Every MLB Team's Biggest Scandal Ever

Major League Baseball franchises have long and storied histories that have been filled with outstanding moments. However, not everything has been good for baseball teams.

There have been a number of scandals throughout baseball history that have left a black mark on a franchise for a period of time. In some cases it was the players who caused the issued while in other cases it was members of management.

A number of players have been banned from the game for their transgressions and some of them have kept elite players out of the Hall of Fame.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Jason Grimsley signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks prior to the 2006 season and the team was hoping that he could help shore up their bullpen.

Midway through the season, Grimsley's home was raided by Federal agents (h/t Tim Keown of ESPN). It was believed that Grimsley had been distributing HGH to players. He later admitted to using the drugs and he retired after the raid.

Atlanta Braves

Hank Aaron was an outstanding player and he put up some tremendous numbers during his time with the Atlanta Braves organization. However, Aaron did have a little bit of help.

Aaron admitted that he used greenies (also known as amphetamines) during his career (h/t Ken Davidoff of Newsday). These drugs increase focus and decrease fatigue, which gives players a decided advantage.

Baltimore Orioles

Rafael Palmeiro was seemingly on the fast track to Cooperstown after he collected more than 3,000 hits and 500 home runs during his career. Then, it was announced that Palmeiro failed a drug test (h/t Associated Press via ESPN).

This came just a few months after Palmeiro testified in front of Congress that he had never taken steroids. Palmeiro then claimed that the positive test may have been the result of a tainted B12 shot that was given to him by teammate Miguel Tejada (h/t Ben Shpigel of The New York Times).

Boston Red Sox

The scandal involving the Boston Red Sox players eating chicken and drinking beers is not the worst news about their clubhouse recently. There are accusations much worse than that.

A number of men that served as batboys for the Red Sox have claimed that they were sexually abused by Red Sox clubhouse manager Donald J. Fitzpatrick when they were working for the team (h/t Bob Hohler of The Boston Globe).

Chicago Cubs

While everyone that follows baseball knows of the accusations against the Chicago White Sox in regard to throwing the 1919 World Series, the same thing may have happened across town the year before.

There is information that has come out that the Chicago Cubs may have actually thrown the 1918 World Series against the Boston Red Sox (h/t Associated Press via ESPN). A number of plays from the World Series that year hint toward the fact that the series may have been fixed. Outfielder Max Flack was picked off twice in one game and then missed an easy fly ball in another that allowed two Red Sox to score.

Chicago White Sox

Arguably the most famous scandal in baseball history, the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series and as a result, eight members of the team were banned from the majors for life.

Chick Gandil was the ringleader of the Black Sox scandal and he got a number of his teammates in on throwing the series. The group decided to participate because they were angry their owner, Charles Comiskey, was not paying them what they were worth.

"Shoeless" Joe Jackson is the most famous player who was banned following the scandal, but there is now more information that points to his innocence (h/t Skip Hall of The Cleveland Plain Dealer).

Cincinnati Reds

The MLB's all-time hit leader, Pete Rose, is not in the Hall of Fame because of the infamous gambling scandal that he was involved in during his time as manager of the Cincinnati Reds.

Rose originally claimed that he never bet on baseball, but the information in The Dowd Report seemed to prove otherwise (h/t ESPN). Since then, Rose has changed his tune and admitted that he bet on baseball and says that he never bet against the Reds (h/t Associated Press via ESPN).

Cleveland Indians

Joe Harris had shown some promise during the early stages of his career, but had it interrupted when he went to serve his country and fight in World War I. When Harris returned from the war, he joined the Cleveland Indians.

Once the season ended, Harris went to play for an industrial team in Pennsylvania. Both the Indians and the team that he played for in the Franklin City Oil League offered him an identical contract. Harris chose to play with the team in Franklin (h/t Baseball-Reference.com).

At that point, MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned him from the MLB for life. Harris wanted to come back to the majors a few years later so he applied to be reinstated. His lifetime ban was lifted and he joined the Boston Red Sox (h/t Baseball-Reference.com).

Colorado Rockies

Mickey Monus and John Antonucci were responsible for bringing professional baseball to Colorado. They were granted the rights to the franchise that would become the Colorado Rockies in 1991.

The Rockies were set to begin play in 1993 and just a few months before the season began, they were struck with turmoil. Monus was indicted by a federal jury of embezzling $1 billion from his company, Phar-Mor. As a result of the trial, Monus had to sell his stake in the Rockies and was sentenced to approximately 20 years in prison (h/t Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN).

Detroit Tigers

Swede Risberg, one of the players involved in the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, made some interesting claims in 1927 about some games between the White Sox and the Detroit Tigers in 1917. He stated that the White Sox bought four games from the Tigers (h/t Lowell L. Blaisdell via NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture on Project MUSE).

