Duchscherer is not often mentioned in the same breath as Dennis Eckersley or John Smoltz, but he pulled off the rare feat of being named an All-Star as both a starter and a reliever. They'd go on to win 20 of their next 23 games and the World Series as well. Career Stats: 1,832 G; .295/.364/.447; 184 HR; 989 RBI; 1,826 H; 802 R; 27-for-55 SB. Among Rolens accolades from 2000 through 2009: 48.3 WAR, 127 defensive runs saved and a .285/.368/.497 slash. Over the next three games, Eckstein hit .615/.643/.846 with eight hits, three doubles, three runs scored and four RBIa run that not only led the Cardinals to the World Series championship but one that won him World Series MVP honors. Think about Dennis Johnson of the 1980sthe dude was a five-time All-Star and a Finals MVP. His 146 home runs rank eighth all-time in franchise history. Along with his Bowman and Bowman Chrome rookies, he also has a Rookie Card in 2000 SPx and Upper Deck Victory, along with a jersey patch rookie in 2000 Black Diamond Rookie Edition. Today marks the final installment, for now, of my series about the most underrated baseball player of each decade. The 50 Most Underrated MLB Players of All Time - Bleacher Report Rocky Colavito, Vote: The most-deserving players not in the Baseball Hall of Fame at each position, The best baseball player not in the Hall of Fame, Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? Thus far, Heyward has mostly seemed to offer tantalizing glimpses of what he might become. The little things that don't necessarily show up in the box score might matter more to you than they do to someone else. A five-time All-Star, Doc Cramer patrolled center field for four different teams over a 20-year-career, one that saw him hit .300 eight times and break the 200-hit barrier on three different occasions. The Opening Day starter twice during his time in Cleveland, Westbrook eclipsed 200 innings three years in a row from 2004 to 2006. 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. Let's take a look at the 50 most underrated baseball players in the history of the game. -- have ascended to all-time great status, with the award being a mere stepping-stone to untold other accolades and achievements. Fuentes was an All-Star for three straight seasons from 2005 to 2007, converting 84.7 percent of his save chances en route to a franchise record 115 saves. I find that to be an amazing statistic. A six-time All-Star with the Yankees, Willie Randolph was one of the best second basemen in the game for more than a decade. 2022 Topps Chrome Baseball, Sonic Base Cards Are Different. Career Stats: 1,311 G; .280/.345/.355; 35 HR; 392 RBI; 123-for-168 SB. 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. In The Year 2000: The Top 20 Major League Baseball Players of the Last 1919 Cincinnati Reds. Career Stats: 1,902 G; .265/.338/.398; 151 HR; 706 RBI; 1,726 H; 844 R; 76-for-116 SB. 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. Power Ranking Top MLB Stars of Every Decade Since the 1900s Joel is a National MLB Columnist at Bleacher Report who has spent the last decade as a full-time MLB writer. I should clarify. While his power numbers increased in each of his four seasons with the Tigers, from four home runs in 1974 to 21 round-trippers in 1977, Oglivie still wasn't given a chance to start everyday. In 1990, Oquendo set the National League record for fewest errors by a second baseman in at least 150 games by committing only three. Most Underrated MLB Players of All Time | Stadium Talk We take the notion of "rated" seriously around here. In both the 1915 and 1916 World Series, Leonard threw complete game victories for the Red Sox, allowing just two runs and eight hits. He had four straight 4-WAR seasons from 2002 through 2005, peaking in '04 when he hit .340/.419/.562 with 41 doubles, 27 home runs and 104 RBI to win Silver Slugger honors and tally a career-high 5.6 WAR. But enough procrastinating. Career Stats: 2,089 G; .271/.374/.488; 377 HR; 1,103 RBI; 1,820 H; 1,046 R; 43-for-73 SB. Career Stats: 1,673 G; .286/.351/.455; 202 HR; 870 RBI; 1,706 H; 843 R; 103-for-171 SB. Copyright 2023, Beckett Collectibles, LLC. He was a multi-inning bullpen weapon in 2005 (65 G, 5 SV, 2.21 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 85.2 IP) and an excellent starter in 2008 (22 GS, 10-8, 2.54 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 141.2 IP) in what was his only year as a full-time member of the rotation. Left unprotected by the Kansas City Royals in the 1993 expansion draft, the Florida Marlins took the talented youngster for their own. White made ridiculous catches in the outfield look routine while hitting for power and flashing excellent speed when he got on base. Top 10 Players of the 1900s 1. 10. Career Stats: 1,754 G; .273/.336/.450; 235 HR; 901 RBI; 87-for-157 SB. A member of the Tigers' 1968 World Series championship team, Cash's single in the bottom of the seventh inning of Game 7 with two outs started a three-run rally that propelled the Tigers to their first championship in 23 years. Much like the Orioles are doing in 2012, the 1979 team made a habit of posting late-game comebacks en route to taking home the American League pennant. Seemingly every baseball generation has its underrated third basemen. 