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 are the 9 most hated players in the MLB in 2024:
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.
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.
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.
Alex Bregman:
This one is self-explanatory. No one likes a cheater, especially one that relies on cheating to have success. After the Astros' infamous sign-stealing scandal, Alex Bregman has never been able to replicate similar statistics, earning ire from his own fans as well as the rest of the league. Bregman is also recording his worst career season in his contract year, essentially ripping off the Astros and adding little value to his team in the process.
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.
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.
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.
Fernando Tatis Jr.:
Fernando Tatis Jr. was one of the MLB's most beloved players- until he was suspended for using steroids. But no, that was definitely just his ringworm medicine. But in all seriousness, the steroid use made perfect sense since Tatis saw a surprising boost in home runs in 2021, as well as an ability to make insane, acrobatic plays. But once Tatis's suspensions were over, he was booed nonstop at nearly every ballpark he visited. Tatis even danced to the Yankees' fans boos, which certainly shut them up, but it also made people hate the former Golden Glove winner even more. But Fernando Tatis's mostly mediocre play following his 82-game suspension has also proved the haters right.
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.
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