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. 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. After an inauspicious start to his career as a member of the Indians, Brian Giles found himself traded to the Pirates prior to the 1999 season. The pitchers threw the ball harder, and the sluggers hit the ball further than any previous decade. -- have ascended to all-time great status, with the award being a mere stepping-stone to untold other accolades and achievements. Leonard had a career record of 139-133 with a 2.76 ERA, and in 1914, he led the American League with a remarkable 0.96 ERA, the major league record for lowest ERA among pitchers who threw at least 150 innings in the same season. He has six seasons with at least 16 wins and he has at least an ERA under 3.30. Career Stats: 1,887 G; .267/.354/.475; 318 HR; 1,147 RBI; 1,703 H; 945 R; 14-for-33 SB. Dave Parker, Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? One half of a great double-play combination in Kansas City, along with second baseman Frank White, shortstop Freddie Patek was part of the Royals teams that won the American League West from 1976-78. 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. However, who were the most underrated MLB players of the 2010s? He represented Toronto in two midsummer classics, won three consecutive Silver Sluggers from . Probably own at least two of these and flipped through them countless times and never noticed that. Wally Moses hit .300 or better in seven consecutive seasons to start his career, from 1935 through the 1941 season. Despite his achievements on the field, Doerr was not selected to the Hall of Fame until the Veterans Committee finally enshrined him in 1986. 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. Every MLB Team's Most Underrated Player Since 2000 Joel Reuter December 16, 2021 Jim McIsaac/Getty Images "I completely forgot how good he was!" That's the response we set out to elicit. He moved to third base in 1971 when Boston acquired Luis Aparicio and was still manning the hot corner in 1975 when the Sox won the AL pennant and played in one of the most exciting World Series in history, losing in seven games to the Cincinnati Reds. Ron Artest 4. He tallied 10 complete games and three shutouts during that stretch, and he was an All-Star in '04 when he went 14-9 with a 3.38 ERA in 215.2 innings. Forgive me if Im wrong, but I believe Hornsby is the only MLB player to hit 40+ homers and bat .400 in the same season. Choke artist. Graig Nettles and Darrell Evans came up in yesterday's post. He would hit .275 or better five times and put together seven consecutive seasons in which he stole at least 20 bases a year. 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. Said Bill James in The New Baseball Abstract: No other player in baseball history was so richly praised for his defensive skillno one. All told, he had a 129 OPS+ with 179 home runs and 22.6 WAR with the North Siders. Beltres lucky. 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. For his career, he drew 1,243 walks while striking out only 675 times. A six-time All-Star with the Angels, Fregosi formed one of the most capable double-play combinations in the game with second baseman Bobby Knoop from 1964 until the midway point of the 1969 season. 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. Its a simple concept with infinite possibilities. Career Stats: 1,673 G; .286/.351/.455; 202 HR; 870 RBI; 1,706 H; 843 R; 103-for-171 SB. Honorable mention: Anyone who plays for the As, my girlfriend said after I told her about this project. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports. A lifelong Cubs fan and Chicago resident, nostalgia drives his card-collecting focus. Career Stats: 2,089 G; .271/.374/.488; 377 HR; 1,103 RBI; 1,820 H; 1,046 R; 43-for-73 SB. 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. Most underrated MLB players entering 2022 season #5 Julio Urias - Los Angeles Dodgers Julio Urias pitches against the Atlanta Braves Julio Urias won 20 MLB games in his first full season. Career Stats: 2019 G; .254/.352/.408; 242 HR; 1,039 RBI; 1,790 H; 982 R; 75-for-121 SB. 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. 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. During the first six seasons of the 2000s, he hit .292/.406/.584 while averaging 35 home runs, 98 RBI and 6.1 WAR and winning a Gold Glove every year. A nine-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove Award winner during his 19-year career with the Cincinnati Reds, Concepcion's contributions were routinely overshadowed by his Hall of Fame teammates, namely Pete Rose, Tony Perez and Morgan. He struck out a ton, but he also hit .240/.319/.438 while averaging 23 home runs, 20 steals and 2.4 WAR in his five full seasons with the team. McRae is one of only a handful of players who have a rule be named after them. Career Stats: 1,881 G; .271/.360/.404; 160 HR; 758 RBI; 1,803 H; 964 R; 233-for-350 SB. 