30 Most Unsung Pitchers in MLB History | Stadium Talk Hernandez made his mark as a rookie during the Florida Marlins 1997 World Series run, but his best work came as a member of the Expos and Nationals. Six times over his 13-year career, Morris would hit over .300, though he did so with little powerhis 16-home-run season of 1996 was the most he'd ever hit. Best Hitters In MLB From 2000-2020 - Overtime Heroics 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. 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. From 1999 through the 2004 season, Vidro was unquestionably one of the most productive second basemen in the game. Steve Finley is the perfect example of a "late bloomer," not breaking out offensively until 1996, his eighth major league season at which point he was already 31 years old. It's a mix of forgotten All-Stars, brief peaks, injury-shortened primes and under-the-radar contributors, but all of these players were star-level contributors at one point in the not-so-distant past. An eight-time All-Star, Robert "Indian Bob" Johnson spent 10 of his 13 major league seasons patrolling left field for thePhiladelphia As and was a consistent performer year-after-year, but most people have never heard of him. He reminds me a bit of Reggie Smith, another eternally underrated outfielder. By navigating the site, you agree to the use of cookies to collect information. He won 80 games and posted a 3.66 ERA in 1,163.1 innings in his first years in the big leagues, but multiple Tommy John surgeries limited him to just 49 innings after his age-27 season. Mitch Richmond, Detlef Schrempf, and Vin Baker are among the underrated players from the '90s. Most underrated player on each American League team heading into 2022 If memory serves correctly, its his truck, too. 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. Young had a 32-homer, 27-steal season to finish fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2007 when he helped the D-backs reach the NLCS. 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. So Oquendo proved his worth as a super utility player, playing every position except for catcher in 1987 when Cardinals' manager Whitey Herzog dubbed him "the secret weapon." All told, he had a 129 OPS+ with 179 home runs and 22.6 WAR with the North Siders. Greatest Football Players in NFL History, Ranked In the five seasons that followed a respectable sixth-place finish in 2004 AL Rookie of the Year voting, DeJesus hit .286/.357/.427 for a 107 OPS+ while filling up the stat sheet and averaging 30 doubles, eight triples, 10 home runs, 63 RBI, 79 runs and 2.9 WAR. Peja Stojakovi 5. The first player to ever open a World Series with a home run, a feat he accomplished in 1969 against the Mets, Buford was generally overlooked due to his more notable teammates getting the majority of the attention: Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson, Mike Cuellar, Boog Powell and Jim Palmer. Baseball's Most Underrated Players of All Time 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. He went 19-6 with a 3.63 ERA in 218 innings to finish runner-up in AL Cy Young voting in 2006, and followed that up with a 19-7 record and 3.60 ERA in 199.1 innings the next year before he was sidelined midway through the 2008 campaign. MLB All-Decade Team -- Who made our squad of baseball's best from 2010 Underrated teams. The left-hander was never a star, but he was a rock solid middle-of-the-rotation arm, and he went 13-9 with a 3.40 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 190.1 innings during the best season of his career in 2012. The great game of baseball. The most underrated player of each decade: Mid-late 20th century 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. Your email address will not be published. How can someone who has a losing record over the course of his career be considered underrated? The Nominees for MLB's Most Underrated Players of the 2021 Season Zachary D. Rymer September 7, 2021 Let's give Wade Miley the credit he deserves. Michael Finley 3. 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. 2022 Bowmans Best Baseball Checklist, Team Set Lists and Details, One-Sheet Collections: Best Active NBA Stars Who Have Never Been All-Stars, 2022 Bowman Inception Baseball Checklist, Team Set Lists, Odds and Details, 2022-23 Leaf Exotic Basketball Checklist and Details, 2021-22 SP Game Used CHL Hockey Checklist and Details, 2023 GAS Arnold Schwarzenegger: Built to Perfection Trading Cards Carry Some Heavy Weight, 2022 Panini Flawless Collegiate Basketball Checklist and Details, 2022 Topps Allen & Ginter Chrome Baseball Checklist, Team Set Lists and Details. It wasn't until he made his way to the Minnesota Twins in November of 1972, however, that his career really began to flourish. The oldest Major League player to play in a game in 2019 was Ichiro Suzuki at 45-years-old. The Cardinals starting second baseman in three World Series (1982, 1985 and 1987), Tommy Herr paired with the Wizard of Oz, Ozzie Smith, to form one of the best double-play combinations the game has seen in the past 30 years. From 1989 through 1990, Oquendo was the Cardinals starting second baseman, and he flourished in the position. Look past Heywards garish traditional stats, though, and a brightly talented player emerges, one whos averaged All Star-level WAR since the beginning of his career. The most underrated player at every position March 29th, 2022 Anthony Castrovince @ castrovince Share It's the moment you've been waiting and rating for. At the time he retired in 1985, his .980 career fielding percentage was the highest career mark for any shortstop, though that's since been surpassed by seven players, including Jimmy Rollins and Troy Tulowitzki, the new record holder. All told, he racked up 60.4 WAR in 17 seasons with 393 home runs and 1,199 RBI. 