10 Most Embarrassing Major League Baseball Sound Bites

Less than a week after the conclusion of the 2011 World Series, an audio file of Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington giving a pregame speech was leaked and quickly went viral.

It seemed that the multitudes were split on how to interpret Washington's verbal—albeit good-natured—tirade.

Some found it offensive; others (present company included) found it to be a great example of why Washington is so loved by his team and most members of the media.

Regardless of your take on the Washington speech, the fact remains that it wasn't intended for anyone's ears other than those inside the visitor's locker room in St. Louis.

Call it what you want.

Washington's speech was by no means an embarrassment to himself or anyone else for that matter. Any person who has played sports before has heard a coach give a similar speech to get his or her team fired up.

Here's a list of what I feel are the most embarrassing moments in the wonderful world of Major League Baseball caught on tape.

Enjoy.

Mark McGwire's Testimony in 2005

Prior to March of 2005, Jose Canseco was best known for helping a home run get over the fence with his head, and his first book Juiced was publicly viewed as less than credible.

After all, in his book he claimed that 85 percent of major leaguers had taken steroids.

Flash forward to 2008. Canseco's assertions hold weight, and the whole "85 percent" accusation has some seriously strong sea legs.

His second book pretty much says it all in the title: Vindicated.

Mark McGwire's testimony—or lack thereof—gave his former Oakland A's teammate one last forearm bash, as his flustered and embarrassing replies added credence to Canseco's accusations.

Nyjer Morgan's NLDS Celebration on TBS

Personally, I think Nyjer Morgan is a genius.

He created an alter ego named "Tony Plush, " so any time he comes under media scrutiny for ill-advised antics, he can always just take the easy way out with the whole "Tony made me do it..." excuse.

I found him dropping the F-bomb in this interview entertaining. Then again, I don't have any kids to whom I have to explain what exactly the strange word that rhymes with "duck" means.

Alex Rodriguez's Interview with Katie Couric

Oh, poor Alex Rodriguez.

We should all be ashamed of ourselves. After all, A-Rod is a great player, and he never felt as though he needed any help while on the baseball diamond.

At least, that's the angle he plays in this excellent interview.

You really don't have to watch the full two-plus minutes of this interview; everything you need to know occurs in the first 20 seconds.

Roseanne Barr's National Anthem

Roseanne Barr provided easily one of baseball's most embarrassing sound clips when she sang the national anthem in San Diego back in 1990.

Be forewarned: This one is tough to make it through.

As you may recall, Barr's limited vocal abilities were perhaps the least offensive part of this outrage.

Regardless, Roseanne proved that the most embarrassing sound clips from Major League Baseball need not necessarily include any actual baseball players.

Chris Carpenter, 2011 World Series

Aside from clutch hitting by David Freese and an overall outstanding World Series by Lance Berkman, Chris Carpenter was the single biggest reason why the St. Louis Cardinals were able to beat the Texas Rangers in this year's Fall Classic.

Carpenter was a great example of what the Rangers were sorely missing—a No. 1 starter that actually wins in the postseason.

Despite this, I'll gladly take C.J. Wilson over Carpenter any day.

Wilson doesn't talk smack or try to instigate the opposition. Carpenter does this on a regular basis, and even though he is an excellent pitcher as well as a two-time world champion, he's also an elite-level D-bag.

The attached clip isn't technically a sound bite in that you can't actually hear Carpenter—but you don't have to have audio to read his lips.

Rafael Palmeiro, 2005

Remember a few slides ago when Mark McGwire decided he "didn't want to talk about the past"?

Well, at least he didn't flat-out lie to an entire nation. Rafael Palmeiro embarrassed not only himself in this clip, but the game of baseball as well.

It's too bad too. He was an excellent major leaguer and would have easily been a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Own up to your mistakes; it isn't that hard. Trust me: If you simply admit to steroid use, the nation will forgive you.

Well, in theory at least.

Pete Rose, 1999 Interview with Jim Gray

The sound clip in this video is interesting in that everyone was initially outraged that Jim Gray would corner Pete Rose about the gambling allegations.

Now that Rose has openly admitted to not only gambling on baseball, but even gambling on his own team while he was a manager, it sheds some new light on Gray's tactics.

Regardless of your stance on the appropriateness of Gray's interview, you have to agree that Rose's behavior was an embarrassment to the game.

Ozzie Guillen, Pretty Much Any Time a Microphone Is Thrust in Front of Him

There's little question that Ozzie Guillen is a fine manager. He guided a talented White Sox team to a World Series championship in 2005.

I admire the man for his inability to hold his tongue. He's going to tell you how he feels, and that is something that's missing from most athlete interviews.

Guillen drops F-bombs without warning.

Well, actually, that's not really fair. We should all know by now that Guillen should be recorded with a 30-second delay in full effect at all times.

John Rocker, Remember Him? Yeah, I Wish I Didn't Either

If there was living proof that not everyone should get to speak publicly, John Rocker is it.

Fortunately, I couldn't find any audio or video of Rocker speaking his mind. However, I'll give you a little taste of the verbal diarrhea that Rocker can spew to anyone who's unfortunate enough to be in earshot.

The following quotes are taken from an article written by Jeff Pearlman of Sports Illustrated in 1999. You can find the article in its entirety here.

"The biggest thing I don't like about New York are the foreigners," Rocker said. "I'm not a very big fan of foreigners."

Well, Rocker, thanks for that. What an idiot.

It gets progressively worse from there. Guys like Rocker can certainly give baseball a bad name.

The Infamous Ron Washington Pregame Speech

As I mentioned in the introductory slide, I don't feel that Ron Washington is an embarrassment by any stretch.

Plus, you've got to remember that his pregame speech was recorded unethically. It happens.

I think I can speak on behalf of most Rangers fans when I say that we don't want a "watered-down" Wash. After all, this man has not only gotten the Rangers back-to-back American League pennants, but he also had us just one strike away from the whole shebang.

In case you've been living under a rock or are just so dang sick and tired of the Joe Paterno fiasco, here's a link to Ron Washington's speech.

I welcome your comments on how you feel about it.