MLB: The Biggest Thugs in Baseball History

Baseball has given us some iconic figures through the years, as some of the most revered athletes of all-time have made their mark on the diamond.

On the other side of things, there have also been some baseball players that the sport and its fans would love to forget. While there will always be players with prickly personalities, some players have gone beyond just a bad personality to the point that they are as much criminal as they are athlete.

So here is a look at the 20 biggest thugs in baseball history—players who at one point or another got themselves into some serious trouble.

Julio Castillo

Signed out of the Dominican Republic at the age of 17, Julio Castillo was in his fourth pro season in 2008 and was putting together a good season with a 1.58 ERA over 40 innings of work.

On July 24, he got into a heated argument with the opposing Dayton Dragons manager; in the end, he threw a baseball at the Dayton dugout in anger.

However, he missed the dugout and hit a fan in the stands, knocking him out in the process. He was arrested, held on $50,000 bond and eventually sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years probation. He has not pitched since.

Byron McLaughlin

A reliever who spent four years with the Mariners and one with the Angels, Byron McLaughlin had an unimpressive career highlighted by a 14-save season in 1979.

Once retired though, he made a career of manufacturing and selling counterfeit shoes. While that may sound like a laughable offense, he worked with Korean businessmen to make roughly 80,000 pairs of shoes and $750,000 a month.

He pled guilty to money laundering charges but fled before being sentenced, and his whereabouts are currently unknown.

Albert Belle

With a career line of .295 BA, 381 HR, 1,239 RBI, Albert Belle put together quite a career in his 12 years in the league. He led the league in HRs once and RBI three times as he was a five-time All-Star.

However, he made more than a few enemies during his career, as he was unpleasant to everyone around him and had a number of run-ins with players and fans alike.

He fought a fan in the stands who was heckling him, threw a baseball at and struck another fan who was taunting him, got suspended for using a corked bat and then sent a teammate's through the ceiling to retrieve the bat and knocked down Brewers second baseman Fernando Vina while running the bases.

Off the field, he chased down a group of kids throwing eggs at his house on Halloween and struck one with his car and was arrested in for stalking a women in 2006. Quite a list of indiscretions, and it is not hard to see why Belle did not garner more Hall of Fame support despite his resume.

Ty Cobb

With a MLB record .366 career batting average, 11 batting titles and 4,189 hits to his credit, Ty Cobb is certainly in the conversation as the greatest hitter in baseball history.

However, he is also one of the meanest and dirtiest players to ever play the game. He lived and breathed baseball and was willing to do whatever it took to win a game—but he often took it too far.

From sharpening his spikes to fighting a heckling fan, Cobb was downright nasty. And while he was one of the best, his win-at-all-cost attitude and prickly personality did little to endear himself to fans and fellow players alike.

Ben Christensen

A first-round pick by the Chicago Cubs in the 1999 MLB draft, Ben Christensen put together a 20-1 record in his college career at Wichita State.

Facing Evansville in a late-season game, third baseman Anthony Molina stepped into the on-deck circle, and Christensen noticed Molina was timing his pitches while he warmed up. In what can only be described as "horrible," Christensen uncorked a warm-up pitch right at Molina, who turned and caught it in the left eye.

His eye was crushed, and he needed 23 stitches to close the injury. Christensen defended himself by saying pitching coach Brent Kemnitz had taught his pitchers to throw near batters who attempted to time them. The two settled out of court, but Molina would never play again.

Milton Bradley

No doubt a talented hitter, Milton Bradley struggled to stay in one place throughout his career because, to put it bluntly, he is the definition of a clubhouse cancer.

He spent his 12-year career repeatedly being ejected from games, threw a beer bottle back at a fan who threw one at him, tossed bucket of balls onto the field after being ejected, was asked to leave the Cubs team a month before the season ended and tore his ACL while on the Padres as his coach tried to hold him back from arguing with an umpire.

Then this past year, he was arrested when he made threats against his wife; while they decided to settle outside of court, she has since filed for divorce.

Ricardo Jordan

An unlikely big-league candidate after being drafted in the 37th round of the 1990 draft, Ricardo Jordan worked his way through the minor leagues and reached the major leagues in 1995.

He pitched in the majors for four seasons, with four different teams appearing in 69 games and posting a 5.25 ERA. He retired from professional baseball following the 2002 season.

After his retirement, he became heavily involved in drugs. In 2007, he was arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison for drug trafficking.

