Baseball's angriest players
When it comes to getting ejected from a baseball game, Chicago Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley(notes) has a near monopoly.
The notoriously hot-headed Bradley has bumped, cursed and screamed at enough umpires to earn 17 game ejections since 2000, which puts him atop our list of baseball's angriest players.
Bradley's most infamous incident came in 2007, as a member of the San Diego Padres. Bradley reached first base on a single, then began to argue with umpire Mike Winters, who ejected Bradley from the game. But he refused to leave the field – and instead went after Winters. In the ensuing would-be melee, Bradley tore his ACL as Padres manager Bud Black tried to hold him back and was out for the rest of the season.
Unlike manager ejections, which can be used strategically and can even fire up a team, a player ejection is rarely a positive for a team. It usually means that an inferior player has to fill in for the one who's been dismissed.
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What makes a player take it too far? For some it's the frustration of a bad year, either for the team or the individual. Others get caught up in the heat of the moment. Does 'roid rage play a part? Maybe. Four players on our list – Ivan Rodriguez(notes), Gary Sheffield(notes), Jerry Hairston Jr.(notes) and David Ortiz(notes) – have been suspected or accused of using performance-enhancing drugs.
Behind the numbers
To determine our list of most-ejected players, we looked at ejections since the 2000 season, when the umpiring crews were no longer segregated by league. By having umpiring crews that work all teams, there's a more even set of data. Our statistics are courtesy of David Vincent, a contributor to the Society for American Baseball Research and the author of "Home Runs Most Wanted."
Bradley is followed by Rodriguez (with 14 ejections) and Sheffield (12) on our list.
Rodriguez, catcher with the Texas Rangers, goes by the nickname Pudge, but "Ivan the Terrible" might be a better fit. In 2003, as a member of the Florida Marlins, Rodriguez was ejected three times in two weeks. Last year as a New York Yankee he took an openhanded swing at the Los Angeles Angels' Torii Hunter(notes) – a supposed off-the-field friend – that incited a bench-clearing brawl.
"Sometimes when you compete hard, things like that happen," he once said in his defense.
While such infractions occurred late in Rodriquez's career (he's 37), tetchy behavior started early for Sheffield. As a youth he was arrested in Tampa for fighting. As a member of the Detroit Tigers last year, he thought Cleveland Indians' pitcher Fausto Carmona(notes) was throwing at him. After Carmona walked him, Sheffield trotted to first base, then made a bee-line for the mound, inciting a melee, after which he was ejected.
His crankiness continues: Last month he was booted from a game for vehemently arguing balls and strikes with an umpire.
LaTroy Hawkins(notes), a Houston Astros relief pitcher, comes in at No. 4 on our list with seven ejections. In 2008 he winged a ball at the head of the Baltimore Orioles' Luke Scott(notes) and was tossed. Late last month he was ejected during a game against the Chicago Cubs for arguing a strike call, and later claimed that the umpires wanted the Cubs to win the game. He was fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball.
Hunter, the Angels outfielder, is best known for his stellar defense, winning eight Gold Gloves in his career. But he's racked up nearly as many ejections since 2000 (seven). In 2002 Cleveland Indians' pitcher Danys Baez(notes) hit Hunter with a pitch; Hunter picked up the ball and zinged it right back at him. And this April, Hunter was ejected after taking part in a bench-clearing brawl with the Boston Red Sox, after Sox pitcher Josh Beckett(notes) threw a ball over the head of one of Hunter's teammates.
At No. 9 on our list is the oft-injured Cliff Floyd(notes), who is currently on the disabled list for the San Diego Padres. In 2007, Floyd was ejected from a game for a comment he claimed was merely attributed to him. Asked after the game if he was afraid of how his manager or MLB officials would react, he said no; the person he was most scared of: his mother.
The top five:
1. Milton Bradley: Slideshow
2. Ivan Rodriguez: Slideshow
3. Gary Sheffield: Slideshow
4. LaTroy Hawkins: Slideshow
5. Torii Hunter: Slideshow
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