He wasnt much of a power hitter, amassing just 101 home runs over a career that spanned two decades. #1 of 219. One of the great leadoff hitters and bunters of the 1980s and early 1990s, Brett Butler somehow only made one All-Star game over his 17-year career. Jun 18, 2009. Beyond the top ten, things seem to make a bit more sense at least: Phil Niekro, Pedro Martinez, Bert Blyleven, and Alex Rodriguez make up an interesting bloc from #19 to #22, with Curt Schilling . Can you name the Most Overrated and Underrated MLB Players of All-time (as of Spring 2007) as named by Jayson Stark? Career Stats: 2,202 G; .276/.373/.351; 54 HR; 687 RBI; 2,210 H; 1,239 R; 271-for-365 SB. Most fans only remember John Olerud as the first baseman who wore a helmet while playing the field. Maris was never beloved in New York, breaking Babe Ruths record for most home runs in a season at a time when most fans wanted Mickey Mantle to break it. After an inauspicious start to his career as a member of the Indians, Brian Giles found himself traded to the Pirates prior to the 1999 season. Not only does he already have the championship pedigree from 2019, but just like Lehkonen, he's as versatile as they come . The Cuban was often overlooked during his career as well, only making the All-Star Team three times. Injuries would take their toll andultimatelyend his career in 1985 after only 38 innings of work. My list of the greatest players in baseball, over time, goes back to 1901, the founding of the American League. Career Stats: 1,673 G; .286/.351/.455; 202 HR; 870 RBI; 1,706 H; 843 R; 103-for-171 SB. Career Stats: 2,239 G; .296/.340/.375; 37 HR; 842 RBI; 2,705 H; 1,357 R; 62-for-135 SB. Bottom line: Many believe Lou Whitaker should be in the Hall along with his double-play partner, Alan Trammell. He was also an excellent fielder who held multiple fielding records at the time of his retirement that have since been passed. Not bad considering that neither shortstop or second base had really evolved to the slugging positions we've grown accustomed to over the past 15 years. He was also a phenomenal defensive second baseman as well and one of the best at turning the double play, yet he never received a Gold Glove Award due to the presence of two other second basemen who were equally as adept with the glove: the Royals' Frank White and the Tigers' Lou Whitaker. The Greatest Relief Pitchers of All Time. Meanwhile, few remember him for being an adequate hitter, batting .272 in his career and coming up 133 hits shy of the 3,000-hit plateau. One of the more versatile players of his time. People also forget he was 2-0 in three starts, including two complete games, in the epic 1975 World Series between Boston and Cincinnati. NICK ALBERGA: For me, it would be Ivan Barbashev of the St. Louis Blues. A rare blend of both power and speed. But Wagner excelled at just about everything else. From 1976 to 1978, when the Yankees went to the World Series for three consecutive years and won two, Nettles hit 96 home runs and drove in 293 runs a key cog, to be sure. 1 of 10. Bob Watson not only played in relative obscurity for 13 seasons with the Astros but also had his home-run total reduced by the cavernous Houston Astrodome. The knock against Walker is he was able to pad his stats in the thin air of Colorado. McRae is one of only a handful of players who have a rule be named after them. Lou Gehrig Sounds crazy at first but he really is underrated RELATIVE to where he SHOULD be all time. He has a no-hitter on his resume and was also a six-time all-star. Giles finished his career with more than 300 more walks than strikeouts, and while he was never the same player in San Diego as he was in Pittsburgh, Giles was one of the most popular Padres during his time with the club. 2,143: 3.24: Movies: May 30, 2010: VH-1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock bands. Alomar threw the ball to John Olerud at first base to double-up the Braves' Terry Pendleton, but Pendelton had already been called out for passing Deion Sanders on the base paths. : 10.8%. Perhaps thats why hes easy to overlook, as only Cleveland fans got to know him. LaMelo suffers ankle fracture: Opportunities for Smith and Bouknight, Davis & Russell must step up for the Lakers following LeBrons injury, A look at leagues competing with each other around the world, Potential trade packages and partners if the Bears trade the 2023 first overall pick, Previews & predictions for Week 2 of the 2023 MLS season. Career Stats: 263 G (254 GS); 87-108; 4.25 ERA; 1.43 WHIP; 1,674 IP; 1,779 H; 1.43 K/BB. Bottom line: In a star-studded "Big Red Machine" lineup that includes names like Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Ken Griffey Sr., George Foster and more, Dave Concepcion was the glue of the Cincinnati infield. His 272 career home runs dont stack up too well against other top-flight first basemen in baseball history. And his defense was unparalleled, as evidenced by his World Series-turning performance in Game 3 against the Dodgers in 1978. Career Stats: 1,350 G; .300/.359/.522; 242 HR; 898 RBI; 1,550 H; 809 R; SB Data Not Known. Amazingly enough, Ryne Sandberg took home Gold Glove honors. Omar Vizquel. Impressive Kevin Brown). This also should paint a great picture of the current roster. My Most Underrated MLB Players Going into 2023! Photo: Paul Popper. He would become a five-time All-Star and win three Gold Gloves patrolling center field for the Royals, twice hitting .300 or better while leading the American League in doubles in 1970 and again in 1976. Career Stats: 1,887 G; .267/.354/.475; 318 HR; 1,147 RBI; 1,703 H; 945 R; 