Looking back at underrated players

[tdawg87]

45 minutes ago, Catwhoshatinthehat said:

Picture on the left he looks angry and like he's ready to hit a baseball 450 feet.  Picture on the right he looks like he's checked out and thinking about his next meal.  

Or his last.

[eligrba]

26 minutes ago, happybat4 said:

WAR takes a lot more into account than just errors. He was a horrible defender for an outfielder.

Probably but he was fun to watch play.

[Dick B Back]

Tony Oliva... too bad his body broke down early, but that dude could hit.

[happybat4]

13 hours ago, RBM said:

Orlando Cabrera.

Never thought he got the credit he deserved. I was really tuned into this during the three years he played with the Angels. Edgar Renteria was the All Star and on most lists for the best shortstops and OC was relegated to being the "other" SS from Colombia.

Renteria was definitely the better player. OCAB was great when he was here though. 

[arch stanton]

Cesar Cedeno had 3 straight 20-50 seasons and should have been a superstar but playing on mediocre teams in a crappy hitting stadium like the Astrodome and taking the pounding on his legs from playing on that turf shortened his career, which was still around 50 WAR

[Stradling]

2 minutes ago, arch stanton said:

Cesar Cedeno had 3 straight 20-50 seasons and should have been a superstar but playing on mediocre teams in a crappy hitting stadium like the Astrodome and taking the pounding on his legs from playing on that turf shortened his career, which was still around 50 WAR

I was young but I remember thinking Jose Cruz was a really good player.  Not sure if that’s true but as a kid I remember feeling that way. 

[arch stanton]

10 minutes ago, Baghdad Strad said:

I was young but I remember thinking Jose Cruz was a really good player.  Not sure if that’s true but as a kid I remember feeling that way. 

Also a 50 WAR guy who would probably be more appreciated today because he didn't have any standout skills but was a consistently good player

[Stradling]

Bob Horner when I was a kid was really good for a few years.  

Dale Murphy was the best hitter in the game for about 5 years.  

Bill Madlock was REALLY good.  

I remember thinking Leon Durham was good when I was about 12 years old.  But he wasn’t.  

[Stradling]

16 minutes ago, arch stanton said:

Also a 50 WAR guy who would probably be more appreciated today because he didn't have any standout skills but was a consistently good player

I had no idea he was a 50 WAR guy.

[Blarg]

On 9/2/2019 at 7:20 PM, wopphil said:

Albert Belle. He was a beast until injuries killed his career at age 33.

I remember being in the stands and Angels fans yelling Jo-ey! when he was in the outfield and at bat. He shut them out and raked us hitting .288/.369/.568/.938 for his career.

 

[Angelsjunky]

Pedro Guerrero and Jack Clark. WAR doesn't love either of them as they weren't good defensive players, but both were among the best hitters of the 80s, with wRC+ of 149 and 144, respectively.

[Angelsjunky]

Wasn't Albert Belle the only player with 50 doubles and 50 HR in a single season?

[Taylor]

Chipper Jones is probably a bit underrated. Yeah, he made the All-Star team several times, but I hardly hear his name mentioned anymore.

When Derek Jeter retired, I used Chipper Jones as an example to prove that Jeter was extremely overrated. A lot of Yankee fans made the argument that Jeter was a legend simply because he played for the same team his entire career, while putting up all-star numbers. I pointed out that Chipper also played his career with the same team, was a Gold Glove infielder, and put up better numbers than Jeter.

Also, Bleacher Report called him the most overrated player in baseball, and since BR is always wrong, he must be underrated. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/132830-chipper-jones-the-most-over-rated-player-in-baseball

Edited September 5, 2019 by Taylor

[Lou]

41 minutes ago, Taylor said:

Chipper Jones is probably a bit underrated. Yeah, he made the All-Star team several times, but I hardly hear his name mentioned anymore.

His name is mentioned on his Hall of Fame plaque.

[arch stanton]

41 minutes ago, Taylor said:

Chipper Jones is probably a bit underrated. Yeah, he made the All-Star team several times, but I hardly hear his name mentioned anymore.

When Derek Jeter retired, I used Chipper Jones as an example to prove that Jeter was extremely overrated. A lot of Yankee fans made the argument that Jeter was a legend simply because he played for the same team his entire career, while putting up all-star numbers. I pointed out that Chipper also played his career with the same team, was a Gold Glove infielder, and put up better numbers than Jeter.

Also, Bleacher Report called him the most overrated player in baseball, and since BR is always wrong, he must be underrated. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/132830-chipper-jones-the-most-over-rated-player-in-baseball

They mentioned Chipper's name a lot when they were inducting him into the Hall of Fame

[Lou]

Ha!

[m0nkey]

I actually don't know if Jeter is overrated anymore.  Sure he's popular, but I'm not sure who (in the baseball world) thinks of him as one of the all time greats.  With the introduction of the advanced stats over the past 10+ years or so, the baseball community knows that most of his celebrity/star status is a result of playing shortstop for the New York Yankees and winning 5 world series. I'd say he's properly rated

[PattyD22]

I love this topic as I’ve been a fan of baseball for over 45 years.  Reading it takes me back to when baseball was played on the field, and not on a computer or with sabermetrics.  Names like Bob Horner, Dale Murphy and “sweet” Lou Whitaker are awesome.

A few I can think of are Hal McRae, George Foster, Tim Raines, and Alan Trammell.  I couldn’t tell you what their WAR, OPS, or other measuring tool was, but they were all fun to watch.

Fun thread to follow.

[Dick B Back]

Couple of others I just thought of are Felipe & Matty Alou and Jim Ray Hart. All could hit in their prime.

Geez, I’m old.

[Stradling]

Tony Phillips

[Taylor]

Until Mike Trout is recognized by everyone as the god he is, he's underrated.

[Lou]

13 hours ago, PattyD22 said:

Alan Trammell

Hall of Famer

[m0nkey]

Speaking of trammell, did anyone else think Taylor Trammell was Alan’s son? I did, and then I saw a picture of him. 

[Stradling]

Racist

[happybat4]

Sometimes WAR sucks when looking at older players. I liked Spiezio growing up, but man he sucked was nothing special.