Many of you may know that I have a list of players that I love and hate the most and today I am going to share that list with the reasons why I feel that way about each of those players. The love list only includes current players but the hate list includes some players that have left the MLB but deserve to remain on the list. The only rule there is that I have to remember watching those players I put on my hate list play. There are many more players I would like to add to the love list, such as José Berríos, Shohei Ohtani, and Randy Arozarena, but I need the two lists to have equal number of players and while there are several players I dislike, there is no one else at the moment that I would go as far as to say I hate. Without further ado, here are the lists:

Love:

• Lourdes Gurriel Jr.: Lourdes, in my opinion, has the best personality in the league. He is so hilarious; several of his former and current teammates, such as Teoscar Hernández, have said that he is the funniest player they have played with. Some of my favorite Lourdes moments are when he played rock-paper-scissors-shoot across opposing dugouts with Vladdy at the 2023 All-Star Game and when he sat on the edge of the dugout and made sandcastles in the warning track dirt during the middle of a game. He is overall just a funny and goofy player. I also think he has the coolest hair in the league(his nickname, la piña, comes from his fun hairstyle), especially since he dyed it purple last year
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: Vladdy is also incredible funny and goofy. For instance, take the time he was mic’d up talking with Juan Soto about how is always used to hide during the 100 meter dash at school as a kid and that he was going to have a party and invite all the big players. He also talks to himself at the plate which is pretty entertaining. It’s not just himself he talks to however; he always makes an effort to say hi to the umpire and/or catcher and talks to players from the opposing team when they’re on first base. It’s really fun watching how into the game he gets, he just loves the sport and his teammates. Vladdy is overall an amazing player but not cocky at all
• Joey Votto: Arguably Votto shouldn’t be on this list right now according to my rules since he is currently in the minors, but technically the minors are still part of the MLB and I LOVE Joey, so he stays. In my opinion, Joey Votto is the funniest player in the MLB. Joey is an absolute troll, but in the best way possible, and he knows it. For example, last year he had a ball that he proceeded to “throw into the stands,” but actually threw it straight onto the roof, which was clearly his intention because he was seen chuckling when it landed on the roof. Joey is a straight up character; he took breakdancing classes to improve his fielding and improv classes to improve his communication with teammates. He has also had some comically odd moments like when Ichiro gave him a dozen donuts and he in turn had 51 pizzas delivered to Ichiro’s locker. And no, that is not a typo, it was exactly 51 pizzas, probably because Ichiro’s number at the time was 51 but I cannot confirm the exact reason
• Rafael Devers: Raffy is beyond adorable. He has the cutest/best smile ever. His nickname “carita”(baby face) is in part due to his young and very happy smile. Most baseball players chew bubble gum or sunflower seeds. Raffy chews both… at the same time… The result, a humungous, black ball that leaves him with a chipmunk cheek and often partially sticks out of his mouth at the plate. I personally think it’s quite funny. Raffy is also quite funny and has a great personality. Like Vladdy, he talks to himself at the plate, often encouraging himself, which I think is quite cute. Even though he’s had tough seasons this season and last, he’s a great player and Boston is lucky to have him
• Mookie Betts: I will be naming one my dogs Mookie, Mookie is amazing. Mookie has amazing dancing skills as shown by his 2017 outfield dances with Benni and JBJ. He is so kind. Most recently this was shown by the immediate help he gave opposing player Lane Thomas when Thomas slid weirdly into second base and hurt his knee. Mookie is an amazing player but he is so humble. He gets bonus points for playing in the home run derby last year even though he had no chance of winning
• Bo Bichette: I think Bo Bichette is the most fun name to say. He also has a very funny and goofy personality. He is very kind and just wants to be there to support his teammates, take all the support he gave Vladdy during the home run derby last year. Bo has the second best hair in the league
• Fransisco Lindor: I am not a fan of current and former Astros players, but I have a soft spot in my heart for Lindor. Maybe it started with his chirping at Giancarlo Stanton during the 2021 Subway Series which was beyond funny by the way. I mean as a Red Sox player who wouldn’t love a player who iconically chirped at the Yankees during one of the most famous series in the league? Lindor is so sweet and cute with his daughter and wife. He also is so sweet with spectators and not just fans of his team. For example, last year at Fenway he gave a ball to a young Red Sox fan who wouldn’t even look at him and in response to that told her to keep being the best Red Sox fan there is. He also fist bumps the Mets media person at every game which I think is super fun and cute
• George Springer: I love Georgie! He is beyond cute, especially in the way he gets excited about the game. He is also very silly and funny. There’s a video of him “stealing” second when he actually was advanced to it because the hitter after him was walked. His warm up practices are iconic and hilarious, like his on-field “snow angels” and constant dancing and talking. As a person he is very inspirational. George has had a stutter his whole life and it impacted him a lot as a kid but he grew more confident as a person and has come out from hiding in the shadows and has gone even further by becoming a spokesperson for the Stuttering Association for the Youth(SAY) to inspire kids struggling like he has
• Nathan Eovaldi: Nate is such a sweet guy. Last year was his first year playing for the Rangers and despite that he bought watches for all the Rangers rookies that year. He also was the Jimmy Fund captain for several years. His teammates call him super nice, supportive, and a chill and calming presence. Nasty Nate is also a fantastic pitcher capable of getting his team out of any bind
• Nestor Cortes: Okay, okay, I know some people enjoy pitchers who pitch the traditional way, but I personally find Nasty Nestor’s one of a kind style to be beyond funny. He likes to fake out batters by winding up, spinning back to neutral without touching his foot down(because putting his foot down would be a balk), and then throwing out of nowhere. He’s actually quite good at it. Cortes is shamelessly himself. There’s a recent iconic video of him with a towel he has wrapped around his hat and all the way under his chin to protect himself from the rain. He has embraced his nickname, Nasty Nestor, by getting it tattooed on himself
• Teoscar Hernández: Teo is great. One of his nicknames, Mr. Seeds, comes from the home run celebration he has developed of pouring sunflower seeds on players who hit a homer. Teo is also very goofy. As a Red Sox fan I can’t help but love that the fact that his favorite stadium is Fenway and his least favorite stadium is Yankee Stadium

