The Bronx Stop: A Yankees Blog

Peter Catapano/Newsday.Com:

Be it on the field, page one of the tabloids, or a jail cell, New York has had a long line of baseball stars who can't seem to stay out of trouble or the headlines.

The reigning king of the gossip pages is Alex Rodriguez, who's mired in a nasty divorce. But whether it's the late Billy Martin's fisticuffs with fans or Darryl Strawberry's drug use, it seems New York baseball stars seems to court the limelight.

Here is the starting lineup of the New York Yankee's All-Tabloid Team...

1B Joe Pepitone:

• Pepitone spent four months at Rikers Island in 1988 for two misdemeanor drug convictions when police found nine ounces of cocaine, hundreds of Quaaludes, free-basing paraphernalia and a gun in a car he was in. Later, in 1995, Pepitone rammed his car in a Midtown Tunnel wall while driving drunk.

• The five-time manager of the Yankees and former player seemed to always be in trouble. Besides getting into a famous 1957 brawl along with some Yankee greats at the Copa, throughout his career Martin has had physical fights with two traveling secretaries, a fan, a sportswriter, Yankees pitcher Ed Whitson and even a marshmallow salesman.

• He isn't found in the crime blotters. He makes it onto the gossip pages. Mariah Carey, Jessica Biehl, Vanessa Minillo are among those on a never-ending list of glam gals Jeter has been tied to.

• As of late, A-Rod has been the tabloid king with his fiery divorce from Cynthia Rodriguez and alleged affair with Madonna. The $250 million man first made the gossip pages last June when he was seen cavorting with a blonde stripper.

• The center of the Bronx Zoo in the 1970s, Jackson was constantly making headlines for grappling with Martin (including a dugout tussle live on camera), teammate Thurman Munson and owner George Steinbrenner.

• With his all-American looks and charm, Mantle was a staple of New York City nightlife in the '50s and '60s. He was also on hand for the brawl in 1957 with Martin at the Copa, a usual Yankees haunt. Mantle's drinking ultimately cost him his life in 1995.

• Polonia, who had three stints with the Bombers, served 60 days in jail after pleading no contest to having sex with a 15-year-old girl.

• Never popular in the clubhouse, the two-time Yankee has a pending trial on charges of driving under the influence and manslaughter for a crash last year in Florida that killed a woman, also allegedly driving drunk at the time.

• The Rocket has perhaps the most diverse list of transgression to land a player on Page One. He's been at the center of a steroid-use allegation, photographed throwing a bat at Mike Piazza in 2000 and accused of a litany of extramarital affairs, including one with country singer Mindy McCready that began when she was 15-years-old.