A History of Players Blasting Teammates in Books

Mo Rivera is the latest star to unleash unfriendly fire.

A History of Players Blasting Teammates in Books - Mariano Rivera's The Closer, released today (May 6), tells the great relief pitcher’s story, from the New York Yankees’ championships and their rivalries to the baseball legend’s personal struggles. As part of the book, Rivera controversially writes that if he had to win one game, he’d put Dustin Pedroia of the Yankees’ rival Boston Red Sox in at second base over former teammate Robinson Cano, citing that Pedroia gives it his all more than Cano. Some may feel that Mo was simply telling the truth, while others believe that he’s jabbing and taking shots at Cano. If it’s the latter, Mo’s far from being the only one. Click on as BET.com takes a look at other sports stars and even coaches who have taken shots at their teammates through books. Peep these literary left hooks. (Photo: Little, Brown and Company)

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A History of Players Blasting Teammates in Books - Mariano Rivera's The Closer, released today (May 6), tells the great relief pitcher’s story, from the New York Yankees’ championships and their rivalries to the baseball legend’s personal struggles. As part of the book, Rivera controversially writes that if he had to win one game, he’d put Dustin Pedroia of the Yankees’ rival Boston Red Sox in at second base over former teammate Robinson Cano, citing that Pedroia gives it his all more than Cano. Some may feel that Mo was simply telling the truth, while others believe that he’s jabbing and taking shots at Cano. If it’s the latter, Mo’s far from being the only one. Click on as BET.com takes a look at other sports stars and even coaches who have taken shots at their teammates through books. Peep these literary left hooks. (Photo: Little, Brown and Company)

Jose Canseco's Juiced - Who didn’t Jose Canseco take shots at in his 2006 tell-all book? The absolute page-turner shook the baseball world to its core for outing former teammates such as Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Ivan Rodriguez, Jason Giambi and Juan Gonzalez as steroid users. Canseco turned out to be a real-life Bash Brother, right McGwire?(Photo: It Books)

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Jose Canseco's Juiced - Who didn’t Jose Canseco take shots at in his 2006 tell-all book? The absolute page-turner shook the baseball world to its core for outing former teammates such as Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Ivan Rodriguez, Jason Giambi and Juan Gonzalez as steroid users. Canseco turned out to be a real-life Bash Brother, right McGwire?(Photo: It Books)

Joe Torre's The Yankee Years - Managers can take shots at their former players, too. And what stood out in former New York Yankees manager Joe Torre’s 2010 book more than anything else was his feelings about Alex Rodriguez. Torre felt like A-Rod was an attention hog as soon as he joined the Bronx Bombers before the 2004 season. Torre also commented that A-Rod’s at-bats were too much about “how it looks” instead of “getting the job done.”(Photo: Anchor Publishing)

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Joe Torre's The Yankee Years - Managers can take shots at their former players, too. And what stood out in former New York Yankees manager Joe Torre’s 2010 book more than anything else was his feelings about Alex Rodriguez. Torre felt like A-Rod was an attention hog as soon as he joined the Bronx Bombers before the 2004 season. Torre also commented that A-Rod’s at-bats were too much about “how it looks” instead of “getting the job done.”(Photo: Anchor Publishing)

Terry Francona's The Red Sox Years - Possibly taking notes about how Joe Torre’s The Yankee Years did three years prior, Terry Francona candidly described his tenure as Boston Red Sox manager from 2004-2011. Amongst the highlighted candor of player interaction is a 2008 scene in which Francona witnessed Manny Ramirez shove the team’s 64-year-old travel secretary to the ground when he couldn’t meet the slugger’s late request for 16 tickets in Houston. “What the f--k are you doing?” Francona said as he grabbed Ramirez. On another occasion, he saw Manny in deep thought in the clubhouse studying a phone book. Francona definitely takes shots at Ramirez, although we all know these are merely cases of Manny being Manny.(Photo: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

