 2005, posting seven quality starts in his first 10 starting appearances. However, Pavano injured his shoulder in June of that year, never winning another game. For the following three seasons, Pavano suffered a rash of injuries, including breaking two ribs in an auto accident that he failed to inform the Yankees about.

All told, in Pavano’s four seasons in New York, he won a total of nine games while making only 26 starts, and his Yankees teammates constantly questioned his work ethic.

19. Lenny Dykstra

In an article I published on Wednesday, former New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Lenny Dykstra was mentioned as one of the all-time nuttiest personalities in MLB history. However, as Dykstra got older, turns out he was also one of the phoniest as well.

This excerpt should give you an idea of why Dykstra made this list as well.

Dykstra was also cited for racist comments in 2009, when he owned The Players Club magazine. Dykstra was quoted as saying, "Nobody can call me a racist: I put three darkies and a b---h on my first four covers." The first four Players Club magazine covers featured Derek Jeter, Chris Paul, Tiger Woods and Danica Patrick.

"What was that, Lenny?" former photo editor Kevin Coughlin asked into the phone. "I said I put three spearchuckers on the cover!" he said Dykstra replied.

But apparently, it was okay when former teammates Darryl Strawberry, Mookie Wilson and Doc Gooden helped Dykstra win the World Series in 1986.

18. John McGraw

When John McGraw was a player between 1891-1906, he earned the nickname Little Napoleon for two reasons—his small stature (McGraw was 5’7” and weighed just 155 lbs.) and for his attempts at bullying players.

McGraw used all kinds of different tactics (today, we would call it cheating) in order to win a game. McGraw was not beneath trying to trip baserunners or to hold them up by grabbing their belts from behind.

McGraw was also implicated in a bribery scandal in 1908 while managing the New York Giants, but he was never investigated or charged in the incident.

17. Pete Rose

Say what you want about Pete Rose, he could absolutely play the game of baseball. His 4,256 total hits may never be topped, nor his total games played mark (3,562).

However, when Rose was banned from baseball for gambling on baseball games, including games he was involved with, Rose continued vehemently denying the charges for a full 14 years after he agreed to a lifetime ban. In 2004, he finally revealed that he had indeed bet on baseball games, including games involving the Cincinnati Reds.

Rose clearly only made the admission for two reasons—to promote the book he had just published, and to try to smooth his way back into baseball so that he could finally get into the Hall of Fame.

16. Rafael Palmeiro

First baseman/designated hitter Rafael Palmeiro makes this list, actually, for two reasons.

First, he was awarded a Gold Glove Award in 1999, despite the fact that he had only played 28 games at first base that season, making it one of the most controversial award decisions in MLB history. The rest of his games played were as a designated hitter for the Texas Rangers.

The second reason, was for his completely phony denial made in front of Congress. On March 17, 2005, Palmeiro stepped in front of a Congressional hearing regarding the use of steroids in baseball and said emphatically, "Let me start by telling you this: I have never used steroids, period. I don't know how to say it any more clearly than that. Never."

Just four months later, Palmeiro was suspended for 10 days after testing positive for a banned substance that Major League Baseball deemed as “serious.”

Despite the fact that Palmeiro is one of only four players in history to hit 500 home runs and collect 3,000 hits, he only garnered 11 percent of votes from eligible Hall of Fame writers in 2010. A minimum of 75 percent is required for induction.

15. Ken Caminiti

When San Diego Padres third baseman Ken Caminiti won the National League Most Valuable Player award in 1996, he was a unanimous selection, having hit .326 with 40 HR and 130 RBI.

However, in a 2002 interview with Sports Illustrated magazine, Caminiti admitted he had used steroids for most of his career, including during his 1996 MVP season.

14. Albert Belle

When surly slugger Albert Belle signed a five-year, $55 million contract with the Chicago White Sox in December 1996, it included a clause that guaranteed that Belle would always be one of the three highest paid players in baseball through the life of his contract. He invoked that clause following the 1998 season. When the White Sox refused to give Belle a raise, he again became a free agent.