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. Everyone loves labels, especially when it comes to athletes. Take a single nine-pocket sheet and a reasonable $100 budget, and build a nine-card collection with a unifying theme. Its a crime that Abreu has only received 5.5 and 8.7 percent of the vote in his two years on the Hall of Fame ballot. As the Yankees came back to prominence in 1976, White continued to excel on a team loaded with stars. 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. Career Stats: 1,941 G; .263/.319/.419; 208 HR; 846 RBI; 1,934 H; 1,125 R; 346-for-444 SB. He would spend nine seasons with the Brewers, making three All-Star teams and leading the American League in home runs with 41 in 1980. However, lefties Jeremy Affeldt and Lopez were also integral members of the relief corps. Some of them, shall we say, have not. Ranking Rookie of the Year winners of 2000s - MLB.com Probably own at least two of these and flipped through them countless times and never noticed that. It was an impressive, but largely forgotten peak. One of the more versatile players of his time. Abreus quietly wrapping up his career as we speak, his best years a distant memory. 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. Yes, the Chicago "Black Sox" threw the World Series, but everybody believes that if Shoeless Joe and Co. had tried, they . Three years later, he was runner-up in NL MVP voting when he led the league in batting average (.340), hits (216), doubles (50) and RBI (137) while slugging 36 home runs. One of the clubhouse leaders of some great Phillies teams during the late 2000s and early 2010s, Ruiz had six seasons with at least 2.0 WAR in his 11 years with the team. So much yes. For many, nostalgia remains the driving force behind baseball card collecting, and thats how we arrived at the idea of One-Sheet Collections. 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. His 18.1 total WAR in a Royals uniform ranks 24th in franchise history. Hall of Very Good: Ranking the MLB Players Likely to Get Bounced off He'd accomplish the feat three more times over the course of his career. Longtime sports writer and researcher Bob Carroll wrote an article for the National Pastimein 1985 about 12 players he believed should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Top 100 MLB players of all time - Debating who is too high and - ESPN Sievers has the "honor" of being the first man with 300 lifetime home runs not to be elected to baseballs Hall of Fame. Closers Brian Wilson, Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo received the bulk of the attention in the Giants bullpen during their impressive run to three World Series titles in five years. He failed to replicate that level of production, but settled in as a solid middle-of-the-order producer, averaging 25 home runs and 88 RBI per 162 games during his nine years with the team. You've read the headline. Career Stats: 2,213 G; .290/.377/.376; 54 HR; 578 RBI; 2,375 H; 1,359 R; 558-for-815 SB. Seattle Mariners designated hitter Ty France (23) is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after hitting a two-run home run against the Houston Astros during the fifth inning at T-Mobile Park. Theres also Buddy Bell, Ron Santo, Ken Boyer and a range of other third basemen who hit respectably and offered superb, if under-appreciated, defensive value. He never really got a chance to play with the Red Sox as he was behind Billy Conigliaro, Joe Lahoud and eventually a youngster named Dwight Evans on the depth chart. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports. Let's take a look at the 50 most underrated baseball players in the history of the game. 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. He led the NL in batting average (.336), OPS+ (174), hits (199) and doubles (50) in 2005, adding 46 home runs, 107 RBI and 7.7 WAR. Career Stats: 1,286 G; .264/.362/.379; 93 HR; 418 RBI; 1,203 H; 718 R; 200-for-305 SB. Facebook; Twitter; Facebook Messenger; Pinterest; Email; print; Now that our list of the top 100 MLB players of all time has been revealed, it's time to have some fun.. More than 20,000 votes were . He has Rookie Cards in 1997 Bowman, Bowman Chrome and Topps Stars. The following year he helped lead the Florida Marlins to an unexpected World Series title. Calling Evans "one of the most underrated players in baseball history" James wrote: Dwight Evans is the very unusual player who had all of his best years in his thirties. 