There's a portion of NFL players that fans seem to take a strong disliking to. Whether the reason be their off-the-field incidents, elaborate celebrations, or an annoying personality, these players make fans, opposing teams, and sometimes their own teammates, particularly angry. So without further ado, here is every MLB team's most hated players in 2024:
Atlanta Braves: Ronald Acuña Jr.
Ronald Acuña Jr. has quickly become one of the league's most hated players starting in his rookie season in 2018, and especially hated by the Marlins. Acuña's flashy style of play and long home run watching isn't everyone's cup of tea, especially Marlins' pitcher Jose Urena, who drills Acuna every chance he gets and publicly challenged the 2023 National League MVP to a fight. Most people agreed that Urena's hit was unjustified, but Mets' commentator Keith Hernandez said that Urena had to hit Acuña, and if he were pitching he would do the same. Acuña's own teammate, Freddie Freeman, even had a feud with him, but Ronald Acuña Jr. is mostly hated because he's flashy, and his dominant play on the field can back it up.
Philadelphia Phillies: Bryce Harper
Ever since Bryce Harper broke into the league in 2012, the two-time National League MVP has broken the unwritten rules of baseball left and right, he's purposely injured other players, started brawls with other teams and his own, talked back to fans- the list goes on. Harper's entitled attitude rubbed plenty of people the wrong way, and during his first six seasons in the MLB, the only individuals who liked Harper were Nationals fans. But when Bryce Harper signed a monstrous contract with the division-rival Phillies, he even lost the approval of the DC faithful, and Harper is still relentlessly booed at Nationals' Park to this day. Harper was even voted by players as the most overrated player in the MLB four times, and no player has had more ejections since 2012 than the former Nationals' outfielder.
San Diego Padres: Manny Machado
Manny Machado has broken countless unwritten baseball rules and committed plenty of baseball atrocities throughout his career which makes him one of the league's most hated players. Machado nearly hit an umpire with his bat after striking out, he spiked Dustin Pedroia when sliding into second, ending Pedrioa's career, he purposely tripped Brewers' first basemen Jesus Aguilar trying to avoid an out, he got penalized for taking too long to get in the batters' box, and consistently displays a lack of hustle. All of these incidents show a pattern, that Machado has an entitled and sore-loser attitude that even his own teammates despise. But Machado's stats as of late haven't exactly backed his laziness up, with him recording a sub-800 OPS in the last two seasons.
Los Angeles Angels: Anthony Rendon
We certainly have come a long way from the Anthony Rendon of old: the Rendon who nearly won MVP and was labeled "Mr. Smiles". But when you sign a 7-year, $245 million contract, severely underperform, and say, "Baseball isn't my top priority", home games won't feel like home games anymore. Rendon's failure to live up to his gigantic contract in the slightest is reason no.1 why the Angels have underperformed in the past few seasons, and Angels fans won't let him hear the end of it. And at the beginning of the 2023 season, Rendon finally snapped and was suspended and fined for grabbing a fan's shirt. This altercation only made Angels' fans hate him more.
Miami Marlins: Jazz Chisolm Jr.
No one likes a show-off, especially one that bats .250. When Jazz Chisolm hits a home run, he flips his bat, drops a floater going into first base, pretends to be driving a car into third, and Euro steps before he touches home. This sort of unnecessary swagger is complemented by an extreme overratedness, as Chisolm gets boatloads of attention despite batting .254 in his best career season. Apparently, now it's acceptable for average hitters to be on the cover of The Show. Chisolm also has very few fans on his side and mostly haters because even when the Marlins won the World Series, no one in Miami cared. And this Marlins team isn't winning the World Series.
Chicago White Sox: Tim Anderson
When Tim Anderson was at his peak, opposing teams hated him for his flashiness and showboating. But when Anderson's play fell off a cliff, the former All-Star shortstop earned ire from his own fans for adding little to his team, en route to a disappointing 101-loss season for the White Sox. You can't please everybody, but in Anderson's case, you can't please anybody. But Tim Anderson now plays for Miami, where much of the hate thrown their way is directed at Jazz Chisolm or their awful 0-9 start rather than Anderson.
