Top 10 Unsportsmanlike Moments in Baseball
#10: Yuli Gurriel’s Gesture to Yu Darvish
In game three of the 2017 World Series, Houston Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel gave the bleacher seats a souvenir off Yu Darvish’s fastball to give his team a one-nothing lead over the LA Dodgers. In thoughtless celebration, Gurriel gestured toward the Dodgers pitcher by pulling back his eyelids and uttering a racial slur. The offensive act enraged fans and resulted in Gurriel’s eventual suspension from the first five games of the 2018 season. Japanese-born Darvish reacted like a gentleman, posting a heartwarming tweet that promoted unity and positivity. Gurriel later apologized and expressed gratitude that he had learned from the experience. It seems unsportsmanlike conduct can sometimes have a silver lining.
#9: Weatherford College Pitcher Makes a Tackle
There’s “benches clearing” fights, and then…there’s this. College batter Josh Phillips for North Central Texas had just hit a go-ahead home run and rounded the bases in traditional celebration. As he reached third, however, Weatherford College pitcher Owen Woodward apparently forgot what sport he was playing, as Woodward stampeded off the mound and tackled his opponent like a linebacker. Sure, fights happen amongst competitors, but this extravagant display of unsportsmanlike conduct seemed to have no provocation. While Woodward was initially suspended, the Weatherford coach later confirmed that Woodward was “no longer with the team.” Frustration is part of the job if you’re an athlete, and this is one cautionary tale about the wrong way to unload your anger.
#8: Ben Davis Bunts to End a Perfect Game
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While this example may not technically break any unwritten rules, it sure violates the spirit of respectable baseball. In May 2001, Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Curt Schilling was working a perfect game against the San Diego Padres, having allowed no runners on base through eight innings. Ben Davis memorably broke the perfect game with a bunt. For context: perfect games are extremely rare achievements in baseball, with only twenty-three ever officially recorded. In this scenario, the bunt was a cheap and unstrategic “hit” that robbed Schilling of his shot in the history books. Could you imagine Forrest Gump running nonstop across America, only to be tripped? Yeah, it’s something like that.
#7: Izzy Alcántara Kicks Jeremy Salazar
There have been many brawls in baseball history. In fact, we have a whole video about it! One in particular stands out though, as it all started with a kick. When the Pawtucket Red Sox faced the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Red Barons in triple-A play, batter Izzy Alcantara dodged a pitch that passed a bit too close to his legs. In sudden retaliation, he turned and stomped catcher Jeremy Salazar directly in his facemask. A benches-clearing donnybrook followed, but it’s the shameless and unwarranted kick that’s become famously rewatched footage. It’s not only unsportsmanlike conduct, it’s an unfair cheap shot in any one-on-one throwdown. Bad form, Izzy. Bad form.
#6: Brian Walker Fakes a Hit-By-Pitch
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Sports and theater may have some commonalities, like the butterflies that players feel before taking the main event. Brian Walker took that a bit too far in an SEC West game between Arkansas and Ole Miss. The batter for Arkansas seized an opportunity to convince officials that an inside pitch had struck him on the arm. Contact with a ninety-mile-an-hour pitch grants the batter first base, and Walker really showed off his acting chops to get the call. He danced around and clutched his arm in apparent pain…but nobody really bought it. Injuries in athletics are an extremely serious matter, and faking one to gain unfair advantage is an extreme mockery of the game. The officials promptly ejected Walker, and his atrocious acting now makes for hilarious footage.
#5: Albert Belle’s Malicious Contact
We’re back to the major leagues, where experienced players know better than this…supposedly. Runners advancing from first will often slide combatively into second, hoping to avoid a double play and two damaging outs. Albert Belle took this way too far when barreling through second baseman Fernando Vina. Belle appears to forcibly shove Vina out of the way, knocking the fielder from his feet. As with Alcantara’s kick, this aggression is simply uncalled for and can be outright dangerous. That’s the whole reason that a “malicious contact” penalty exists in the rule book. Rumors flew that the move was retaliation for an earlier play. Even so, this kind of aggression is not cool. It’s no wonder this dramatic violation still gets many replays throughout sports media.
#4: Roberto Alomar and the Spitting Incident
It’s surprising we haven’t yet mentioned umpires on our list, as their hotly contested calls can be deciding factors in game outcomes. When the Baltimore Orioles visited the Toronto Blue Jays in 1996, a called “strike three” on Roberto Alomar sent the batter into outrage against plate umpire John Hirschbeck. When Alomar continued to mouth off at Hirschbeck, the latter tossed him out of the game. Alomar was so furious, went so far as to confront the official and literally spit in his face. Alomar claimed that Hirschbeck had used racist remarks, and he later made insensitive comments regarding Hirschbeck’s family history. Fortunately, the two would make amends, shaking hands before a game months later and even became friends afterwards.
#3: Pedro Martinez and Don Zimmer Brawl
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Even non-baseball fans might expect a Red Sox versus Yankees appearance here, but perhaps not quite like this. The Bronx Bombers and the Sawx faced off in the 2003 Championship Series, where a series of questionably motivated pitches led to a brawl. It was during this showdown that Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez grabbed coach Don Zimmer by his cranium and hurled him to the ground. It’s unscrupulous conduct for baseball, a low blow for a fight, and an everlasting black stain on Martinez’s career.
#2: Houston Astros Sign Stealing Scandal
In 2019, an official MLB investigation found that the Houston baseball team had been using cameras to steal pitch signs from opposing teams’ catchers. The illegal practice had been giving the team a disgracefully unfair advantage as far back as the 2017 season. During that time, Astros slugger José Altuve won MVP over Yankee hero Aaron Judge, and Houston defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 World Series. The scandal made those accolades particularly disgraceful, and some even called for Houston to relinquish the championship trophy. More devastatingly, it caused many fans and players to question the sanctity of the very game. That’s a blemish that baseball history is unlikely to forget…
#1: Black Sox Scandal
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Populating other WatchMojo lists on shameful incidents, this baseball controversy remains infamous. The conspiracy suggests that the Cincinnati Reds’ victory during the 1919 World Series was the result of a ploy by the Chicago White Sox, who purposefully lost the championship for gambling profit. Those suspected, notably “Shoeless Joe Jackson”, were tried and found innocent. However, eight professional players including Jackson were still banned from baseball for life, though details of their culpability is still debated today. Sports are meant to unite us in competition and camaraderie. Using them for profit, in this way, may be the most unsportsmanlike offense there is.