In December 1998, Belle signed a five-year, $65 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles, again becoming one of the highest paid players in baseball. However, after two seasons, Belle was forced to retire due to a degenerative hip condition.

Baltimore had to keep Belle on their 40-man roster for the next three seasons in order to collect money from an insurance policy used to pay back most of the remaining money on Belle’s salary.

13. John Rocker

Atlanta Braves closer John Rocker was also mentioned in my article on Wednesday about MLB’s nuttiest personalities. However, he too makes this list for his atrocious statements and complete phoniness.

Here is an excerpt from that article that clearly qualifies him for this list:

"

Rocker sat down with Sports Illustrated for a candid interview, and Sports Illustrated got a whole lot more than candid comments from Rocker. When asked whether he would ever play in New York, Rocker did not hold back.

"I would retire first. It's the most hectic, nerve-racking city. Imagine having to take the [Number] 7 train to the ballpark, looking like you're [riding through] Beirut next to some kid with purple hair next to some queer with AIDS right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It's depressing." 

On New York City itself: "The biggest thing I don't like about New York are the foreigners. I'm not a very big fan of foreigners. You can walk an entire block in Times Square and not hear anybody speaking English. Asians and Koreans and Vietnamese and Indians and Russians and Spanish people and everything up there. How the hell did they get in this country?" 

"

12. Dizzy Dean

People may look at the great Dizzy Dean on this list and think to themselves, “Why is Dizzy Dean a phony?”

In this particular case, Dean was phony in a good way.

Dean was considered of the biggest braggers in baseball. In 1934, Dean boldly predicted that he and his brother Paul would win 45 games combined. Later that year in a doubleheader, Dean threw a three-hit shutout in the first game, and his brother Paul outdid him by throwing a no-hitter in the second game.

After the game, during which Dizzy won his 27th and Paul his 18th, matching Dizzy's prediction, he said, "Gee, Paul, if I'd a-known you was gonna throw a no-hitter, I'd a-thrown one, too!"

But behind the scenes, Dean was one of the most approachable players in the game as well, and he was a fierce competitor who wanted nothing but to see his team win world championships.

11. Brian Wilson

We’ve all heard about the “Fear the Beard” phrase regarding San Francisco Giants closer Brian Wilson, and of course the world has now seen the off-beat personality that Wilson has played up to the hilt.

However, he is also one of the game’s best closers, and it’s clear that he has been having fun with all of the facial hair hoopla and zany personality, and using it to his advantage.

10. Mark McGwire

At the same congressional hearing attended by Rafael Palmeiro in March 2005, slugger Mark McGwire steadfastly refused to talk about the past regarding his use, or non-use, of performance enhancing drugs.

In January 2010, McGwire finally admitted to using performance enhancing drugs during his career, going as far back as 1989, and he admitted using them throughout the 1990s, including the 1998 season when he broke Roger Maris’ single-season home-run record.

Let’s face it, the ONLY reason he admitted it was to get back into coaching with the St. Louis Cardinals alongside his friend and staunch supporter, Tony LaRussa.

9. Sammy Sosa

Sammy Sosa was another player who “testified” at the congressional hearings in March 2005. Sosa said during the hearing that, "I have never injected myself or had anyone inject me with anything. I have not broken the laws of the United States or the laws of the Dominican Republic. I have been tested as recently as 2004, and I am clean."

Sosa said those words through his attorney, apparently because Sosa’s English wasn’t good enough.

Funny, Sosa always seemed to have a pretty good command of the English language every time I heard him being interviewed.

8. Al Hrabosky

When reliever Al Hrabosky broke into the majors with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1970, he was a clean-shaven, normal looking athlete.

Within short order, Hrabosky enhanced his image by growing long hair and a fierce-looking Fu Manchu mustache. Hrabosky also developed a routine of turning his back to the batter before each pitch, walking behind the mound and furiously pounding his mitt before walking back onto the mound and facing the hitter.

Phony act? Absolutely, but it worked.

