Bad Boys of Baseball

From the Washington Post this past Sunday, this list to help you feel a little better about Barry Bonds. He's not the first villain in baseball and by no stretch, the worst.

• Pete Rose (played from 1963-1686) holds the record for most career hits at 4,256. Nicknamed "Charlie Hustle," people were both surprised and disappointed when it was revealed that he had bet on baseball games he played in and managed. He was banned from baseball, locking him out of the Hall of Fame, where many feel he belongs.


• Jose Canseco (played from 1985-2001) was the first player to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in a season (1988). He also was arrested several times for assault and domestic violence, and has been in jail. There there is the book, where he admitted steroid use and painted baseball with a wide brush and splattered many players. Hall of Fame? Eligible, but received only 6 votes in the last election.


• The 1919 Chicago "Black" Sox won the American League Pennant in 1919. Eight of the White Sox players admitted to working with gamblers to throw the 1919 World Series. They were acquitted from the charges but still banned from baseball. Was Shoeless Joe guilty? Watch this movie or this one.


• Cap Anson is considered by many to be the greatest player of the 19th century. Only problem is he was also an overt racist. While he is in the Hall of Fame, his plaque forgets to note that he was instrumental in keeping black players out of baseball.


• Ty Cobb holds another hallowed record, highest career batting average, .367. The Post notes that "compared to Cobb, Bonds is Mister Rogers." Cobb is alleged to have attacked a night watchman, an umpire, a groundskeeper and his wife, a would-be mugger, and a disabled hecklers. Despite his charming personality, Cobb made it into the Hall in the inaugural class, getting more votes than Babe Ruth.