Not only did the Tigers receive a payment for throwing those games, but the White Sox also returned the favor in 1919 by losing three games at the end of the year to help the Tigers increase their chances of finishing in third place (h/t Harold Friend of Yahoo!).

Houston Astros

Jordan Schafer had some issues when he was in the Atlanta Braves farm system. He tested positive for HGH and was suspended for 50 games (h/t Jerry Crasnick of ESPN). The Houston Astros hoped that Schafer's problems were behind him when they acquired him as a part of the trade that sent Michael Bourn to Atlanta.

Schafer was arrested in October of 2011 when he was seen smoking marijuana in his car. When he was pulled over by police, they searched his car and found more than 26 grams of marijuana. As a result, Schafer was arrested on felony marijuana charges (h/t Brian McTaggert of MLB.com).

Kansas City Royals

Many major league baseball franchises have gotten taxpayer money to finance their new stadiums. The Kansas City Royals are one of these teams.

Kevin Kietzman of Sports Radio 810 WHB has reported that the Royals have not used the taxpayer money that they received for renovations as they had intended. He reported that just nine percent of that money has gone to where it was intended to be used and that the Royals even used some of it to pay their own taxes.

Los Angeles Angels

While the Los Angeles Angels have always played in the same stadium since 1966, they have had a number of different names. They have been known as the California Angels, the Anaheim Angels and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. 

The new name sparked a lot of controversy in Anaheim since it appeared likely that people would drop the "of Anaheim" from the name whenever they discussed the team. As a result, the city of Anaheim filed a lawsuit against the team (h/t Mike Scarr of MLB.com). The team won the lawsuit and did not have to change their name back to the Anaheim Angels.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Al Campanis had been the Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager from 1968 until 1987 when things quickly came crashing down. He lost his job as a result of an interview that he gave on Nightline.

The program that evening was about the 40th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's debut. Since Campanis had played with Robinson and was friendly with him, he was brought on the show. When asked about African-Americans in baseball, Campanis made a number of racist remarks which cost him his job (h/t Baseball Reference.com).

Miami Marlins

Ozzie Guillen has always been very outspoken, and the Miami Marlins should have known what they were getting into when they chose him to be their manager. However, Guillen crossed the line in 2012.

Guillen made comments showing his support for Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and as a result was suspended for five games (h/t ESPN). There was a huge backlash from the community after the comments and many Cubans in South Florida were calling for Guillen to be fired (h/t Adam H. Beasley and Alexandra Leon of the Miami Herald).

Milwaukee Brewers

Ryan Braun put up some outstanding numbers for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2011 and he was in a tight race with Matt Kemp for the National League MVP award. Braun would eventually come out on top.

During the offseason, things got a bit tumultuous for Braun. It was announced that the MVP had failed a drug test and people believed that he no longer deserved his award (h/t Doug Glanville of ESPN). The failed drug test was eventually overturned, but that does not mean that everyone believes that he did not fail the test (h/t ESPN).

Minnesota Twins

Billy Martin began his managing career in the Minnesota Twins minor league system and he eventually worked his way up to the big leagues. In 1969, Martin took over as manager of the Twins.

The team was successful that year, but Martin would be fired after the season as the result of an altercation that he had with pitcher Dave Boswell. Boswell got into a fight with teammate Bob Allison and knocked him down. Martin then went after Boswell and knocked him over. The fight resulted in Boswell needing 20 stitches to close the wound (h/t Jim Souhan of The Minnesota Star Tribune).

New York Mets

The New York Mets organization already had issues after the team had blown two consecutive chances at reaching the postseason in the late 2000s, but things got worse after the Bernie Madoff scandal came to light.

It turns out that Mets owner Fred Wilpon had actually made money by investing with Madoff (h/t Ken Benson and Richard Sandomir of The New York Times). The Mets had been using the Madoff money to help finance their team and when that money dried up, the Wilpons were in trouble (Richard Sandomir of The New York Times). The Mets situation got worse in 2011 and they needed an emergency loan from the MLB and Bank of America to help with their finances (h/t John Harper of The New York Daily News).

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees signed Dave Winfield to a massive 10-year, $23-million contract after the 1980 season and they expected him to become a star for their team. Winfield eventually began to struggle and George Steinbrenner got frustrated with the lack of production.

Things got worse when in 1990 Winfield accused the Yankees of not donating $300,000 to his charity like they were supposed to according to his contract (h/t Dave Anderson of The New York Times). Steinbrenner had decided that he had enough and hired gambler Howie Spira to try to find some dirt on Winfield. As a result of this charade, Steinbrenner was permanently banned from day-to-day operations for the Yankees, but the ban only lasted for a year (h/t Michael O'Keeffe of The New York Daily News).

