But he continues to do things that make him unlikeable (like giving up a walk off home run).
There aren't many Cubs players that I haven't liked. But after looking over my binders, I was able to come up with an unlikeable lineup of nine.
Pitcher...the aforementioned John Lackey
Catcher... Todd Hundley. He came to the Cubs as a high priced free agent and the son of a '69 Cub. He wore out his welcome in less than a year.
First base...Joe Pepitone. He took over at first after Ernie Banks retired and was the anti-Ernie. He seemed to be more concerned about personal glory than team success.
Second base... He was with the Cubs for just a part of the 1979 season. He complained at a team dinner that the Cubs were only picking up the cost of two bottles of wine per table. He should have been more concerned about his .248 average than with wine. A little while later he was traded to the Red Sox.
Shortstop.. Alex Gonzalez. His error cost the team the 2003 pennant. He let Steve Bartman take all the heat.
Third Baseman... Ian Stewart The Cubs sent DJ LeMahieu to the Rockies for this bum. He hit .201 in 2012 and got a $2 million contract in 2013. He was rehabbing in AAA, hitting .168, and had the nerve to complain about the way the team was treating him.
Outfielders... Dave Kingman, Milton Bradley, and George Bell.
Do you have players from your team that you just didn't like?
I've done this a few times with players across the MLB (Lackey made the list!). http://bobwalktheplank.blogspot.com/2016/05/my-least-favorite-players.html
ReplyDeleteIt would be hard for me to do a Pirate specific list as I could only think of a few right now, with AJ Burnett being my #1 even though he was fantastic for the Pirates.
AJ Burnett is one of my 10 favorite players to wear a Bucs uniform.
DeleteJohn Lackey is definitely on my list of overall players I dislike.
I don't know if I can come up with a 9 player team for the Bucs tho. Former Cubs 1B Derrek Lee might make the list though.
Lackey wasn't well liked in Boston either. He had a "redemption season" in 2013, but no one was sad to see him traded to the Cardinals...
ReplyDeleteGood post. I can't help but notice none of these guys came up through the system.
ReplyDeleteJavy took me a bit to get used to but other than that, I pretty much like all the homegrowns.
I've mentioned this a few times on my blog. Kevin Brown and J.D. Drew are always the first 2 people I mention.
ReplyDeleteAs an A's fan... I wasn't a huge fan of:
ReplyDelete#1 Milton Bradley (do I really need to explain?)
#2 Jim Johnson (if you thought Lackey was bad... check out Johnson with the A's)
#3 Jon Lester (he pitched well for the A's in the regular season... but struggled in his lone playoff start for us)
#4 Matt Holiday (not his fault the A's traded him... but we got nothing out of his short tenure with the team)