most underrated mlb players of all time
most underrated mlb players of all time
Here are some of the most underrated players in baseball history. But he was best known for his 14 seasons with the Royals. Career Stats: 2,247 G; .260/.300/.320; 15 HR; 525 RBI; 2,191 H; 987 R; 318-for-423 SB. Part of the excellent Baltimore Orioles teams of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Don Buford was a relatively unknown leadoff hitter who holds the record for grounding into the fewest double plays per at-bat than anyone else, one every 138 at-bats. Teams:Houston Astros, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Stats:2,103 games, .299 BA, 130 HR, 781 RBI, .372 OBP, .423 SLG. He'd accomplish the feat three more times over the course of his career. 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. Although most people remember him for his eight seasons with the Red Sox, he had a phenomenal 1968 season with the Indians (21-9, 1.60 ERA) and pitched the Twins into the American League Championship Series in 1970. Lou Gehrig Sounds crazy at first but he really is underrated RELATIVE to where he SHOULD be all time. But he was a good pitcher both before and after he had the surgery that bears his name. #1 of 219. Throw in four seasons of at least 100 RBI, and you've got yourself a pretty complete player. Lake Trafford, Immokalee, Florida. The most overrated pitcher in baseball may shock some of you, but man, oh man, has he been dreadful since the sticky substance crackdown. While the Royals would fall to the Phillies in the World Series, White was also part of the 1985 Royals team that won the only World Series championship in team history. It's kind of tough to think that anything Harrison Ford has done is underrated, isn't it? Widely considered to be one of the greatest defensive shortstops to ever play the game, Omar Vizquel is entering the final two weeks of his career as an active player with the Toronto Blue Jays. There have been some great baseball players throughout history who have flown under the radar. Otis was part of an up-and-coming group of players that helped the Royals to five American League West division titles. Adrian Beltre is probably going to make the Hall of Fame on his first ballot next season - the former Texas Ranger is one of 12 players in MLB history to get 3,000 hits and 400 home runs. But during the Yankees' era of Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson, Ron Guidry, Sparky Lyle, Goose Gossage, et al., Nettles was often unappreciated. Nets' Simmons (knee) to be reevaluated in week. Granted, he was only a .256 hitter with 14 career home runs. #5 of 149. A handful of its biggest stars come from the first base position. The following list of 20 underrated MLB players contains players whose accomplishments seem to have been diminished in due in large part to the accusations of rampant steroid abuse. Guerrero, Alonso, Olson, Freeman, and Goldschmidt all sit in the top 35 and are well deserving of those rankings. His statistics might not scream offensive domination, but he was one of the great clutch hitters of his time. Dude is a stud (no homo). 2009: .269, 44 R (21st), 22 HR (2nd), 43 RBI (25th), again . As a four-time 20-game winner, Tiant doesnt get nearly as much acclaim as he should. 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. In between three stints in Cleveland, Kenny Lofton bounced around a lot during his career, rarely spending more than one season with the same team. Bottom line: Norm Cash played in the shadows of the great Al Kaline, but at the time of his retirement, there were only three players in American League history that hit more home runs as a left-handed batter Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig. Career Stats: 1,919 G; .291/.319/.391; 57 HR; 941 RBI; 2,158 H; 980 R; 363-for-400 SB*. 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. Believe it or not, the Big 12 has star power. Which teams should target Saquon Barkley in 2023 free agency? Ronald Koeman - Barcelona. You've read the headline. But Lofton was a phenomenal athlete who actually went to the University of Arizona on a basketball scholarship. How can someone who has a losing record over the course of his career be considered underrated? While I thought he was great at his job back then, it turns out that he was a damn fine ballplayer as well. Photo: Paul Popper. Career Stats: 1,998 G; .277/.343/.425; 193 HR; 1,007 RBI; 2,020 H; 1,092 R; 341-for-434 SB. Career Stats: 2,202 G; .276/.373/.351; 54 HR; 687 RBI; 2,210 H; 1,239 R; 271-for-365 SB. Career Stats: 399 G (393 GS); 158-152; 3.17 ERA; 1.23 WHIP; 2,837 IP; 2,619 H; 1.85 K/BB. He finished a close second to teammate George Brett for the American League batting crown in 1976, losing out by less than .001 after Brett went 2-for-4 in the final game of the season to barely squeak past McRae. His real claim to fame, however, came in 1973 when he stepped into the batter's box in spring training, becoming the first player to ever bat as a designated hitter. Career Stats: 2,011 G; .284/.376/.527; 393 HR; 1,199 RBI; 1,949 H; 1,251 R; 67-for-117 SB. He also won 11 consecutive Gold Gloves during his career. The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. Bottom line: What do baseball critics have against Dick Allen? 