Houston Astros: Jose Altuve
Another member of the Astros' cheating scandal on this list- what a surprise. However, a little-known fact is that Jose Altuve actually refused to cheat, with only 2.6% of his at-bats in 2017 featuring a bang on a trash can, which is rookie numbers compared to Marwin Gonzales's 33%. But when you're the best player on a team that cheated, you're bound to catch some blame whether you deserve it or not, which is the case with the former American League MVP. For the past three seasons, Altuve has gotten booed relentlessly at nearly every stadium and is still being thrown at. Altuve was also a Hall of Fame lock before the scandal, but five years after he retires, he'll likely be nowhere to be seen on the ballot.
Pittsburgh Pirates: Aroldis Chapman
If there were one word to describe Aroldis Chapman, it would be "Extra". From his flaring temper to flashy celebrations, and throwing the ball with extra high velocity, "extra" is a perfect way to describe him. When Chapman was pitching for the Reds, he would do cartwheels after every save until the MLB forced him to stop. And only a few days ago, the former Cubs' closer was suspended for two games for excessively arguing with an umpire over balls and strikes. Not to mention that Aroldis Chapman is also the most intimidating pitcher in baseball, even throwing the fastest recorded pitch at a scorching 106 mph.
New York Yankees: Marcus Stroman
Playing for the MLB's most-hated team already garners a negative opinion from many fans, but Stroman was hated long before he arrived in New York. In 2019, Stroman was voted anonymously by the players as the MLB's most overrated player, and purposely throwing at a player's head also received some hate as well. Stroman is just all-around kind of a hothead and seems to get into arguments and brawls every other week.
Baltimore Orioles: Jackson Holliday
There really aren't any hated players on the Orioles, so Jackson Holliday is the closest player to fit that description. Holliday doesn't start brawls and isn't an unpleasant person as far as we know, but Orioles fans may disprove of their young shortstop because his MLB career thus far has been a massive disappointment, going 1-18 to start his career. But this is especially annoying to Orioles' fans in Holliday's case because the amount of hype surrounding Holliday was nothing short of enormous. When he got called up to the big leagues, it was a massive deal. Being the No.1 overall pick comes with hefty expectations, but it's still very early, and being the No.1 overall pick also means your major league team will give you a lot of time to break out.
Tampa Bay Rays: Shane McClanahan
This is an even longer stretch than Jackson Holliday being the Orioles' most hated player, as Shane McClanahan is only somewhat hated by Rays' fans, and Rays fans are few in numbers. Tropicana Field doesn't even sell out when the Rays are in the playoffs. But maybe they'd sell more tickets if Shane McClanahan made it to the playoffs without falling prey to the injury bug. McClanahan's injury proneness has derailed the past three Rays' seasons, and fans are understandably upset. McClanahan's inability to stay healthy has also kept him from winning a Cy Young award, as he's recorded an ERA below 3.50 in all three of his seasons, but McClanahan never pitches enough innings to qualify for the award.
Boston Red Sox: Trevor Story
No one likes a player who doesn't live up to their contract, but that's Trevor Story in a nutshell. Even Trevor Story's vintage self in Colorado would have a difficult time living up to that massive 6-year, $140,000,000 deal, so batting a .630 OPS and playing just 145 games in three seasons is bound to garner plenty of ire. But Story's severe underperformance in Boston is especially frustrating for Red Sox fans because Dave Bush is working miracles with the pitching staff, but the bats have gone ice-cold, and among others, that includes their $140 million shortstop.
