Which Player Do You Love to Hate?

[Lauriee23]

I'm not a fan of AJ, mainly because I remember him trying to spike Justin Morneau on a play at first.  Plus, he always hit well against us after he was traded.  Best thing about AJ was the trade and all we got in return!  I HATE the Yankees - pretty much all of them just because they are the Yankees.  A-Rod was higher on my list than Jeter, although I agree Jeter was way overrated on defense.  A-Rod always came off as such a jerk, and he has done nothing to change my mind since, despite his competence as an analyst.  Check out a documentary I saw last fall on the whole steroid scandal (with A-Rod prominently featured) called Screwball.  Highly entertaining!

[lukeduke1980]

 

My picks are Didi Gregorious and Edwin Encarnacion... and until recently, Josh Donaldson!

Nothing infuriates me more than the parrot

[ashbury]

Something about Brett Gardner has always rubbed me the wrong way.

 

Oh. Oh. Mike Clevinger. Can't stand to watch him pitch, and his success always gnaws at me.

[Nine of twelve]

 

Easy one - Ron Davis.  I think at one point he was tied for most blown saves in a season.  Opposing teams must have loved him.  In 1984 he managed to lose games in creative ways too.  I remember one game when a thunderstorm partially deflated the Dome.  The Twins were sailing along with a huge lead.  Davis was either already pitching before the interruption or came in after the Dome re-inflated.  Doesn't matter.  After the game continued he managed to totally blow the huge lead we had and the Twins lost.  What matters more - Davis was my 8 year old daughter's favorite player.  She stoically watched him until he gave up enough runs for the Twins to lose the lead.  Then she cried.  And he became my least liked player forever.

One nitpick. The deflation game was in 1986. I was there. Bizarre and deflating for the fans, in more ways than one.

[notoriousgod71]

I won't boo this man, but I will BOO YAH this man.

 

F off, Koch!

[Twodogs]

 

That was a beautiful quote.  AJ should be in the Twins HOF for his good play and for getting Nathan, Liriano and Bonzer while making room for Mauer to play. Also, great pick with Sabbathia.   Anyone that says "Man up and swing the bat" at guys that bunt and then throws at their head because he either can't or doesn't want to man up and field his own d@#$ position gets no respect from me.       David Ortiz for constantly dissing the Twins.   I thought he was a good hitter for the Twins and what he learned from them may have launched his career but all he did was throw shade.  I've never cared one way or another about the Yankees but I have always hated the White Sox.   Oddly, Crede, Konerko and Thome were guys I really liked.   Really class guys.    Didn't care for Mark Buehrle.     Maybe at the top of my list is Tommy Kerr.   He could have been really good with the Twins but instead was just a complete d()()che.

I definitely thought about Tommy Herr, that was a terrible trade; Brunansky for Herr.  Another one that irritated me was John Smiley, he could have been good for the Twins in 92 but then was gone.

[Nine of twelve]

 

I definitely thought about Tommy Herr, that was a terrible trade; Brunansky for Herr.  Another one that irritated me was John Smiley, he could have been good for the Twins in 92 but then was gone.

Smiley pitched very well in 1992, but I believe I read or heard that, for whatever reason, he hated being here. Hence his departure.

[Twodogs]

Smiley pitched very well in 1992, but I believe I read or heard that, for whatever reason, he hated being here. Hence his departure.

Yeah, I think that was about the same thing with Tommy Herr.

[Dantes929]

 

I definitely thought about Tommy Herr, that was a terrible trade; Brunansky for Herr.  Another one that irritated me was John Smiley, he could have been good for the Twins in 92 but then was gone.

I thought it was a good trade at the time.   Lombo was batting .209 and Herr was a decent hitter.   Herr's attitude made it a horrible trade in retrospect.   Then we were stuck with Wally Backman. 

[Dantes929]

 

I can't believe no one has said it yet. It's probably because we are the small sliver of the fan base that did not feel this way, but the correct answer is...

 

Joe Mauer

 

It makes me sad that Joe is the answer to this question, but he is. It seems the plurality of Twins fans could talk about nothing else regarding the Twins during the dog years of the 2010's except how they were terrible because of the Joe Mauer contract. How he was not worth the money, as if he took it from them himself without asking.

 

I have never noticed a player the Twins general fan base absolutely loves to hate.

 

In fact, if I sat down at a bar outside of Twins Territory and started chatting with a complete stranger about MLB history and brought up Joe Mauer, I would describe him exactly like this...

 

"He was one of the five best players to ever wear a Twins uniform. I loved him. Most Twins fans loved-to-hate him. I still don't really understand why."

I think the general fan base did love him.    It wasn't a sliver of minority that hated him but a minority none the less.    It definitely included everyone that demanded his contract be extended or they would never follow the Twins again who then shortly and for evermore after claimed they were against the congtract to start with.    The name that surprises me by its absence is Nicky Punto.

[ashbury]

I thought it was a good trade at the time.   Lombo was batting .209 and Herr was a decent hitter.   Herr's attitude made it a horrible trade in retrospect.   Then we were stuck with Wally Backman. 

The capper was whom we then flipped Herr for. We gave up Bruno for a year of a disgruntled Herr plus Shane Flippin Rawley's bad awful no good career ending season.

 

I'm not consoled by Bruno's post-Twins career being no great shakes. He was Bruno!

 

[TFRazor]

 

To risk opening this rat's nest again: Trevor Bauer.

 

Why hate on Bauer? As long as Max is at the plate I think he should be our favorite opposing pitcher.

 

My pick: I. Can't. Stand. Puig.

[Vanimal46]

2 words - Ricky Nolasco. I still dislike him greatly.

I disliked the regime that gave him that contract more than Nolasco himself. He was the exact same pitcher that had an ERA 2 runs higher than his FIP throughout his tenure here. Signing him to that contract provided unrealistic expectations for him to be better than he was.

 

With all of that being said, I was thrilled the minute he was traded away.

[Vanimal46]

I was extremely jealous of Mark Buerhle. That dude was a Twins Killer.

 

52 starts - 30-19 record with a 3.68 ERA and 6 complete games career against the Twins.

 

If you blinked during a Buerhle start it was already the 7th inning.

[Rigby]

Bonds.