John Rocker: Baseball ‘better game’ during steroid era [Photos]

Jerks are everywhere.

At work. On the street. On the highway. In line at the grocery store.

They can also, on occasion, be found on baseball diamonds.

It?s a fact we were reminded of Tuesday when ex-Major League Baseball outfielder Milton Bradley was sentenced to nearly three years in jail for abusing his wife.

Starting with Bradley, we present to you a mixed bag of jerks from MLB?s past and present:

Milton Bradley (career: 2000 to 2011)

It?s probably no coincidence Milton Bradley (no, not that one) went through eight teams in just 11 MLB seasons.

On top of current legal trouble ?- Bradley was sentenced Tuesday to 32 months in jail for beating his wife ?- the former Montreal Expo was clearly a poor teammate.

In a 2009 interview, Bradley, now 35, disrespected the entire Chicago Cubs organization by saying, ?You understand why they haven't won in 100 years here.? His comments resulted in a swift suspension.

Bradley, whose career highlight was an appearance in the 2008 all-star game, also chased down a Kansas City Royals broadcaster once. He apparently wanted to express his displeasure with how the analyst had portrayed him on-air.

More recently, in 2012, it was reported Bradley allegedly told his wife ?you?ll be dead, b----, before you divorce me.?

(Reuters)

John Rocker (career: 1998 to 2003)

Question: What?s the fastest way to piss off more than eight million people simultaneously?

Possible answer: Take a page out of the John Rocker Book of Jerk.

In a 1999 Sports Illustrated interview, the high-energy Atlanta Braves pitcher blasted NYC, saying he would rather retire than play in the Big Apple.

?Imagine having to take the 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.?

Rocker, now 38, was suspended 28 games without pay for those distasteful comments.

(Reuters)

Alex Rodriguez (career: 1994 to present)

To get at least a loose grasp of the negativity surrounding Alex Rodriguez, look no further than two of his infamous nicknames: A-Fraud and The Cooler.

While A-Fraud refers to A-Rod?s long-time connection to performance-enhancing drugs, The Cooler moniker is perhaps more telling. It was given to him by a group of New York Yankees teammates because they say it feels as though every team he joins tends to cool off until he?s on his way out of town.

Rodriguez, a 37-year-old 14-time all-star, is one of the more controversial figures in MLB history. And his career isn?t even over yet./

Accused of infidelity in the past -- and with a yet another PED investigation to worry about in the Biogenesis scandal -- the polarizing third-baseman always seems to have a dark cloud following him around.

(QMI Agency)

Ty Cobb (career: 1905 to 1928)

The man hailed as the game?s all-time top hitter was never known to hit the ball out of park on a personal level.

Ty Cobb, an outfielder who debuted in the big-leagues around the time the automobile went mainstream, was disliked by many teammates and umpires due to a short temper.

He was supposedly involved in a handful of violent confrontations both on and away from the baseball diamond.

The most famous Cobb-related altercation took place on May 15, 1912. According to his biography, the career .366 hitter kicked and stomped a fan seated a dozen rows up from field level.

Cobb had been heckled by the male fan and took exception. It turns out the man had recently been involved in a printing press accident, resulting in the loss of all but two of his fingers and leaving defenceless versus Cobb.

Albert Belle (career: 1989-2000)

The mid-90s were not kind to Albert Belle?s reputation.

Yes, the power hitter played his best baseball from 1993-1997 ? garnering five straight all-star honours ? but was far from well liked during that period.

In 1994, Belle, now 46, was suspended for using a corked bat.

It was later revealed he enlisted a teammate to break into the umpires? locker room to retrieve the corked bat and replace it with a legal one. That resulted in more banishment.

In 1996, the five-time Silver Slugger was fined for knocking down a Milwaukee Brewers infielder who got in his way on the base path.

Belle, who was not afraid to tell the world about his hate for the media, once drew headlines after chasing down neighbourhood kids who had egged his house in his SUV.

(Reuters)

Jose Guillen (career: 1997 to 2010)

For a guy who finished with a career .270 batting average, Jose Guillen sure moved around MLB a lot.

The nomadic lifestyle -- Guillen played on 10 teams in 13 season -- was surely a by-product of his jerkiness.

Guillen, now 37, was included in the landmark Mitchell Report on steroid use. Also on the illegal drug front, the DEA caught 50 human-growth hormone syringes headed to the right-fielder's home in 2010.

Two years prior, Guillen made vulgar gestures and yelled profanity at a heckling fan upset over his apparent lack of hustle. The backlash was so bad coaches and teammates had to restrain Guillen from charging the fan.

(Reuters)

Pete Rose (career: 1963 to 1986)

When you?re the only living former player ineligible to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, being on this list is a given.

Rose is a three-time World Series champion and three-time batting champion.

But his legacy is rooted in betting on baseball, something he did 52 times as the manager of the Cincinnati Reds in 1987. After vehemently denying any wrongdoing for years, the versatile fielder came clean in a 2004 autobiography.

Aside from that well-documented black eye, Rose was slapped with tax evasion in 1990 after filing false tax returns relating to income derived from signing autographs and selling memorabilia.

To boot, in 1988, Rose was suspended 30 games for pushing an umpire.

What a jerk, eh?

(Reuters)

Source: http://www.winnipegsun.com/2013/07/10/john-rocker-baseball-better-game-during-steroid-era

Alexa Vega Bram Stoker books Paula Broadwell Photos Veterans Day 2012 Nate Silver Obama Acceptance Speech 2012 dow jones