Toronto Blue Jays: George Springer
I would have chosen the Blue Jays' head coach, John Schneider, for making that horrendous decision to pull Jose Berrios in the 2023 wild card round. However, we don't even know if Shneider made that decision, or the Blue Jays' front office, because both sides blamed each other. So instead, George Springer seemed like a safe choice. Springer now marks the second player on this list to participate in the Astros' cheating, and Springer's stats suspiciously dipped immediately after the cheating had ceased. Now the former Houston outfielder gets paid an absurd $25 million per year on the Blue Jays for batting .215.
Arizona Diamondbacks: Madison Bumgarner
There aren't any players hated on the Diamondbacks, so I had to dig a little deeper and choose Madison Bumgarner, a former D-Back who recently retired. Bumgarner often instigates brawls and displays a temper on the field; his most recent incident was an altercation with an umpire in 2022 after being checked for foreign substances, resulting in Bumgarner being thrown out of the game. Another incident included Bumgarner cursing at Max Muncy for not running fast enough after he hit a home run. It's easy to see why opposing players and umpires are probably content with Bumgarner no longer playing in the MLB.
Detroit Tigers: Javier Baez
Even at the time, handing a hefty 6-year, $140 million contract to a primarily defensive player with occasional hitting upside and absurd amounts of strikeouts, was already a questionable move. But after over two years into the signing, Javier Baez's play decreased dramatically in quality; he makes more fielding errors, gets fewer hits, and strikes out even more. But even before Baez signed the massive contract, he already earned ire across the league for giving his own fans a thumbs down whenever he got a hit, responding to the Mets fans booing him.
Kansas City Royals: Amir Garrett
Amir Garrett is similar to Madison Bumgarner, with his flaring temper on the mound and tendency to get in fights, but his inconsistent stats don't exactly back it up. Garrett is most infamous for instigating one of the most intense brawls in MLB history, in 2019, when he charged the Pirates dugout after tensions between the two teams had arisen earlier in the game. Garret's feud with Javier Baez was also a notable incident during his career, where Garret and Baez would always exchange words and mock each other whenever they faced each other.
Minnesota Twins: Carlos Correa
Carlos Correa now marks the third member of the 2017 Astros on this list, and at this point, it's pretty obvious why he's hated.
Cleveland Guardians: Ramon Laureano
There really isn't a universally hated player on the Guardians, so the closest person to being hated is Ramon Laureano. In 2021, Ramon Laureano was suspended for 80 games for violating the league's PED policy. And since then, the former A's outfielder has posted less than stellar statistics, showing that he relied on his performance-enhancing drugs.
Oakland Athletics: Mike Fiers
Since the A's are a team of mostly rookies, I had to once again resort to a former player, Mike Fiers. After the 2019 season, Mike Fiers leaked to reporters that the Astros were stealing signs using cameras in center field during the 2017 season. While fans didn't have a problem with Fiers, plenty of other MLB players did. Many called Fiers a snitch, especially David Ortiz, and rightfully so because Fiers waited until he won the ring, bagged the money, and got traded to another team to finally rat out the Astros. This behavior was pretty scummy, and Mike Fiers garnered plenty of hate from across the league for the rest of his career.
Texas Rangers: Jose Ureña
The days in which pitchers would often purposely hit batters they didn't like are long gone, but Jose Ureña is a bit old-fashioned. Urena drills Ronald Acuña Jr. every chance he gets, and this has resulted in multiple altercations between the two. Purposely hitting one of the best players in the MLB is bound to get hate, but only playing one inning against one of the league's best offenses because you got thrown out, also does a disservice to your own fans.
Washington Nationals: Patrick Corbin
There aren't any universally hated players on the Nationals because they're such a young roster, and Patrick Corbin is just hated by his own fans. But to say that Corbin didn't live up to his colossal 6-year, $140 contract would be a severe understatement, with Corbin recording an era above 5 for the past three seasons. Though what makes the situation more frustrating is that Corbin would be in AAA right now if he weren't being paid $23 million per year because the organization feels they need to put their dollars to use, but it's only stunting the team's performance.
