Despite playing 19 seasons and being MVP in 1974, Garvey has been consistently overlooked by both voters and the Veterans Committee. Those players are still undervalued today, and they were overlooked even more during Oquendos era. "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. A rare blend of both power and speed. 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. Although none of these players were proven to be completely clean, their accomplishments are quite substantial and too significant to overlook, leaving them . Of his 184 home runs, only 50 came at the Astrodome. Sievers has the "honor" of being the first man with 300 lifetime home runs not to be elected to baseballs Hall of Fame. But those defensive skills transferred to just about every other position, making him invaluable. Thats why were happy to do the leg work and come up with a list of the 20 most underrated players in baseball history. Teams:Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, Stats:2,456 games, .290 BA, 339 HR, 1,493 RBI, .339 OBP, .471 SLG. 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. Believe it or not, the Big 12 has star power. Can you name the Most Overrated and Underrated MLB Players of All-time (as of Spring 2007) as named by Jayson Stark? Heres our look at the game's most underrated players of all time. Yet Gehrig is always overshadowed by Ruth and other greats. Ted Williams has long been called "the greatest pure hitter who ever lived.". Hisle was a solid all-around player who never really got his due, largely in part to being overshadowed by his more heralded Hall of Fame teammates with the Twins, Rod Carew and Harmon Killebrew. The combination is celebrated with entry into the game's exclusive 30/30 club . Career Stats: 1,863 G; .296/.393/.506; 288 HR; 1,283 RBI; 2,051 H; 1,239 R; 96-for-160 SB. That is, he got to an impressive number of wins by hanging around for 26 seasons. 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. Dave Concepcion is usually one of the most overlooked players on the Reds during the days of the Big Red Machine. A handful of its biggest stars come from the first base position. Teams:Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, California Angels, Oakland Athletics, Stats: 760 games, 288-231, 3.34 ERA, 162 CG, 46 SHO, 4,3 K/9 IP. Considering that Campy finished his career with more triples (86) than home runs (79), that's a pretty impressive feat. Stiebs ERA was solid, he was durable never made less than 31 starts in 10 of 11 seasons between 1980 and 1990 and was terrific in fielding his position. Not one teammate showed. 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. 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. Originally a Yankee, Hal Morris was sent to Cincinnati in 1989 in exchange for Tim Leary in a perfect example of how George Steinbrenner used to run the club; trading prospects for veterans. Keith Hernandez. Career Stats: 2,488 G; .267/.322/.357; 101 HR; 950 RBI; 2,326 H; 993 R; 321-for-430 SB. The Cuban was often overlooked during his career as well, only making the All-Star Team three times. Parker was also named an all-star seven times and helped two different teams win the World Series. Unfortunately, Kevin Brown is mostly remembered for being the first MLB player to sign a contract worth nine figures and never being able to live up to that contract. He wasnt much of a power hitter, amassing just 101 home runs over a career that spanned two decades. 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. Part of the Impossible Dream Sox team that won the 1967 American League pennant in one of the closest races in history, Petrocelli hit two home runs in Game 6 of the World Series, forcing a Game 7 that the Sox ultimately lost to Bob Gibson and the Cardinals. 2022 saw a host of TCU Horned Frogs and Kansas State Wildcats emerge as game changers. Nobody in the league could play balls that were hit off of Ebbets Field's high wall in right field like he could, and opposing runners quickly grew tired of testing his arm and failing to advance nearly every time. The road to Cooperstown is difficult for receivers, due to the difficulty of evaluating the position with statistics. #12. In Game 2 of the 1992 World Series against the Braves, David Justice was at-bat with runners on first and second. On top of that, he was a great leader throughout his career, especially on the two teams that he helped lead to a World Series title. Goldy, Freeman, and Alonso finished second, third, and fourth in Razzball's player . Bottom line: What would you call a two-time Most Valuable Player, seven-time All-Star, seven-time World Series participant and the man who still owns the American League record for most home runs in one season? Jim Edmonds won eight Gold Gloves in his 17-year career and hit 30 or more home runs five times, batted .300 or better five times, and knocked in 100 or more runs four times. Even Ty Cobb, whos often regarded as one of the greatest pure hitters of all time, described Wagner as maybe the greatest star ever to take the diamond. Wagner was also a great defensive shortstop, which is another aspect of his career that gets forgotten amidst the focus on his expensive baseball card. In every generation, there are also underrated MLB players who fly below the radar and dont get the credit they deserve. The American League Rookie of the Year Award recipient in 1993, Salmon spent his entire 14-year career with the Angels and is one of the most celebrated players in franchise history. DeCinces took Tigers' reliever Dave Tobik deep into the night, leading the Orioles to a comeback 6-5 victory on what has been called "the night Oriole Magic was born." 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. It makes no sense that a player with that resume isnt in the Hall of Fame. Granted, he was only a .256 hitter with 14 career home runs. 20. An MVP, Parker was a seven-time All-Star and two-time World Series champ. He has two 20/20 seasons on his resume and fell three home runs short of adding three more to his collection. After averaging 147 games played over his first five seasons,a shoulder injury that he suffered in 1936 bogged down his career after that, and he would play in more than 100 games only once before calling it quits. Toward the end of his career, Reardon spent a little time as MLBs all-time save leader despite Lee Smith passing him before the end of his career. Five times Edmonds hit .300 or better, and he also slugged 30-or-more home runs on five different occasions as well. He had a career average of .356, amassing 1,772 hits, including 54 home runs. Career Stats: 2,328 G; .259/.311/.342; 79 HR; 646 RBI; 2,249 H; 1,181 R; 649-for-898 SB. 1974-1992, 70.1 WAR (Wins Over Replacement), 1,225 RBIs and 2,092 hits. Big-time. You've read the headline. But Garvey also has a .294 career average and won four straight Gold Gloves during his prime. Some might wonder how someone who is enshrined in the Hall of Fame could possibly be underrated, but without a doubt Ron Santo is arguably the most underrated player to ever play the game. Dozens of ESPN writers and editors submitted more than 20,000 votes ( see full methodology here ) to determine the . He also stole 321 bases in his career. 