# Werth/Harper - Is there a bigger pair of a-holes batting back to back in MLB? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 16, 2012, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872 "2012-09-16T12:26:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872/1 "2012-09-16T12:26:28Z")
Pretty standard lineup for the Washington Nationals has Jason Werth and Bryce Harper batting back-to-back. Both are known for a fairly high level of doucheiness. Is there currently another pair of back-to-back hitters in MLB that can out-douche this pair? I think Kent and Bonds used to hit back to back for the Giants, so that may be the historical winner. Anyone got another nominee? ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872/2 "2012-09-16T15:33:52Z")
Historically? Canseco and McGwire would be my pick. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872/3 "2012-09-16T15:47:09Z")
How about Mark Teixeria and A-Rod? Actually, A-Rod with anyone should do it. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872/4 "2012-09-16T15:52:36Z")
Ty Cobb 4th, Jesus 5th. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872/5 "2012-09-16T15:58:19Z")
The 2001-2003 Texas Rangers sported many lineups with Alex Rodriguez and Rafael Palmiero hitting consecutively. I win. They outdouche any combo I can think of. Palmiero was a huge, huge douchebag even before the steroids thing. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872/6 "2012-09-16T18:03:20Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The 2001-2003 Texas Rangers sported many lineups with Alex Rodriguez and Rafael Palmiero hitting consecutively. I win. They outdouche any combo I can think of. > > Palmiero was a huge, huge douchebag even before the steroids thing. Ty Cobb went into the stands and beat the shit out of a cripple. There needs to be some weighting to account for that or else, like **hrhomer** points out, Cobb pretty much overshadows anyone by himself. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872/7 "2012-09-17T12:00:45Z")
Can I ask what makes Werth and Harper douches? The son of a colleague plays ball with Werth’s son and says he’s a regular guy. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872/8 "2012-09-17T13:33:19Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Can I ask what makes Werth and Harper douches? The son of a colleague plays ball with Werth’s son and says he’s a regular guy. Good question. I made my glib contribution about Cobb as a knee-jerk reaction, but I also haven’t heard about Werth being a jerk. Harper, a little. Has A.J. Pierzynski hit next to any other choice assholes? ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872/9 "2012-09-17T15:35:55Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Can I ask what makes Werth and Harper douches? The son of a colleague plays ball with Werth’s son and says he’s a regular guy. [Clown question, bro.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzbhjzsyvGk) Anyways, OP, I didn’t know you were [Jeff Pearlman](http://www.jeffpearlman.com/jayson-werth-not-so-fabulous/). BTW, I need to get around to reading “[Boys Will Be Boys](http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Will-Be-Cowboys-Dynasty/dp/0061256803)”, I understand it’s quite good. In all seriousness, I’ve never met either guy. The MLB players I have met—I haven’t met many—have had…exaggerated opinions of their worth. It would take a lot to stand out as a d-bag in that group of people. Although some of the examples in this [blog post on Werth](http://www.crossingbroad.com/2010/07/jayson-werth.html) would qualify. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872/10 "2012-09-17T16:07:26Z")
Harper? I know people expected him to be kind of a douche based on how he carried himself in the minors but pretty much all sportswriters have said he has turned out to be a pretty classy guy. Yeah he’s had his outbursts, he’s a 19yo playing in the majors, but he hasn’t been any more of a douche than the rest of the league. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872/11 "2012-09-17T17:32:46Z")
I thought the “clown question bro” quote was great. The reporter was trying to get Harper to say that he can drink a beer in Canada, but not in the uptight US. I think Harper is also a Mormon, so the reporter’s question was also culturally insensitive. Werth doesn’t like to sign autographs for adults, but he will sign them freely for little kids. He has said that he doesn’t like to sign stuff just so it can go up on ebay. Sounds kid of classy to me. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872/12 "2012-09-17T20:29:49Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > [Clown question, bro.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzbhjzsyvGk) It WAS a clown question. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872/13 "2012-09-18T07:49:54Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Historically? Canseco and McGwire would be my pick. I guess McGwire’s PED use and performance before the congressional committee makes him an a-hole, but he’s not much of one compared to some of the others on this list. Historically, Rogers Hornsby comes in second behind Ty Cobb. While Hornsby wasn’t violent, he was despised by almost everyone he came in contact with. Hornsby seemed to take pleasure in offending people - Bill James described him as “creatively rude.” Hornsby and Ducky Medwick played together on the 1933 Cardinals. Medwick was also widely hated - he got in a lot of fights. I don’t know if they ever batted back-to-back, but if they did I’d say they should get the all-time award for joint a-holery. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872/14 "2012-09-22T05:46:22Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Although some of the examples in this [blog post on Werth](http://www.crossingbroad.com/2010/07/jayson-werth.html) would qualify. I’m not sure that any Philadelphia fan can be credible on the subject of douchiness in player-fan relations. And even in some of those examples, as presented, I’m inclined to side more with Werth. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872/15 "2012-09-22T14:15:33Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > I’m not sure that any Philadelphia fan can be credible on the subject of douchiness in player-fan relations zzz ---