7. Babe Ruth

No doubt there will be people who will wonder why the Sultan of Swat is mentioned on this list. As we stated in the introductory slide, this list is about phony in a bad and a good way. And Babe Ruth was certainly phony in a good way.

Ruth became the face of baseball, not just because he could hit monstrous home runs, but also because he was viewed as a marketing tool by ad executives keen on getting his face on their products.

Ruth not only advertised several products, but was also featured on quite a few Movie-fone clips—the short preview clips that were often played in movie theaters before the main attraction.

Ruth happily took on the challenge of becoming the face of baseball, and his character was perfect for the part.

6. Reggie Jackson

Another example of a good kind of phony, slugger Reggie Jackson energized baseball just by his actions and his mouth. Jackson was much like Dizzy Dean, in that he was a bragger but was able to successfully back it up.

Once saying, “I’m the straw that stirs the drink,” in reference to his days with the New York Yankees, Jackson wanted to be the go-to presence, wherever he played.

5. Manny Ramirez

After April 6, 2011, no one had to hear any more of that Manny-being-Manny nonsense.

After being named as one of 104 players who had tested positive for performance enhancing drugs during the 2003 season, Manny skated free for six years, since MLB didn’t have an enforcement policy for banned substances that season. However, in 2009, Ramirez was hit with a 50-game suspension after testing positive for a banned substance, which turned out to be woman’s fertility drug, designed to mask the use of steroids.

On April 6, 2011, Manny suddenly and inexplicably announced his retirement from baseball after playing only five games for the Tampa Bay Rays. Turns out that Manny was about to get bagged once again by MLB for testing positive once again for performance enhancing drugs. Rather than face his punishment like a man, Manny walked away from the game.

4. Alex Rodriguez

A-Fraud, Stray-Rod, A-Roid—those are just some of the names that have been created for New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez over the years, and for a variety of reasons.

Rodriguez was one of the 104 players who allegedly tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003, but escaped punishment because of the lack of an enforcement policy by MLB at the time.

In 2007, while the World Series was being played by the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies, Rodriguez stole the spotlight when he announced during the eighth inning of Game 4 that he was opting out of his current contract with the Yankees.

His agent at the time, Scott Boras, was the one who made the announcement, but it clearly went back to A-Rod not handling the announcement properly, and with better timing.

3. Roger Clemens

When Roger Clemens signed with the New York Yankees in 1999, he had already punched his ticket to the Hall of Fame, with five Cy Young Awards to his credit, five 20-win seasons and five times leading the American League in strikeouts.

By the time Clemens’ career had ended eight years later and was starting to enjoy retirement, he was mired in controversy. After being named in the Mitchell Report on quite a few occasions as a player who used performance enhancing drugs, Clemens vehemently denied that he had ever knowingly used PEDs of any kind, despite testimony by his personal trainer, Brain McNamee, and supporting statements made by friend and former teammate Andy Pettitte.

2. Jose Canseco

When former slugger Jose Canseco released his autobiography Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big in 2005, he essentially admitted that his entire baseball career was a sham due to his constant use of performance enhancing drugs throughout his career.

Not only did Canseco out himself, he outed several former players and teammates, including Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Jason Giambi, Iván Rodríguez and Juan González.

Canseco wasn’t going down alone; he made sure he tried to take down as many other players as he could along with him.

1. Barry Bonds

Barry Bonds was the clear winner in terms of phoniness. And we judge his phoniness not just on the basis of his “alleged” use of steroids and performance enhancing drugs, but also for his surly demeanor and better-than-thou attitude that he carried throughout his career.

Bonds was considered the ultimate jerk when it came to his attitude around the clubhouse and with his relationship with the media, or non-relationship, that is.

When he is eligible for the Hall of Fame in just a couple of years, the world will see if the HOF voters feel the same about  Bonds’ phoniness.

Doug Mead is a featured columnist with Bleacher Report. His work has been featured on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, SF Gate, CBS Sports, the Los Angeles Times and the Houston Chronicle. Follow Doug on Twitter, @Sports_A_Holic.