By the time his career was over, he had become the only player with as many as 2,705 hits before 1975 not elected to baseballs Hall of Fameand only two players, Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker, had played more games in center field than Doc Cramer. "The Hal McRae Rule" requires that runners slide into second base when trying to break up a double play, doing away with McRae's favorite movethe cross-body check, something he terrorized American League middle infielders with for years. His best year of 1922 is one of the most underrated seasons of all time. Players in parentheses have the same grade. Parker was one of the most balanced and versatile outfielders of his era. He was vastly underrated in the way that he kept hitters off balance by changing speeds with his pitches. The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. A two-time All-Star, he wouldn't join a winning baseball team until 1946 when he was sold to the Boston Red Sox. He won a Gold Glove in 1986 and was a two-time All-Star. History & Major Milestones. 1 of 10. One of the more versatile players of his time. Major League Baseball is loaded with star power heading into the 2023 season. Can you name the Most Overrated and Underrated MLB Players of All-time (as of Spring 2007) as named by Jayson Stark? There have been some great baseball players throughout history who have flown under the radar. He won a batting title and an MVP with the Cardinals, and led the league in walks in 1986, the year he helped the Mets to a seven-game World Series title over the Red Sox. Bottom line: Heres John Oleruds problem, or, rather, the problem that voters have with Olerud perception. #12. He was also a four-time all-star who fell just short of 400 home runs and 1,200 RBIs in his career. Then again, you have to remember that he really had two careers 12 to start his career and then 14 with a brand new arm after being the first person to have the eponymous "Tommy John surgery. A few even deserved a Cy Young Award or should be in the Hall of Fame. His .482 lifetime on-base percentage is the highest of all time, and he ranks in the top 20 in total runs scored, home runs, runs batted in, and walks despite having missed almost five full seasons of his prime to military service. The road to Cooperstown is difficult for receivers, due to the difficulty of evaluating the position with statistics. Stats:2,488 games, .267 batting average, 101 HR, 950 RBI, .322 .357 SLG. Career Stats: 1,847 G; .291/.400/.502; 287 HR; 1,078 RBI; 1,897 H; 1,121 R; 109-for-154 SB. He was a four-time Gold Glove winner and a six-time All-Star. Frankly, baseball history is filled with players who had unique skills or put the team over themselves, leaving them without the accolades they should have received. 1974-1992, 70.1 WAR (Wins Over Replacement), 1,225 RBIs and 2,092 hits. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019. Its crazy to think that Jeff Reardon is nowhere near the Hall of Fame after the type of career he had. Except for his first season in 1972, when the team was over .500, Rick Reuschel never knew another winning season nor any National League East finish over third place during his tenure at Wrigley. 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. Quizzes; Events; Quiz Creation; Community; Videos; Private Events; Remove Ads . From 1980 through 1990, Stieb failed to win at least 11 games only once, posting an average season of 14-10 with a 3.29 ERA and 1.22 WHIP and nine complete games. Free Agency Buzz. The first shortstop to hit 40 home runs in a season, a feat he accomplished in 1969, Rico Petrocelli spent his entire 13-year-career with the Boston Red Sox. Rico never had the attention of the media like his more famous teammate Carl Yastrzemski did, but Boston fans knew that he was a special player, and he remains one of the most popular Red Sox players of the past 50 years. McRae is one of only a handful of players who have a rule be named after them. "Thinking about our own team where we're at, and where we've been so far I'd say Dylan Cease. His 1985 season saw him earn his only All-Star berth and finish fifth in the MVP voting, after setting career highs in multiple categories including RBI, with 110 driven in on the season. Pro Bowl Confidential: 27 players pick MVP, most underrated, coaches, other questions 2023 NFL Draft prospect rankings: 64 best available players College football spring storylines: New coaches . Olerud fired the ball to Blue Jays' third baseman Kelly Gruber who clipped the heel of Sanders' foot for what should have been the second triple play in World Series history. The most lopsided odds come via Pool B, with hosts Team Japan (-650) pegged as hefty favorites.The two-time World Champions get to play their first-round games at the Tokyo Dome, and with a roster . Then again, he wasnt paid to prevent runs but to manufacture them. Mickey Mantle. Yet somehow, Tim Salmon was never named to an All-Star team. A five-time All-Star, Cash was the 1961 batting champion with a .361 average. As a four-time 20-game winner, Tiant doesnt get nearly as much acclaim as he should. He possessed the speed to cover ground in the outfield and also steal 622 bases in his career. 