It's been a rough week for baseball. First came the revelation that New York Yankees super-duperstar Alex Rodriguez had tested positive for steroids back in 2003. Then this weekend the nation's pastime got beaned by Danny McBride's hilarious new HBO comedy Eastbound and Down, a show about a washed up major leaguer who's forced to go back to his hometown and teach middle school gym.
Yup, McBride's racist, coked-up, fashion-retarded character Kenny Powers is a real black eye for baseball'precisely because the character is based on a handful of actual racist, coked-up, fashion-retarded ballplayers. Complex dusted off the ol' Encyclopedia of Misanthropic Baseball Players to trace Powers' real life lineage...
MITCH WILLIAMS
The most obvious inspiration for Kenny Powers' awesomely awful mullet-goatee combo, Williams is most famous for giving up Joe Carter's World Series-winning homer in the 1993 World Series. That and having the most effed-up hair in baseball history (which is saying a lot).
JOHN ROCKER
McBride shares a hometown (Statesboro, GA) with the former Braves closer, and while Kenny Powers' "Jew York" and "fags in San Francisco" comments echo Rocker's infamous 7 train rant, Powers might not even be as fucked up as the real thing. And we're assuming Powers will steer clear of having cleavage contests with his wife.
KENNY ROGERS
The Gambler's well known for his shoddy hygiene, but he's also the source for the camera-tossing scene in Eastbound's opening montage. Although to be fair, Rogers' camera-toss wasn't prompted by roid-rage; that dude's just an asshole.
TOMMY LASORDA
Lasorda wasn't the first baseball man to curse a lot, he was just the first to elevate it to art.
STEVE HOWE
Like Powers, Howe was impressive in his debut, blowing into the majors as a 22-year-old in 1980 and winning the National League Rookie of the Year. And like Powers, Howe blew himself right out of the league as well, getting suspended 7 times for cocaine-related offenses.
