15 Most Infamous Players In MLB History

15. 3B George Brett

Reason for Infamy: Pine tar incident. Brett is generally held in high regard in baseball circles, but he was the central character in one of the most infamous incidents in baseball history. He hit an important home run late in July of 1983 against the Yankees, which was called an out after umpires determined he applied pine tar too high on the bat. Brett was furious and stormed out of the dugout in one of the most violent tirades ever seen. In his Hall of Fame career, this incident has become one of, if not the most memorable moment.

14. DH Jose Canseco

Reason for infamy: Steroid use, ratting on other players. Canseco became infamous because he was an obvious steroid user and he also went out of his way to rat out other steroid users in baseball. It's not like those guys didn't deserve to get caught, but there's an unwritten rule about not revealing things about guys within the sport. So, steroid use made him infamous with fans and his gossipy nature made him infamous with players.

13. OF Albert Belle

Reason for infamy: Temper and intensity. Albert Belle was one of the bigger hotheads the game has ever seen. His intense nature made him a great player and competitor, but it also made him hated by fans and opposing players. When tempers flared, he was usually right in the middle of it. That helped earn him a pretty infamous reputation.

12. OF Darryl Strawberry

Reason for infamy: Drug use. Strawberry was one of the best players of his generation, but he was constantly an off-field liability for his various teams because of his rampant drug use. While Strawberry has gotten help and seems to have beaten addiction, his constant drug problems during his playing days made him an infamous figure despite his immense talent.

11. SP Bob Gibson

Reason for infamy: Willingness to throw inside. Gibson's 1968 season might just be the most impressive by any pitcher in the history of baseball as he posted a 1.12 ERA. A lot of his success that season and throughout his career came as a result of his ability to intimidate opposing teams. He wouldn't hesitate to throw inside, and unlike most pitchers today, he wouldn't shy away from throwing at opposing players' heads either. Since he was so good and so willing to put other players in harm's way, Gibson is remembered as one of the 20 best and nastiest pitchers ever.

10. 1B/OF Rafael Palmeiro

Reason for infamy: Steroid use. Palmeiro is one of the steroid users who is especially hated because he still defiantly denies any wrongdoing despite strong evidence against him. It seems like he's pretty bitter that he got caught. As a result, fans have turned against him and his approval is very low among people in the game.

9. SP Nolan Ryan

Reason for infamy: Texas hardball mentality. Like Bob Gibson, Nolan Ryan was one of the best and nastiest pitchers to ever toe the rubber. When a guy is throwing 100 mph and it's headed toward your face, you're going to get offended. That happened on multiple occasions when Ryan was pitching and brawls broke out. Ryan isn't going to apologize to anyone over those incidents, and that's helped him earn an infamous reputation.

8. RP John Rocker

Reason for infamy: Racially insensitive comments. John Rocker looked like he was destined to be a star reliever for the Braves in the late 1990s, but then his career suddenly got derailed. He offended just about every ethnicity possible when talking about walking in Times Square and asking how every foreign person got into the country. It seems like after those comments, his career took a nosedive. Since he never panned out long-term, and his controversial comments are what he's best remembered for.

7. SP Roger Clemens

Reason for infamy: Steroid use and attitude. Clemens was already a generally hated figure in the game even before it was exposed that he took steroids, so that news just added icing on the cake. He's an intense competitor and that was best exemplified when he appeared to throw a piece of Mike Piazza's broken bat back at him during the 2000 Subway Series. That incident and many others are engrained in people's brains, which makes Clemens a controversial and infamous figure in baseball.

6. 1B Bill Buckner

Reason for infamy: "Buckner Boot" in Game 6 of 1986 World Series. Bill Buckner was a great player, but he's unfortunately remembered most for his darkest hour. With the Red Sox looking to win their first World Series title in 68 years, Buckner failed to field a routine ground ball, which allowed the Mets to win the game and go on to win the series in Game 7. Now that Boston has won three World Series' in the last 12 seasons, most of Red Sox Nation forgives him. Still, he holds onto one of the most infamous gaffes in baseball history.

5. 3B/DH Alex Rodriguez

Reason for infamy: Steroid use and disregard for authority. A-Rod is one of the best hitters in baseball history, but a lot of his career was artificial, which means it's forever tainted. In the past couple years, he's become further infamous because of his lawsuit against his own players' union. That may have been the last straw in most people disliking the controversial slugger.

4. OF "Shoeless" Joe Jackson

Reason for infamy: Involvement in 1919 Black Sox scandal. Despite the fact that "Shoeless Joe" hit better in the 1919 World Series than he did in the regular season of that year, he was still banned from baseball as part of the Black Sox scandal in which the White Sox threw the World Series. Jackson was paid by gamblers, so technically he tainted the sanctity of the sport, but he didn't actively throw any of the games. Regardless, he was by far the best player to be banned from the sport for life, so he goes down in infamy for his part in baseball's darkest era of history.

3. IF/OF Pete Rose

Reason for infamy: Aggressiveness and betting on baseball. "Charlie Hustle" was one of the best hitters to ever live and holds onto the all-time hits record in MLB. Of course, he's still not in the Hall of Fame, though, because he bet on baseball games while he was the manager of the Reds. Whether or not he should be reinstated becomes an annual topic of debate around baseball and it has further pushed baseball's hit king into infamy. Of course, he's also infamous for running over catcher Ray Fosse in the All-Star Game and slowing down his promising career.

2. OF Barry Bonds

Reason for infamy: Steroid use and jerkiness. Barry Bonds is one of the most controversial figures in baseball history because he holds onto the sport's most hallowed record, but seems to have done it artificially. Most people hate him because he has tainted the sport's most important record, but his terrible attitude certainly didn't help matters. He will live on in infamy forever, or at least until someone breaks his home run record cleanly.

1. OF Ty Cobb

Reason for infamy: Dirty play and knack for fighting. Ty Cobb was one of the greatest hitters to ever live, but he was also one of the meanest human beings ever in the national spotlight. He would allegedly sharpen his spikes (he denied these claims) before games and would purposely spike opposing players. He also got into his fair share of fights because he would stand up to anyone. Since he was so mean during his career and throughout his life, he will always be baseball's most infamous figure.