250,000 people packed around st. Johns cathedral. He also had a relatively short career. Not only would he help the Red Sox win the American League Pennant in 1946, he did everything that he could to win the 1946 World Series, hitting .417 against the St. Louis Cardinals in what wound up being a Cardinals' sweep. A two-time All-Star, Wynn led the National League in walks twice over the course of his career and hit 20 or more home runs on eight different occasions. The A's career leader in hits, his 649 stolen bases ranked seventh on the all-time list when he retired, a number that ranks 14th today. Dwight Evans was an anomaly he produced far better in his 30s than when he first came up in his 20s. But he was also a part of one of the best defensive infields of all time during his time with the Mets in the late 90s. Yogi has . He also had two no-hitters as a member of the Red Sox withthe first coming in 1916 against theSt. Louis Brownsand the second in 1918 against theDetroit Tigers. Winner of the 1949 American League Rookie of the Year as a member of the St. Louis Browns and a four-time All-Star, first baseman/outfielder Roy Sievers kind of blended into the background and never really got much attention from fans or from the media. After all, if it was easy to pick them out, they wouldnt be so underappreciated. Not one teammate showed. Here are some of the most underrated players in baseball history. Career Stats: 1,197 G; .273/.347/.452; 166 HR; 674 RBI; 128-for-189 SB. Perhaps thats why hes easy to overlook, as only Cleveland fans got to know him. 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. 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. The Most Underrated Ballplayers Since 1990. In all his years and all his positions, he was never very good defensively. The shortstop was also a two-time Silver Slugger winner. The best shortstop of the 1970s, Dave Concepcion paired with Joe Morgan to form one of the great double-play combinations in the history of the game. With his 10 all-star selections on top of that, his absence from Cooperstown is proof that he remains an underrated player. Of course, his defense is also a reason why Olerud should be remembered as a great player. Our ranking of the 100 greatest MLB players of all time comes down to the top 25. Other guys we hear about a lot who appear here include Phil Niekro, Bert Blyleven, Jerry Koosman, Tom Candiotti, Kevin Appier, Danny Darwin, Pete Alexander, Brad Radke, Larry Dierker, Kevin Brown, and Chuck Finley. Vizquel is also the all-time leader in double plays turned among . All 19 of his seasons in the majors were spent playing alongside Alan Trammell, making them the longest-running double-play tandem in MLB history. Knowing that they couldn't afford to re-sign him when his contract expired, the Pirates traded him to the Padres in August of 2003 in exchange for Jason Bay and Oliver Perez, though he wouldn't enjoy the same level of success with the Padres. He spent the last five seasons of his major league career with the Brewers, where he took two future Hall of Famers under his wing: Paul Molitor and Robin Yount. Rick Reuschel, a guy often cited as being underrated, makes an appearance near the top. He was traded from Baltimore to the Angels in 1982 to make room for Cal Ripken Jr.; ironically, DeCinces was the man who had the unenviable task of replacing legendary third baseman Brooks Robinson, so his time in Baltimore was sandwiched in between two all-time greats. He went to the postseason 11 times, which is why hes the all-time leader in postseason stolen bases. His 272 career home runs dont stack up too well against other top-flight first basemen in baseball history. He had a career average of .356, amassing 1,772 hits, including 54 home runs. He would make two All-Star teams as a member of the Twins and lead the American League in RBI with 119 in 1977. Even late in his career, Vizquel was among the best defensive shortstops in the majors. Career Stats: 2,324 G; .255/.293/.383; 160 HR; 886 RBI; 2,006 H; 912 R; 178-for-261 SB. While he hit the first-ever home run at Veterans Stadium as a member of the Phillies, it wasn't until Don Money was traded to the Brewers following the 1972 season that he enjoyed the most success of his career. But if you take the money he made out of the equation, Brown was better than most people realize because they get too wrapped up in his shortcomings. 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. Over the next four seasons, Giles would be named to two All-Star teams while posting an average season of .309/.426/.604 with 37 HR, 106 RBI and 10 stolen bases. Bottom line: Tommy John is sometimes referred to as an "accumulator." He wasnt much of a power hitter, amassing just 101 home runs over a career that spanned two decades. Interestingly enough, Finley could have had multiple 20/20 and 30/30 seasons, but the speed that he exhibited early in his career wasn't quite the same when his power finally developed. Jim Edmonds was far from the most talented player of his generation, but he got everything he could out of the talent he had. Somehow, its occasionally forgotten that Clemente was also one of the all-time greats. Third base: Rafael Devers, BOS. Of the 18 players elected to start the 1934 All-Star Game, Berger is the only one not enshrined in the Hall of Fame. The first Angel to hit for the cycle, Fregosi was not only the face of the franchise in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but he was regarded as the best hitting shortstop in the game during that span as well. Career Stats: 1,998 G; .277/.343/.425; 193 HR; 1,007 RBI; 2,020 H; 1,092 R; 341-for-434 SB. When it comes to the great pitchers of the 1980s, much is made of Tigers great Jack Morris and whether he belongs in the Hall of Fame, but nobody ever brings up the Blue Jays' Dave Stieb. 25. He would hit .275 or better five times and put together seven consecutive seasons in which he stole at least 20 bases a year. 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. 10y Dave Cameron. Maybe one of the most underrated MLB jerseys of all-time is the early 1970's Oakland Athletics' home jersey. 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. But he was a big-time contributor and a fine defensive player on three world champions. Career Stats: 1,514 G; .271/.347/.350; 28 HR; 574 RBI; 1,450 H; 676 R; 188-for-252 SB. 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