4. This also should paint a great picture of the current roster. With his 10 all-star selections on top of that, his absence from Cooperstown is proof that he remains an underrated player. The fans in St. Louis called him Jimmy Ballgame because he played the game the right way and always found ways to help his team win games. It wasn't until he made his way to the Minnesota Twins in November of 1972, however, that his career really began to flourish. World Series Champion (went to the World Series 4X as one of the main cogs that got them there). Answer (1 of 10): Try Cobb. Career Stats: 2,212 G; .257/.316/.416; 260 HR; 1,125 RBI; 2,085 H; 908 R; 51-for-117 SB. When Frank White broke in with the Royals in 1973, he had the unenviable task of replacing fan-favorite Cookie Rojas at second base and was met with a less-than-warm welcome by Royals fans. Career Stats: 2,213 G; .290/.377/.376; 54 HR; 578 RBI; 2,375 H; 1,359 R; 558-for-815 SB. Bottom line: Bobby Grich was one of the finest defensive second basemen ever in the game. My Most Underrated MLB Players Going into 2023! Career Stats: 2,324 G; .255/.293/.383; 160 HR; 886 RBI; 2,006 H; 912 R; 178-for-261 SB. White was also one of the two runs that scored on Dave Winfield's 11th-inning-double in Game 6 of that series, the hit that eventually won the championship for Toronto. He led American League third basemen four times inassists, five times indouble plays, and twice infielding percentage. Justice hit a ball to deep center field. Here are the two reasons why Albert Pujols is one of the most underrated players in the history of baseball. Bottom line: Luis Tiant was a dominant pitcher. He led the National League in hits with 192 in 1990 as a member of the Giants, led the National League in runs scored twice and triples four times while consistently placing near the top of the league in stolen bases. : 10.8%. 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. In fact, he holds the career batting average record for two different franchises and ended his career with a .940 OPS, which most players in todays game would love to emulate. Georgia Tech Baseball is now 8-0 this season. Tim Wallach could play both corner-infield and outfield positions, and even took the mound twice for the Expos, in 1987 and 1989. He swung a classic left-handed bat. Jim Edmonds was far from the most talented player of his generation, but he got everything he could out of the talent he had. Los Angeles Angels. Bottom line: Maybe Dave Stieb isnt Hall of Fame worthy, not with just 176 wins, but he was one of the toughest pitchers of his era. He would sign with the Diamondbacks as a free agent prior to the 1998 season and, in 2001, scored the World Series-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 when Luis Gonzalez hit a bloop single off of Yankees' closer Mariano Rivera. Career Stats: 1,650 G; .242/.309/.324; 41 HR; 490 RBI; 1,340 H; 736 R; 385-for-516 SB. The four-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger recipient has long been one of the most underrated players in baseball, but has become one of the best players in baseball over the last several years. 2009: .269, 44 R (21st), 22 HR (2nd), 43 RBI (25th), again . Johnson was one of them, and Carroll captured how underrated "Indian Bob" truly was: Consistency may be the hobgoblin of little minds, but it can also make certain ballplayers nigh unto invisible. 1 of 10. Career Stats: 1,514 G; .271/.347/.350; 28 HR; 574 RBI; 1,450 H; 676 R; 188-for-252 SB. He was far from a power hitter, and he only went deep eight times in 1985, making him the last NL player to drive in 100 or more runs in a season while hitting fewer than 10 home runs. 6h Reuters. Career Stats: 1,246 G; .304/.361/.433; 76 HR; 513 RBI; 1,216 H; 535 R; 45-for-69 SB. NL MVP. It would be appropriate if when you opened a dictionary and looked up the word pesky that the definition was simply a photo of David Eckstein. Just . 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. He has a no-hitter on his resume and was also a six-time all-star. A fiery player with a live arm, Larry Bowa was a five-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove Award winner with the Philadelphia Phillies, a team with whom he'd spend 11 years of his 15-year major league career as a player. Ken Williams- A forgotten power speed threat of his time. After starting his career with three years of limited playing time in Cleveland, Jay Bell was dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1989, where he became the everyday shortstop for the team that went to the NLCS in three consecutive seasons. Williams played from 1915 to 1929, mainly for the St. Louis Browns. Jesse Barfield was a great outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1980s. Harry Heilmann. Otis had power, played excellent defense and had speed, leading the American League with 52 stolen bases in 1971 while also becoming the first player since 1927 to steal five bases in one game. Vizquel didnt. He also had a relatively short career. He falls short of being Cooperstown worthy, butConcepcion's career was celebrated in Cincinnati back in 2007, when his jersey, No. A seven-time All-Star, his 2.48 ERA led the American League in 1985. A three-time All-Star with six .300 seasons under his belt, Hal McRae was named the Designated Hitter of the Year on three separate occasions by both The Sporting News and the Associated Press. 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. 1885 1886 1926 1931 1934 1942 1944 1946 1964 1967 1982 2006 2011. But he was a good pitcher both before and after he had the surgery that bears his name. In 1974, Garvey has been most underrated mlb players of all time overlooked by both voters and the Veterans Committee the! He was a dominant pitcher even more during Oquendos era than 20,000 votes ( see full methodology here ) determine! 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