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. *Caught stealing totals are incomplete per Baseball-Reference.com. It appeared the Astros had found a co-ace to slot alongside Roy Oswalt when Miller went 16-8 with a 3.40 ERA and 183 strikeouts in 212 innings during his age-24 season in 2001. Yankees' Gary Sanchez tops list of underrated MLB players - Sports Shareef Abdur-Rahim 8. His last three years with the Tigers . His brilliance with the glove is easier to document than Ty Cobb's temper, Hack Wilson's drinking or Walter Johnson's fastball; it is all over the literature of the sport. His 2,043 hits rank 10th all-time among players who played primarily catcher in their career, and his .280 career average speaks to his offensive prowess. Despite amassing 3,000 hits, doing his best work at the plate in the 1960s when pitchers reigned supreme, and also being an outstanding right fielder, Clemente was not included in recent books I reviewed about the 25 greatest baseball players of all-time and . 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. Lance Lynn is not only the Rangers' most underrated player, but he's also the league's most underrated starting pitcher since debuting in 2011. One-Sheet Collections: Underrated 2000s Baseball Stars 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. 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. Forget the Coors Effect. Id like to see more focus on what Bonds did over his first 13 seasons, 1986 through 1998, before its generally assumedhe began taking steroids. Career Stats: 1,672 G; .282/.385/.498; 299 HR; 1,016 RBI; 1,674 H; 986 R; 48-for-90 SB, To most of us he's Tim Salmon, but to those in the know, he's simply known as "King Fish.". Weve looked over the past few days at the1960s, 70s, and 80s, the1930s, 40s, and 50sand the1900s, 10s, and 20s. But during the Yankees' era of Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson, Ron Guidry, Sparky Lyle, Goose Gossage, et al., Nettles was often unappreciated. The 11 Most Underrated NBA Players of the 2000s | Ventured He was terrific once again in 2002 (15-4, 3.28 ERA, 144 K, 164.2 IP) and solid in 2003 (14-13, 4.13 ERA, 161 K, 187.1 IP) before shoulder injuries derailed his career. Career Stats: 1,246 G; .304/.361/.433; 76 HR; 513 RBI; 1,216 H; 535 R; 45-for-69 SB. SS Honus Wagner: (.352/.417/.508, 1,847 H, 51 HR, 956 RBI, 1,014 R) 2. Missed the first three parts of this series? 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. His hit tool should be remembered with Ichiro, Miggy, Pujols, Vladdy, and its beginning to look like Trout will go down in that group as well. Reliever Mike Adams with his 1.66 ERA in 209 appearances over four seasons was also considered as most underrated for the Padres. Roberto Clemente: Almost criminally underrated and had he not died heroically in a plane crash in 1972, he'd be even less remembered. Career Stats: 2,212 G; .257/.316/.416; 260 HR; 1,125 RBI; 2,085 H; 908 R; 51-for-117 SB. The best they can generally hope for is a belated nod from the Veterans Committee. From the archive: Outrage when the Yankees sold to CBS, The most underrated players in baseball history | HardballTalk, Maury Wills: Barnstorming with Jackie Robinson and Luke Easter, Analyzing Maury Wills impact on baseball through stolen base opportunities, The most-deserving players not in the Hall of Fame: Right fielders, The most-deserving players not in the Hall of Fame: Center fielders, Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? Acquired from the New York Mets in exchange for Mike Bordick at the 2000 trade deadline, Mora went on to rack up 29.1 WAR in 10 seasons with the Orioles while playing all over the field defensively. Money pitcher. The 1953 National League batting champion with a .344 mark, Furillo was an important part of two World Series championship winning teams in 1955 and 1959. Later in his career, he settled in as a platoon standout against left-handed pitching. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Bartlett came to the Rays along with Matt Garza in the deal that sent former top prospect Delmon Young to the Minnesota Twins. 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. Jim Fregosi became the face of the Angels franchiseand its most popular playerduring the 1960s and early 1970s. Career Stats: 1,998 G; .277/.343/.425; 193 HR; 1,007 RBI; 2,020 H; 1,092 R; 341-for-434 SB. 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. Barry Sanders. Heck, make it 1990 through 1998. Fck. He also managed the Angels to their first-ever postseason appearance in 1979 (serving as Ryan's manager) and is still regarded as one of the most popular Angels of all time. Career Stats: 2,243 G; .277/.362/.464; 342 HR; 1,331 RBI; 35-for-76 SB. Career Stats: 2019 G; .254/.352/.408; 242 HR; 1,039 RBI; 1,790 H; 982 R; 75-for-121 SB. A seventh-round pick in the 1998 draft, Holliday reached the majors in 2004 and made an immediate impact, finishing fifth in NL Rookie of the Year voting. He was the team's everyday shortstop for three seasons, earning MVP votes in 2008 and an All-Star nod in 2009 when he hit .320/.389/.490 for a 132 OPS+ and 6.2 WAR in 137 games. Lopez had a 2.47 ERA in 446 regular season outings, along with a 1.38 ERA and nine holds in 25 playoff appearances. In seven seasons with the team, he won 70 games and posted a 3.98 ERA (106 ERA+) while leading the league in innings pitched three times and tallying 23 complete games.