**Author:** ![Shooby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@Shooby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shooby)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872/16 "2012-09-27T15:15:16Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > I guess McGwire’s PED use and performance before the congressional committee makes him an a-hole, but he’s not much of one compared to some of the others on this list. > > Historically, Rogers Hornsby comes in second behind Ty Cobb. While Hornsby wasn’t violent, he was despised by almost everyone he came in contact with. Hornsby seemed to take pleasure in offending people - Bill James described him as “creatively rude.” > > Hornsby and Ducky Medwick played together on the 1933 Cardinals. Medwick was also widely hated - he got in a lot of fights. I don’t know if they ever batted back-to-back, but if they did I’d say they should get the all-time award for joint a-holery. Wow, so the 2 best pure hitters of all time were major douchebags? With Bonds and Ruth the best power hitters, that makes 4 pretty awful people at the top of the offensive charts (although Babe was a love’im AND hate’im sort of guy apparently). Hopefully Albert Pujols can continue his run and be the token decent guy up there, along with Ted Williams I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872/17 "2012-09-27T16:00:20Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Ty Cobb went into the stands and beat the shit out of a cripple. There needs to be some weighting to account for that or else, like **hrhomer** points out, Cobb pretty much overshadows anyone by himself. The cripple was bench jockeying Cobb, calling him a “n\*\*\*\*\*r”. Not that Cobb was any great shakes, he was a bigot and a mean person too, most of the time. I don’t think Babe Ruth was ever regarded as a bad guy, except for a few managerial disputes. A big, overgrown kid who loved booze, food and women. But people were fond of him, or at least in awe. Bill James once noted a lot of left fielders, are jerks: Jesse “The Crab” Burkett, Ducky Medwick, Dave Kingman, Barry Bonds. Something about their personalities makes many of them not practice defense and they end up in left, the least challenging defensive position. Ted Williams is tough to figure out. He is highly eulogized today but many Boston sportswriters of his day didn’t like him. I remember coming across a Sporting News article from the early 1950s and it is amazing how many teams said openly they didn’t want him, would not trade the likes of Hoot Evers, Ned Garver, Ferris Fain or Chico Carrasquel for him. In the early 1920s the Yankes had two pitchers, Carl Mays and Bullet Joe Bush who were unlikeable. Manager Miller Huggins, on his deathbed, said he would have helped any of his players, except those two. Mays and Bush he would kick into the gutter. ---
**Author:** ![Cowboy8467](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Cowboy8467](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowboy8467)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872/18 "2012-09-27T17:55:08Z")
Werth and Harper are anything but assholes, but perhaps I feel that way because I am a Nats fan. Either way, it was absolutely hilarious to me what he did to Phillies fans at last nights game. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/post/jayson-werth-fakes-out-fans-steals-phanatics-keys/2012/09/27/1647a04a-0894-11e2-afff-d6c7f20a83bf\_blog.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/post/jayson-werth-fakes-out-fans-steals-phanatics-keys/2012/09/27/1647a04a-0894-11e2-afff-d6c7f20a83bf_blog.html) ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872/19 "2012-09-27T18:11:01Z")
> [@Shooby](#): > > Wow, so the 2 best pure hitters of all time were major douchebags? Bill “Spaceman” Lee said, > [@](#): > > The more self-centered and egotistical a guy is, the better ballplayer he’s going to be. You take a team with twenty-five assholes and I’ll show you a pennant. I’ll show you the New York Yankees. I’m not sure I agree with him, but it’s an interesting perspective. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872/20 "2012-09-27T18:35:21Z")
> [@Cowboy8467](#): > > Werth and Harper are anything but assholes, but perhaps I feel that way because I am a Nats fan. Either way, it was absolutely hilarious to me what he did to Phillies fans at last nights game. > > [http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/post/jayson-werth-fakes-out-fans-steals-phanatics-keys/2012/09/27/1647a04a-0894-11e2-afff-d6c7f20a83bf\_blog.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/post/jayson-werth-fakes-out-fans-steals-phanatics-keys/2012/09/27/1647a04a-0894-11e2-afff-d6c7f20a83bf_blog.html) Especially the part where he followed it up with batting in two runners, locking in the win. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/werth-harper-is-there-a-bigger-pair-of-a-holes-batting-back-to-back-in-mlb/634872.md?page=2)