Alex Cole

Little more than a fourth outfielder during his seven-year career, Alex Cole played seven seasons for five different teams. His biggest asset was his speed, as he stole 148 bases in his career and topped the 30 mark twice in his career.

After he retired, he fell into the world of drugs. In 2001, he was arrested on possession of heroin with intent to distribute when he was caught attempting to sell a kilo of the drug to undercover cops. He and four other men were arrested and charged, and in the end Cole served 18 months in prison.

Willie Aikens

Willie Aikens spent eight seasons in the big leagues, with his best season coming in 1980 with the Royals. After posting a .278 BA, 20 HR, 98 RBI line in the regular season, he had a .400 BA, 4 HR, 8 RBI line in the World Series although the Royals fell short in six games.

Aikens retired following the 1985 season, but he quickly ran into legal troubles. An admitted cocaine user, Aikens was caught by an undercover cop in 1994 after selling a total of 2.2 ounces of crack cocaine to her.

With harsher sentencing for crack cocaine, Aikens was sentenced to the maximum 15 years and eight months and had another five years tacked on for possession of a loaded gun.

Carl Everett

Over his 14-year career, Carl Everett put together a line of .271 BA, 202 HR, 792 RBI as he was a two-time All-Star.

Always outspoken about his beliefs, Everett claimed that there was no such thing as dinosaurs and called fossils man-made fakes. He also claimed the Moon landing was a hoax. Perhaps most controversial, though, were his repeated homophobic remarks.

While all of those things made him one of the most hated players in the league, it was not until he retired that he took it to the next level. Earlier this year, he was arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after holding a gun to the head of his wife of 18 years.

Denny McLain

The last 30-game winner in baseball history, Denny McLain won 131 games over his 10-year big league career, most of which was spent with the Tigers.

However, his off-the-field issues may have gotten more headlines than his in-game exploits, as he racked up a laundry list of legal troubles.

During his playing career, he got caught up in gambling on horses, threw a bucket of water at two reporters and violated his probation by carrying a gun. He suffered a foot injury, reportedly after someone he owed money to stomped on it.

Once he retired, he put on a tremendous amount of weight and got involved in the drug game. He was eventually caught and arrested on charges of drug trafficking, embezzlement and racketeering, and he was sentenced to 12 years in prion but released on a plea bargain after two years.

Then, in 1994 he was arrested again after his packing company went bankrupt as he was brought in on charges of embezzlement, mail fraud and conspiracy as he stole roughly $2.5 million from his employees pension fund.

Mel Hall

A journeyman outfielder who played 13 seasons for four different teams, the biggest accomplishment of Mel Hall's playing career may have been his involvement in the trade that sent Rick Sutcliffe to the Cubs in 1984.

Following his retirement, Hall two different women accused him of sexual assault in 2007. Making matters worse, the women who accused him were 17 and 12 at the time of the assault.

He was convicted on three counts of aggravated sexual assault and two counts of indecency with a child and sentenced to was sentenced to 45 years in prison. He is not eligible for parole until he has served 22 years and four months.

Jim Mahady

A career minor leaguer who appeared in just one game in 1921, Jim Mahady was out of baseball at the age of 27 following the 1928 season.

Two years later, he was charged with second-degree manslaughter when he struck and killed a women with his car while intoxicated. He was sentenced to serve six years in prison, but he was released after just three when he was commuted by the New York governor.

Ugueth Urbina

A two-time All-Star closer, Ugueth Urbina tallied 237 career saves over his 11-year career pitching for six different teams. He served as the Marlins closer in 2003 when the team won the World Series.

After the then 31-year-old finished pitching the 2005 season with the Phillies he returned home to Venezuela and on November 7th, 2005 he was arrested for attempted murder. After accusing five workers on his farm of stealing a gun from him, he went after them with a machete and attempted to pour gasoline on them.

In 2007, he was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 14 years and seven months in prison, effectively ending his baseball career.

Hiroshi Ogawa

A retired pitcher who played for the Chiba Lotte Mariners of the Japanese League, Hiroshi Ogawa found himself in a good deal of debt following his playing career.

At the age of 43, Ogawa went to the house of the chairman of the industrial waste plant that he worked for and demanded money from the housekeeper.

When she refused, he knocked her to the ground, leaving her unconscious. He then stole $1.75 million yen (roughly $22,000) from the house before driving the housekeeper to a lake and dumping her body in it.

He was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.