In the world of Major League Baseball (MLB), there is no shortage of stars who command the spotlight both on and off the field.
There are plenty of high-profile players who have made their mark with their exceptional skills, charisma, and, sometimes, a bit of controversy. While the term “diva” is often used to describe personalities in other entertainment industries, the MLB has its own share of larger-than-life superstars.
In this article, we’ll look closely at 10 current MLB superstars who epitomize that.
Bryce Harper
At a very young age, Harper was coined “The Chosen One” by Sports Illustrated. The first selection in the 2010 MLB Draft has lived up to the hype and plays with a passion that can be taken by fans, players, and even umpires in many ways.
However, when you sign a 330 million dollar contract and have outbursts over strike zones that get you ejected from ballgames, people tend to form their own opinions and a popular one on Harper has been “diva”.
Justin Verlander
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Verlander signed a massive deal with the New York Mets and was then traded back to the Houston Astros at the trade deadline after a disappointing Mets season. It has since come to light by Mets players that Verlander was “detached” from his teammates while allegedly complaining about how the Mets’ analytics department was inferior to the Astros and even calling him a Diva.
The ‘diva’ attitude Verlander displayed allegedly caused fellow teammate Max Scherzer to complain to others in the locker room about the former three-time Cy Young Winner.
Josh Hader
The Padres had very high hopes for their 2023 season but did not meet expectations and failed to make the playoffs. There were many reasons the Padres fell short, but with their playoff hopes still on the line, Josh Hader’s refusal to enter a pivotal game against the Giants for a possible four-out save didn’t help the cause.
The Padres acquired Hader at the 2022 Trade Deadline, knowing his reluctance to pitch multiple innings and to pitch three days in a row. When asked for his reasoning behind not making himself available for the four-out save against the Giants or, really, at any point down the stretch, Hader said: “It’s the situation that we were in.” “Are we in the playoff race?” asked Hader.
This also appeared to solidify Hader not returning to the team, seemingly verified by Hader’s recent Instagram post. In that post, Hader posted a picture of himself smiling in the dugout with the words, “SD, you’ll have a special place in my heart forever. To all the loyal fans that supported us daily, thank you & much love.” That was followed by the “rock on” emoji.
Manny Machado
The second Padre to make the list is the multi-time all-star Manny Machado. A San Diego news article pointed to Machado’s attitude and leadership void as one of the main culprits for the Padres 2023 collapse. The report highlights Machado’s questionable attitude, lack of engagement, and failure to create a winning culture within the team. The report also validated the Dodgers’ decision to let Machado walk after the 2018 season.
“To ask a Padres player why no one could confront Machado on these matters is to be looked at as if you have six heads,” according to the article. This isn’t the first time Machado’s attitude and effort have been questioned as issues during his time with the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers also arose.
Madison Bumgarner
Madison Bumgarner, or “MadBum,” was one of the most dominant pitchers for the San Francisco Giants during the 2010 era of baseball. Giants fans got a strong-willed pitcher with an even stronger-willed attitude. MadBum has never avoided voicing his opinions, which has not set well with major league umpires, leading to numerous ejections during his playing career.
Most notable was his confrontation with first base umpire Dan Bellino while playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks during a routine substance check after Bumgarner exited the field of play. However, there was nothing routine about this check, which included uncomfortable eye contact and, overall, a bizarre interaction that eventually got Bumgarner tossed.
Bumgarner’s brash style eventually led to his Arizona Diamondback release with nearly two full years remaining on his contract, some of it was due to his disappointing performance on the mound and his failure to get along with his coaches.
Josh Donaldson
Donaldson has been labeled as egotistical and toxic, which got him released from the New York Yankees, and it appears he has brought that same attitude to the Milwaukee Brewers. Even though his play would say otherwise, Donaldson appears to act like an MVP-caliber player.
Brewers first baseman Rowdy Tellez was asked about his first conversation with Donaldson when he joined the Brewers. He walked into the clubhouse and walked straight by, and I was like, ‘Hey,’ with a couple of other words after that.” Rowdy then explained the clubhouse dynamics about how players introduce themselves to each other, and according to him, Donaldson said, “Everyone knows who I am.”
This isn’t Donaldson’s first beef with teammates. Before getting traded to the Yankees, Donaldson had choice words about Gerrit Cole, and he stated, “Is it a coincidence that Gerrit Cole’s spin rate numbers went down after four minor leaguers got suspended for 10 games?”
Donaldson also has had issues with other players, including Tim Anderson, where he continued to call White Sox shortstop “Jackie” after Jackie Robinson after being repetitively told not to. Donaldson claimed that the comment was a joke between the two; however, Anderson had a different opinion.
Carlos Correa
Correa was a member of the infamous Houston Astros cheating scandal before signing a three-year deal with the Twins in 2022. Correa was known for his homerun hits and then pointing to his wrist to simulate it was “his time.” In 2023, his time came, and Correa exercised his opt-out clause with the Minnesota Twins to become a free agent. Correa resigned with the Minnesota Twins after two big-money deals fell through with the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets.
However, Correa’s comments to reporters while a free agent when asked about rejoining the twins left fans with a sour taste. Correa stated, “I go to the Dior store. When I want something, I get it… I’m the product here. If they want my product, they’ve got to come get it.”
Twins fans would like to get a return on that product. Correa has been a massive disappointment. He remains a below-league-average hitter and has no consistency at the plate. Correa is the team captain, but his leadership is horrible. His mood is completely dependent on his offensive performance at the time, which is seemingly nonexistent.
Chris Sale
At one time, Sale was destined to be one of the next great pitchers of our generation but injuries have taken a toll on his promising career. One notable incident with Sale occurred while he was playing for the Chicago White Sox.
The White Sox were scheduled to wear 1976 throwback uniforms during a game in 2016. However, Sale was not too keen on wearing the jerseys. According to several reports, Sale used a knife to destroy the throwback uniforms after telling the team he didn’t want to wear them and destroyed the uniforms of his teammates so no one could wear them.
Sale defended his actions by saying, “Robin is the one who has to fight for us in that department. If the players don’t feel comfortable 100 percent about what we are doing to win the game, we have an easy fix — it was as easy as hanging up another jersey, and everyone was fine. For them to put business first over winning, that’s when I lost it.”
Fernando Tatis Jr.
The San Diego Padres shortstop was atop of the league before his 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs. Fans were disappointed in Tatis for his actions but were even more disappointed in his failure to own up to his mistakes.
Tatis said he “inadvertently” took the performance-enhancing drug Clostebol to treat ringworm. Tatis has also had a dugout altercation with Manny Machado, a member of this list. It is also no wonder the 2023 Padres season was a mess, as they employed three members of this prestigious list.
Tim Anderson
Chicago White Sox’s former shortstop and now Miami’s Tim Anderson brings a certain energy to the game that’s hard to ignore. His flashy style and outspoken nature may not be well-received by everyone.
White Sox fans have noticed a “me vs the world” attitude exhibited by Tim Anderson. Anderson has called himself “today’s Jackie Robinson” in a Sports Illustrated interview.
Let’s also not forget Tim Anderson Vs Jose Ramirez’s brawl at second base during a Guardians White Sox game which resulted in a first-round TKO of Anderson.