Hate:

• Pete Alonso: It is a normal practice in the MLB to give a rookie their first major league on the hit. Pete Alonso on the other hand threw Masyn Winn’s first major league into the stands for literally no reason. He makes a lot of rude and unnecessary comments and he just looks like a jerk
• Hansel Robles: Thankfully for every MLB fan Hansel Robles no longer plays in the US. He is not Hansel from the fairy tale so he really needs to lose the name. Even though he’s a pitcher he can’t throw a baseball and cost the Red Sox the game more times than I can count. For example, I went to a game where he gave up 5 runs in just one inning… the 10th inning…
• Carlos Correa: Cheated, was dumb enough to get caught, and then still got a good deal from the next team he went to. When the Astros cheating scandal came out Cody Bellinger responded and said that the Astros stole the World Series from the Dodgers in 2017 and that they cheated for 3 years(the scandal started in 2017 but did not come out until 2020). Correa responded that Belli “either doesn’t know how to read, is really bad at reading comprehension, or is just not informed at all.” In the same interview he said that they only cheated in 2017 even though the commissioner’s report, which the reporter had, clearly showed that they cheated longer than that
• Tim Anderson: He makes wild and sometimes false accusations. He picks fights with other players, like last year with José Ramírez. He also is just beyond cocky and not good enough to be that cocky(though I would argue cockiness is never good regardless of how good you are)
• Kutter Crawford: Crawford has improved this season but holy cow has he cost the Red Sox so many games. He is anti-vax, which I just can’t support. I don’t know why, but something about his face makes me want to punch something
• Josh Donaldson: Has made racist comments. He is extremely ignorant and outspoken in a bad way. He is also very very cocky
• Gerrit Cole: The spelling of his name reminds me of Kermit the Frog which I just don’t like. He is an absolute jerk, like with the way he treats his coworkers. For example, Aaron Boone(Yankee’s manager) came to pull Kermit off the mound one time and Kermit said to Boone “what the f*ck are you doing on my mound?” I mean come on, you cannot ever talk to your manager that way. He also is a sore loser. He played for the Astros through the 2019 season, meaning following the last game of the World Series he was a free agent and technically no longer played for them. He pitched that game for them and they ended up losing and when he went out to the press conference following the game he wore his manager’s hat instead of an Astros hat and said that he didn’t play for them anymore. Again, just a jerk move. He makes a lot of comments that are just like those
• Bryce Harper: I know many people won’t agree with this one but I genuinely hate Bryce Harper. At first glance he is one of the most full-of-himself players in the league which is something I hate, regardless of how much talent he has. I just don’t like the fact that he thinks he’s so amazing and it’s so obvious just looking at his face. His face also always looks like he wants to kill someone. Like many of the other players on this list, he has done many things that make him a huge jerk. For example, he once blew a kiss at a pitcher when he hit a homer off of him. One time he got ejected and ran back out onto the field two pitches later to go swear at the home plate umpire. That is just unacceptable behavior and makes him look terrible
• Justin Verlander: Justin Verlander is a cheater. He also is a huge hypocrite. Need proof? I can give you three reasons off the top of my head: one, he made nasty remarks against a rookie accused of domestic violence but when his own teammate was accused of domestic violence he said he had to listen to his teammates side of the story. Two, he said that platers using steroids should be banned for life but said that everyone makes mistakes when his own teammate was caught using steroids. Three, he has said that he wants a “clean game” but was a big part of the Astros cheating scandal. Verlander is also just very selfish and cocky
• Manny Machado: If Manny Machado were to be compared to any player in baseball it would be A-Rod, one of the most hated baseball players of all time. Machado is a dirty player.Like A-Rod he is very aggressive and has frequently gotten into fights. He has cleated several first baseman on purpose. He hit an A’s catcher in the head with his bat in his back swing, presumably on purpose since he never apologized, in a single game. In the same game, he threw his bat at the third baseman(who was Josh Donaldson but still). He’s also just lazy honestly
• Julio Urías: I don’t have much on this one other than the fact that he is the only player in the MLB to be suspended twice for domestic violence. You don’t need more reason than that to hate a person