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Terry Francona's The Red Sox Years - Possibly taking notes about how Joe Torre’s The Yankee Years did three years prior, Terry Francona candidly described his tenure as Boston Red Sox manager from 2004-2011. Amongst the highlighted candor of player interaction is a 2008 scene in which Francona witnessed Manny Ramirez shove the team’s 64-year-old travel secretary to the ground when he couldn’t meet the slugger’s late request for 16 tickets in Houston. “What the f--k are you doing?” Francona said as he grabbed Ramirez. On another occasion, he saw Manny in deep thought in the clubhouse studying a phone book. Francona definitely takes shots at Ramirez, although we all know these are merely cases of Manny being Manny.(Photo: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Terrell Owens's T.O. - Terrell Owens likened former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb to a childhood bully who spat in his mouth as a teenager in his 2006 autobiography, T.O. The Pro Bowl wide receiver also added that their friction sparked when McNabb allegedly failed to throw him the ball during Owens’s first season in Philadelphia. Big surprise. To all of this, McNabb simply called Owens’s autobiography a “children’s book,” one that he should have been given co-author credit on due to how frequently his name is mentioned.(Photo: Simon & Schuster)

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Terrell Owens's T.O. - Terrell Owens likened former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb to a childhood bully who spat in his mouth as a teenager in his 2006 autobiography, T.O. The Pro Bowl wide receiver also added that their friction sparked when McNabb allegedly failed to throw him the ball during Owens’s first season in Philadelphia. Big surprise. To all of this, McNabb simply called Owens’s autobiography a “children’s book,” one that he should have been given co-author credit on due to how frequently his name is mentioned.(Photo: Simon & Schuster)

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Keyshawn Johnson's Just Give Me the Damn Ball - One year into his NFL career, and what does brash New York Jets wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson do? Pen a book entitled Just Give Me the Damn Ball, of course! Although the book itself did a good job chronicling Johnson’s rookie year in 1996, the opinionated wideout ruffled some of Gang Green’s feathers with the bold title alone, managing to claim that then-veteran quarterback Neil O’Donnell had faked an injury at the end of the year. Rookie mistake! (Photo: Grand Central Publishing)

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Keyshawn Johnson's Just Give Me the Damn Ball - One year into his NFL career, and what does brash New York Jets wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson do? Pen a book entitled Just Give Me the Damn Ball, of course! Although the book itself did a good job chronicling Johnson’s rookie year in 1996, the opinionated wideout ruffled some of Gang Green’s feathers with the bold title alone, managing to claim that then-veteran quarterback Neil O’Donnell had faked an injury at the end of the year. Rookie mistake! (Photo: Grand Central Publishing)

Mike Tyson's Undisputed Truth - Iron Mike Tyson's 2013 autobiography does more than take shots at the likes of promoter Don King, ex-wife Robin Givens and rival boxer Mitch Green. He discusses his utter disgust for them and more. Tyson unearths Givens and her mother’s gold-digging methods, while telling candid tales of him repeatedly thrashing Green outside the ring. And about Don King: “When I think about all the horrific things that Don has done to me over the years I still feel like killing him.” Easy, champ, easy!(Photo: Blue Rider Press)

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Mike Tyson's Undisputed Truth - Iron Mike Tyson's 2013 autobiography does more than take shots at the likes of promoter Don King, ex-wife Robin Givens and rival boxer Mitch Green. He discusses his utter disgust for them and more. Tyson unearths Givens and her mother’s gold-digging methods, while telling candid tales of him repeatedly thrashing Green outside the ring. And about Don King: “When I think about all the horrific things that Don has done to me over the years I still feel like killing him.” Easy, champ, easy!(Photo: Blue Rider Press)

Shaquille O'Neal's Shaq Uncut - It’s common knowledge that Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant had a bitter feud when they were teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers. So there shouldn’t be any surprise in learning that Shaq took some shots at his former teammate in his 2011 autobiography. In Shaq Uncut, the big fella recalls a story in which an exhausted then-Lakers coach Phil Jackson warned the duo about their bickering and Bryant did an interview with Jim Gray nearly right after, saying O’Neal was out of shape. An irate O’Neal let Kobe know that, “I will kill you,” if remarks like that were ever made about him again. He also took shots at Bryant’s introverted ways. Diesel don’t hurt ’em!(Photo: Grand Central Publishing)

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Shaquille O'Neal's Shaq Uncut - It’s common knowledge that Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant had a bitter feud when they were teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers. So there shouldn’t be any surprise in learning that Shaq took some shots at his former teammate in his 2011 autobiography. In Shaq Uncut, the big fella recalls a story in which an exhausted then-Lakers coach Phil Jackson warned the duo about their bickering and Bryant did an interview with Jim Gray nearly right after, saying O’Neal was out of shape. An irate O’Neal let Kobe know that, “I will kill you,” if remarks like that were ever made about him again. He also took shots at Bryant’s introverted ways. Diesel don’t hurt ’em!(Photo: Grand Central Publishing)