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The Triple-A Iowa Cubs asked U.S. Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson to come home to Des Moines, Iowa. There her gold medal-winning achievement from the 2008 Beijing Olympics would be celebrated with her throwing of the first pitch between the Cubs and the Oklahoma City RedHawks.

Johnson had thrown out first pitches before (as pictured for the Dodgers) and once at Wrigley Field.  However, last night’s effort was far from gold medal worthy.  Johnson barely got the pitch beyond the dirt of the mound where it feebly rolled through the grass, resulting in a burst of laughter from the nearly 5,000 in attendance.

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It’s only natural in sports. Among a clubhouse of athletes with egos clashing and pressure running high, there is going to be a bad apple or two. How that individual checks his attitude and/or that attitude is managed by his coaching staff can go a long way to deciding whether or not his attitude will poison the clubhouse atmosphere.

It’s more uncommon in baseball than the other four major sports to have one individual player boil over into real trouble, but they have always been there. However, with increased media attention and scrutiny, these cases in Major League Baseball have become more recognizable in recent decades.

Here is a look at the 10 biggest clubhouse headaches in baseball history.

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Oakland Athletics left-hander Dallas Braden joined the annals of baseball yesterday when he tossed the 19th perfect game in the history of the game. It was completely unexpected given Braden’s relative obscurity.

Well Braden is obscure no more now that his feat will go alongside the likes of Don Larsen, Sandy Koufax, Jim Bunning, and others. A pitcher cannot do better than perfect, but for argument’s sake, we’re going to look at the varying degrees of perfect in this power ranking of the 19 perfectos thrown in baseball history.

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The MLB All-Star Game has been an event of diminishing returns in recent years. The ratings have plummeted and general interest has waned over the years, leaving the Mid-Summer Classic has nothing more than a blip on the radar.

The MLB All-Star Game once had significant meaning to the players and fans who saw the best of the best square off for the only interleague matchup outside of the World Series.

Pete Rose’s collision at home plate. Reggie Jackson’s moonshot. Cal Ripken’s home run. All were memorable moments from a game that is losing those moments and overall attraction.

The MLB All-Star Game needs a face lift. Here are five ways to make it happen.

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