14-for-33 SB. Career Stats: 2,084 G; .290/.351/.454; 191 HR; 1,097 RBI; 2,091 H; 940 R; 109 -for-185 SB. A four-time All-Star, Bando led the A's in RBI three times and was the second third baseman in American League history to hit 200 home runs in their career. His best seasons came in the years that the Reds won back-to-back championships in 1975 and 1976 and were among the most dominant teams in baseball before and after those titles. Teams:California/Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Stats:1,105 games, .284 BA, 393 HR, 1,199 RBI, .376 OBP, .527 SLG. Omar Vizquel might be the poster boy for how little the Hall of Fame values defense, which is why he's among the most underrated MLB players of all time. Dude is a stud (no homo). Bottom line: Scott Rolen was among the best third basemen in the game during the first decade of the 2000s. The Greatest New York Yankees Of All Time. Here are the two reasons why Albert Pujols is one of the most underrated players in the history of baseball. Career Stats: 1,998 G; .277/.343/.425; 193 HR; 1,007 RBI; 2,020 H; 1,092 R; 341-for-434 SB. Mo Vaughn: Similar to others on this list, Vaughn was a fan-favorite slugger whose numbers at the plate overshadowed his deficiencies in other areas of the game. Robin Roberts - If the award existed then, and voters evaluated players they way, Roberts probably would have won 5, and possibly 6 consecutive Cy Youngs from 1950-1955. A two-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove award winner, Finley was an integral part of the Diamondbacks team that won the 2001 World Series, batting .368/.478/.526 with one home run, two RBI and five runs scored. Accolades: MVP x 3, All-Star x 18, World Series x 10. Eight times in his 17-year career, Sievers hit at least 20 home runs and drove in at least 80 runs, and his 42 home runs and 114 RBI in 1957 as a member of the Washington Senators led the American League. Conine enjoyed success for a few seasons, placing third in Rookie of the Year balloting in 1993 and earning an All-Star selection in each of the next two seasons. Career Stats: 1,865 G; .288/.362/.461; 223 HR; 1,247 RBI; 2,042 H; 1,094 R; 54-for-118 SB. Stark, a baseball columnist and television analyst for the better part of the last three decades, attempts to identify the most overrated and underrated players of all time at each position. These guys had solid career resumes and often came up big in big games, yet they seldom, if ever, received widespread acclaim. Scott Rolen, Third Base Scott Rolen was drafted in the second round of the 1993 MLB draft by the Philadelphia Phillies out of Jasper High School in Indiana. He only won three Gold Gloves, all coming later in his career. Stats: 59.5 WAR, .285 AVG, .830 OPS, 1430 RBIs. Maybe one of the most underrated MLB jerseys of all-time is the early 1970's Oakland Athletics' home jersey. Tigers' fans remember him fondly for his contributions during their march to the World Series championship in 1968. 320 batting average with a .370 OBP. Most baseball fans know about Honus Wagners famously expensive baseball card but they dont know that much about him as a player. Lofton was also a .299 career hitter who was always playing on winning teams. Money pitcher. Moreover, he was one of the best if not the best defensive center fielders of his time. Five times he hit more than 30 home runs, twice he broke the 100 RBI barrier and eight times he hit more than 20 home runs and drove in at least 70 runs. Moises Alou - .303, 332 homeruns, 6 time all-star, 2-time silver slugger, etc Albert Belle - obvious Larry Walker Luis Tiant Vida Blue Winner of seven consecutive Gold Glove awards in center field and a three-time All-Star, Devon White was one of the more underrated players of the past 20 years. Teams:Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Cincinnati Reds, Stats:2,038 games, .281 BA, 316 HR, 1,287 RBI, .364 OBP, .490 SLG. Jim Abbot underrated because he had one hand.His best season came two years later with the Angels in 1991, when he went 18-11 with a 2.89 ERA, finishing third in the American League Cy Young Award voting. He hit .332 with an OPS of 1.040 and had 39 home runs, 155 RBIs, and 37 stolen bases. 20 best players available via trade in the 2023 NFL offseason. He also stole 321 bases in his career. Not one teammate showed. Guerrero, Alonso, Olson, Freeman, and Goldschmidt all sit in the top 35 and are well deserving of those rankings. In fact, from 2000 through 2009, Rolen had 127 defensive runs saved. Jim Edmonds made a career out of producing highlight-reel plays with his glove, winning eight Gold Glove awards over 17 years in the majors. Playing alongside future Hall of Famers like Paul Molitor and Robin Yount and solid pros in Sal Bando and Gordon Thomas, Money was selected to four All-Star games as part of the "Brew Crew" and set the major league record for consecutive games played at third base without committing an error, 86 games, in 1974. Not to take anything away from any of those players, all of whom have had excellent careers, but none of them come close to fielding their position as well as Vizquel. Gil Hodges and the Mets were convinced that Amos Otis was a third baseman. Teams:Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, Stats:443 games, 176-137, 3.44 ERA, 103 CG, 30 SHO, 5 K/9 IP. He played over a decade in the big leagues, winning 11 Gold Gloves, including nine in a row at one point. Up too well against other top-flight first basemen in baseball history are the reasons. Three times # x27 ; s 100 greatest Hard Rock bands: 30. 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