St. Louis Cardinals: Wilson Contreras
While it's mostly the Cardinals' fault for overpaying Wilson Contreras, the former Cubs catcher nevertheless, received a great deal of ire last season for underperforming on his new team. Contreras's disappointing 2023 outing was a primary reason for his team's disappointing season, and Cardinals fans would not let him hear the end of it. Matters only got worse when Contreras got into a yelling match with none other than Madison Bumgarner, which gave both players more bad publicity. While Wilson Contreras has been quietly putting up much better stats thus far this season, it is still only April.
Milwaukee Brewers: Ryan Braun
There aren't any controversial players on the Brewers right now, so a former player, Ryan Braun, who retired only a few years ago, is the closest choice. Braun is mainly hated for violating the MLB's PED policy, costing him $3 million, a 65-game suspension, and hate from opposing fans for the rest of his career. Even though it happened over ten years ago, fans still booed Braun at opposing stadiums until the day he retired.
Cincinnati Reds: Emilio Pagán
There aren't any hated players on the Reds, so Emilio Pagan is the closest option. Pagán hasn't done what most of the other players on this list have done, but Pagan has struggled mightily on the mound and generally underperformed since Cincinnati signed him. He's already blown plenty of saves this season and is just more of a liability than an asset on this Reds team.
Chicago Cubs: Seiya Suzuki
Finding an even remotely hated player on the Cubs proved to be a strenuous task, but there are some reasons why Cubs fans may not like Seiya Suzuki. Ever since entering the league in 2022, Suzuki's play has been wildly inconsistent, which is quite annoying. For example, Suzuki started the first month of his career on an absolute tear, batting over 400., and then went completely off the grid for the rest of the season. Suzuki's career batting average of .277 shows that he's just an average player who occasionally gets hot. Suzuki has started the 2024 season well, but who knows how long that will last.
Rockies: Kris Bryant
Like most members of the 2016 Cubs World Series team, Kris Bryant's quality of play has declined sharply since exiting Chicago. Just ask the Rockies, who paid the washed veteran a whopping $26 million per year. Even Bryant's vintage self would not have lived up to that contract, and batting .244 during his tenure in Colorado is essentially grand theft. This atrocious signing is a primary reason why the Rockies sit near the bottom of the league's standings, and the team's loyal fans don't exactly love their underperforming outfielder.
Dodgers: Max Muncy
Max Mancy hasn't done many egregious things during his career, except maybe publicly criticizing Oracle Park, but Muncy is just an annoying player. Muncy is primarily hated by opposing pitchers and umpires for his incredibly selective hitting style, as Muncy consistently leagues the MLB in walk percentage by a country mile every season. If Muncy doesn't get a call he agrees with, he will voice his complaints to the ump, even if a strike is called 0.16 centimeters out of the strike zone.
Giants: Blake Snell
Of all the Giants' underperforming free agent signings, I picked Blake Snell, since he went from winning the Cy Young to posting an era over 12. Snell's era of 12.86 and only 2.25 strikeouts per 9 innings so far this season is certainly less than stellar for being the 8th highest-paid pitcher in baseball. Blake Snell's severe underperformance in San Francisco has cost the Giants $62 million and has cost fans wins, as seen with his WAR of -0.4.
Mets: Pete Alonso
Every July, when the home run derby rolls around, Pete Alonso is immensely talked about and hyped, and once the event is over, Alonso plunges into irrelevancy. But the two-time champion of the home run derby takes it a bit too seriously. During the 2022 home run derby, Alonso refused to chat with the other players while waiting to bat and instead meditated alone, pretending as if this friendly exhibition event was game 7 of the World Series. But for Pete Alonso, the home derby is the World Series, and this attitude isn't appreciated by many players or fans.
Mariners: Jorge Palanco
The only thing Jorge Palanco did to garner hate was breaking the MLB's PED policy, resulting in an 80-game suspension in 2018. But one PED violation can follow you for the rest of your career, and that is precisely what happened with the former Twins' shortstop.