Oakland Athletics

The Philadelphia Athletics absolutely dominated the American League in 1914 and they took home the pennant. As a result of this, the were heavily favored in the World Series against the Boston Braves.

It surprised many when the Athletics were swept. There has been speculation that the Athletics players did not give it 100 percent during the World Series because they were angry at Connie Mack (h/t Bruce Kuklick). Fueling the idea that the series was rigged was the fact that gambler Sport Sullivan placed bets for George M. Cohen for the Braves. The reason that this hints to a fix is that Sullivan placed bets for Cohen against the White Sox in the 1919 World Series (h/t Bruce Kuklick).

Philadelphia Phillies

William D. Cox was the youngest owner in MLB history when he took over the Philadelphia Phillies at age 33 in 1942. Cox's tenure as the owner of the Phillies did not last long.

In 1943, Cox was accused of betting on the Phillies. He initially denied the accusations but eventually admitted to betting on the team (h/t Robert Thomas of The New York Times). This was not the only issue that Cox had with gambling, as he had previously been involved in horse racing. Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis decided to ban Cox for life as a result of his admission.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The 1980s were really marred by the Pittsburgh Drug Trials. A number of members of the Pittsburgh Pirates had been accused of using cocaine and that it was available in the team's stadium (h/t Ron Cook of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).

These issues were not only limited to the players. Pittsburgh's mascot was also involved in the scandal. Eleven players were suspended by Commissioner Peter Ueberroth after the trial's verdict was read, but they reached agreements to shorten their suspensions (h/t Baseball-Reference.com).

San Diego Padres

After joining the San Diego Padres in 1995, Ken Caminiti began to improve his production. He turned into an All-Star and won the National League MVP award in 1996 when he put up a .326/.408/.621 line with 40 home runs.

Caminiti would later admit that he used steroids during his career, including his MVP season (h/t ESPN). The power numbers would continue for Caminiti, as he would hit more than 25 home runs in each of the next two seasons following his MVP year.

San Francisco Giants

The Steroid Era left an indelible mark on baseball history and no one player was more closely associated with this era than Barry Bonds. He was the poster child of the Steroid Era.

Bonds became entangled in the BALCO case after he admitted to using both the Cream and the Clear (h/t Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada of The San Francisco Chronicle). When Bonds set the single-season and all-time home run marks, the steroid scandal surrounding him seemed to get even bigger.

Seattle Mariners

Greg Halman was a promising prospect in the Seattle Mariners system when his life and baseball career were tragically cut short.

Halman went to his home country of the Netherlands following the 2011 season to relax. While he was there, he was stabbed and killed by his brother (h/t Andrew Keh of The New York Times).

St. Louis Cardinals

Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa captivated baseball fans around the globe as they pursued Roger Maris' single-season home run record in 1998. That summer helped bring a number of fans back to baseball.

After a game, a reported noticed a bottle in McGwire's locker and asked him what it was. McGwire said that it was andro (androstenedione) (h/t ESPN). The drug was not outlawed in baseball at the time, but it fueled speculation that McGwire did steroids. He would eventually go on to admit that he did use steroids during that season (h/t ESPN).

Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays began play in 1998, but they could have been a major-league franchise years earlier. In 1992, the San Francisco Giants were all set to move to St. Petersburg.

This marked a rare occasion when the major-league owners prevented a team from moving. It was the seventh failed attempt to get a team to St. Petersburg (h/t Murray Chass of The New York Times). The Tampa Bay investors tried to file a lawsuit, but they were not able to bring the team to Florida.

Texas Rangers

Jose Canseco had a long career and was a member of a number of different franchises. One of his most memorable stints was with the Texas Rangers. Canseco admitted to steroid use during his career, but that was not his big scandal (h/t Mike Fish of ESPN).

After his playing career ended, Canseco put out two books, Juiced and Vindicated, which helped shine a bright light on the issue of steroids in the major leagues. Needless to say, Canseco's books created controversy for the MLB.

Toronto Blue Jays

There are certainly times that players and managers disagree, but they are often able to settle their differences. This was not the case for Shea Hillenbrand and John Gibbons.

Hillenbrand was angry at Gibbons for a few issues, including lack of playing time and the fact that he did not congratulate Hillenbrand on the birth of his daughter. Things only got worse when Hillenbrand wrote a message on the team's white board comparing the team to a sinking ship. After that, Gibbons challenged Hillenbrand to a fight, but cooler heads prevailed (h/t ESPN).

Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals have not been in the nation's capital for too long, but they have already been embroiled in a scandal that costs members of the organization their jobs.

Jim Bowden lost his job as the general manager of the Nationals after it came to light that members of the Nationals staff had been taking money off the top of bonuses that went to a number of Dominican players (h/t Joshua Robinson and Michael S. Schmidt of The New York Times).