25 Greatest Action Movies of All Time. The most dynamic MLB players seem to always possess the same unique skill set. Those who remember Rick Reuschel tend to focus more on his physical appearance as an overweight pitcher rather than what he did on the mound. He hit at least 20 home runs in nine consecutive seasons from 1933 through 1941, and drove in at least 100 runs for seven straight seasons, from 1935 through 1941. Vizquel also has the highest field percentage of any player who played at least 1,000 games at shortstop. White chased the ball down and caught it while crashing full speed into the walla play some have said was more impressive than "The Catch" by Willie Maysthen threw a strike to Blue Jays' second baseman Roberto Alomar. Keltner made two outstanding backhanded plays at third to rob DiMaggio, and along with a walk and a ground out, the streak ended. Lots of 2nd tier pitchers from the 50's-80's that are underrated by many: Roberts, Jenkins, Niekro, Blyleven (even though the HOF backlash has pretty much caught up), Tiant, Reuschel, Koosman, Stieb, Sabes, etc. Its also another testament to the Hall of Fame undervaluing good defense. Here are the two reasons why Albert Pujols is one of the most underrated players in the history of baseball. 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. Born without a right hand, Abbott joined the Angels starting rotation in 1989 without having pitched a single inning of minor league baseball, going 12-12 with a 3.92 ERA and finishing fifth in the American League Rookie of the Year Voting. Bill White, .286/.351/.455; 202 HR, seven time gold glove winner as a first baseman. 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. 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. Career Stats: 1,392 G; .267/.333/.429; 153 HR; 610 RBI; 1,254 H; 603 R; 39-for-77 SB. While it doesn't have the heavy hitters in terms of big name rookies found in the 1981 (Joe Montana), 1984 (Dan Marino, John Elway), and 1986 (Jerry Rice . Of his 184 home runs, only 50 came at the Astrodome. Today our esteemed panel of Chris Baud, Sam Fels and Jesse Spector ramble on while choosing the Deadspin Underrated MLB Team of the past 30 years. My list of the greatest players in baseball, over time, goes back to 1901, the founding of the American League. Most baseball fans know about Honus Wagners famously expensive baseball card but they dont know that much about him as a player. 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. Keep in mind that he did all of that following a surgery that came with no assurances. He was also an excellent fielder who held multiple fielding records at the time of his retirement that have since been passed. Accolades: MVP x 3, All-Star x 18, World Series x 10. Here are the ten most underrated players in Major League Baseball. He may not have been overly dominant with a 3.16 career ERA. These guys had solid career resumes and often came up big in big games, yet they seldom, if ever, received widespread acclaim. Career Stats: 1,514 G; .271/.347/.350; 28 HR; 574 RBI; 1,450 H; 676 R; 188-for-252 SB. Unfortunately, Luis Tiant hasnt been awarded passage to Cooperstown just yet. Putting up offensive numbers that rival former MVPs, this player deserves m. Immokalee is the farming center along Florida's Paradise Coast. While much of how we view athletes is performance-based and backed up with statistics, some of it is simply subjective. Over the course of 11 . Between his tenures with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, Garvey won five NL pennants and one World Series, in 1981. 1. Giannis exits with knee injury, called day-to-day. Jim Edmonds was far from the most talented player of his generation, but he got everything he could out of the talent he had. Victimized by a lack of run support for most of his career, largely because he was the best pitcher on some awful teams, Stieb's numbers are even more impressive. By contrast, when Babe Ruth died . A six-time All-Star and one of the most important pieces on the A's teams that won three consecutive World Series championships from 1972 through 1974, Campaneris was one of the great stolen base artists of his era, leading the league in steals six times. Career Stats: 263 G (254 GS); 87-108; 4.25 ERA; 1.43 WHIP; 1,674 IP; 1,779 H; 1.43 K/BB. Dave Stieb. Career Stats: 1,881 G; .271/.360/.404; 160 HR; 758 RBI; 1,803 H; 964 R; 233-for-350 SB. 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. A five-time All-Star, Cash was a smooth fielding first baseman who was the first player to hit a ball out of Tiger Stadium, clearing the roof on June 11, 1961. 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