Underrated Players

[Taylor]

Bobby Abreu

[Tank]

8 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

When I think of underrated players, I think of guys who were really good but are basically forgotten. Especially fringe Hall of Famers: guys better than some who made it in, but for whatever reason haven't made it themselves. Sometimes these are guys who are just overlooked by Hall voters, other times they didn't have the longevity to match their peak.

A few from the last five decades:

Dick Allen: Probably the best hitter not in the Hall - than Bonds, of course, and possibly McGwire. Allen was a total beast and led the majors in wRC+ from 1964-74 (163) - years when Mays, Aaron, Yaz, McCovey, Robinson, etc, were still in their prime. His career wRC+ of 155 is 18th all-time, just ahead of Mays and Thomas.

Reggie Smith: I'm guessing a lot of folks haven't even heard of him, but he compiled 64.6 WAR from 1966-82, including five seasons of 5+ WAR. Never the best player in the game, but just very good for a long time.

Jack Clark: Not quite a Hall of Famer (50.6 WAR) partially due to being injury prone, but Clark was one of the better hitters of the 80s, with a career wRC+ of 138, leading the majors in 1987 with 176.

Bobby Bonds: He gets overshadowed by his son, but Bobby was a really good player, with 57.2 WAR from 1968-81. He was 5th in the majors in WAR from 1969-75.

Dwight Evans: 65.1 WAR and he never gets mentioned as a potential Hall of Famer, probably because he wasn't quite as great as other HOFers at his peak, but was just very good for a very long time.

Pedro Guerrero: Didn't have the longevity or health for the Hall, but he was a great hitter for about a decade, and one of the best hitters of the 80s. His 181 wRC+ in 1985 was the fourth highest of the 80s.

Albert Belle: Remember that season in which he hit 50 doubles and 50 HR? He retired young due to injuries, which kept him from Hall consideration. Oh yeah, probably steroids too, but for a few years there he was one of the most feared hitters in baseball.

Brian Giles: Kind of a forgotten superstar of the Roid Era, Giles had a great run from 99-05 or so.

Lance Berkman: Similar to Giles, Berkman is a bit forgotten but was one of the better hitters of the latter half of the Roid Era.

And plenty of others...

Juan Gonzalez

[meat]

Edgar Martinez is underrated for sure.

Also, Stan Musial's name rarely comes up as one of the all time greats. And he is.

[Angelsjunky]

3 hours ago, Tank said:

Juan Gonzalez

I'd call him somewhat overrated in that he won two MVPs, either of which he deserved.

[Angelsjunky]

Rogers Hornsby. He was to the NL in the 20s what Ruth was to the AL: utterly dominant, way above anyone else. He kind of gets forgotten in talks among all-tie greats, but is inner circle - top ten player all time.

[Tank]

47 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

I'd call him somewhat overrated in that he won two MVPs, either of which he deserved.

who do you think should have won the MVP the two years he won it?

[Taylor]

Chipper Jones

[Angels 1961]

Last player drafted by halos in 1960 Albie Pearson.

[Erstad Grit]

krod. He's a top 5 closer of all time imo.

[Tank]

3 hours ago, Taylor said:

Chipper Jones

huh? he was inducted into the hall of fame in 2018.

[Taylor]

2 minutes ago, Tank said:

huh? he was inducted into the hall of fame in 2018.

I think sportswriters recognize how great he was, but I think he's someone who gets forgotten by fans. His career kind of paralleled Jeter's, but Chipper was better in many ways.

[Lou]

It amazes me that some of you think HOF players are underrated.

[Taylor]

40 minutes ago, Lou said:

It amazes me that some of you think HOF players are underrated.

Depends on your definition of underrated.

[Vlad27Trout27]

Scott Rolen

Jim Edmond

Shoeless Joe Johnson (What IF...)

Tim Salmon (0 all-starts..)

Andre Ethier 

David Wright (Idk...seem people forget how good he was before the injuries pilled up)

 

 

[Lou]

29 minutes ago, Taylor said:

Depends on your definition of underrated.

My definition? Thank you for leaving it up to me. 

They aren't underrated if they're in the HOF. 

[T.G.]

Howie Kendrick 

Albert Belle

Carlos Delgado 

Fred McGriff

 

[Taylor]

1 hour ago, Lou said:

My definition? Thank you for leaving it up to me. 

They aren't underrated if they're in the HOF. 

Your definition is overrated.

[Dtwncbad]

3 hours ago, Lou said:

It amazes me that some of you think HOF players are underrated.

Just because baseball writers that have votes acknowledge them doesn’t mean these players are not underrated by the general baseball fan base.

I think the “who is underrated” question was likely intended to be in the context of general fans’ perception.

[Lou]

48 minutes ago, Dtwncbad said:

Just because baseball writers that have votes acknowledge them doesn’t mean these players are not underrated by the general baseball fan base.

I think the “who is underrated” question was likely intended to be in the context of general fans’ perception.

Nope, Taylor said my definition is what matters. 

[Fake Chow]

I went to the same high school as Shawn Green.  He was a senior when I was in 8th grade though.  He used to come and workout at the fields all the time.

[Fake Chow]

John Kruk

[Taylor]

10 hours ago, Dtwncbad said:

Just because baseball writers that have votes acknowledge them doesn’t mean these players are not underrated by the general baseball fan base.

I think the “who is underrated” question was likely intended to be in the context of general fans’ perception.

I agree. I've changed my mind on Lou's definition. It skus.

[Dtwncbad]

46 minutes ago, Fake Chow said:

I went to the same high school as Shawn Green.  He was a senior when I was in 8th grade though.  He used to come and workout at the fields all the time.

Absolutely amazing.  And I thought I had a special story considering Greg Minton went to my high school San Dieguito HS in Encinitas.

He graduated when I was 5 years old.

[Taylor]

Cecil Fielder lived down the street from me the year he played for the Angels. Prince was in 8th grade at the time and was attending RSM Intermediate. He was a big kid, even back then.

[jsnpritchett]

15 hours ago, Vlad27Trout27 said:

Shoeless Joe Johnson (What IF...)

What IF...his last name was actually Jackson?