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. He falls short of being Cooperstown worthy, butConcepcion's career was celebrated in Cincinnati back in 2007, when his jersey, No. Michael Redd 6. Keltner made two outstanding backhanded plays at third to rob DiMaggio, and along with a walk and a ground out, the streak ended. Left unprotected by the Kansas City Royals in the 1993 expansion draft, the Florida Marlins took the talented youngster for their own. Five times Edmonds hit .300 or better, and he also slugged 30-or-more home runs on five different occasions as well. 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. He hit over .300 in eight different seasons and hit over 20 home runs in nine different seasons. Career Stats: 1,720 G; .261/.328/.406; 176 HR; 729 RBI; 1,623 H; 798 R; 80-for-131 SB. 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. Lind hit .305/.370/.562 for a 141 OPS+ with 46 doubles, 35 home runs and 114 RBI in what looked like a breakout age-25 season in 2009. At his peak, Edmonds was one of the greatest two-way center fielders in MLB history. I wonder if Rolen might be in the same boat if hed spent more time at the Ballpark inArlington; his slash in just 34 plate appearances there is .419/.471/.742. Tim Wallach could play both corner-infield and outfield positions, and even took the mound twice for the Expos, in 1987 and 1989. 1980-89: Dwight Evans. SP Christy Mathewson: (236-112, 1.98 ERA, 1.035 WHIP, 1,799 K, 2,996.2 IP) 3. The 26-year-old carried that success into 2021, and he has turned himself into a future All-Star. He went 15-5 with a 3.23 ERA in a career-high 209 innings in 2009 and led the NL with a 2.30 ERA in 183.2 innings the following year to check in fifth in NL Cy Young voting, but that proved to be his peak. Larry Wayne Jones is one of the greatest switch-hitters of all-time. *Caught stealing totals are incomplete per Baseball-Reference.com. Career Stats: 1,865 G; .288/.362/.461; 223 HR; 1,247 RBI; 2,042 H; 1,094 R; 54-for-118 SB. All rights reserved. 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. Justice hit a ball to deep center field. 3 overall pick in the 1997 draft out of UCLA, Glaus slugged 35 home runs between Double-A and Triple-A the following year in his pro debut, and he took over as the Anaheim Angels starting third baseman in 1999. Career highlights: NFL Most Valuable Player (1997), two-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year, NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (1989 . We take the notion of "rated" seriously around here. Forget the Coors Effect. Is Lance Berkman leaning on a beat up old Ford in the Astrodome parking lot? 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. Among Rolens accolades from 2000 through 2009: 48.3 WAR, 127 defensive runs saved and a .285/.368/.497 slash. Its just a challenge for any non-As fan to name one of theseguys. 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. The following year he helped lead the Florida Marlins to an unexpected World Series title. 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. Jim Abbott (1989-1999) 1 of 50 Career Stats: 263 G (254 GS); 87-108; 4.25 ERA; 1.43 WHIP; 1,674 IP;. His offensive numbers aren't impressive, but this list wouldn't be complete without including a player that had great value on the bases and with his glove and little-to-none with his bat. You've heard them allyou've used them all. 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. Indian Bob Johnson never had one of those super seasons that make everyone sit up and whistle. Hecostthe Astros one defensive run for the decadewhile providing offense that surely totaledmore aggregate value than a slick-gloved infielder with no bat. He finished in the top five in NL Cy Young voting five times in his first six MLB seasons, and went 163-102 with a 3.36 ERA and 1,852 strikeouts in 2,245.1 innings in 13 years in the big leagues. Go ask the Los Angeles Dodgers if they thought Nettles was unappreciated or underrated in Game 3 of the 1978 World Series. He led the Tigers in hits and RBI, broke up three no-hitters, crushed five grand slams and with Game 7 of the World Series a scoreless tie in the seventh inning, Northrup stroked a two-run double off of the Cardinals' Bob Gibson that wound up being the series-winning hit. Among pitchers to start at least 220 games in . Rarely mentioned among the most dominant relievers in recent history, Uehara had a 2.19 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 11.6 K/9 with 79 saves in 91 chances during his four seasons with the Red Sox. Al Oliver. 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. 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. He certainly has gone all-but-unrewarded since that first season, save for a Gold Glove two years ago. Conine enjoyed success for a few seasons, placing third in Rookie of the Year balloting in 1993 and earning an All-Star selection in each of the next two seasons. His only Rookie Cards are in the 1995 Bowman and Bowmans Best releases. Career Stats: 2,324 G; .255/.293/.383; 160 HR; 886 RBI; 2,006 H; 912 R; 178-for-261 SB. 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. Youre correct. Roberto Clemente: Almost criminally underrated and had he not died heroically in a plane crash in 1972, he'd be even less remembered. To qualify for the All-Underrated Team, a player must have: Zero All-Star selections A 20-homer, 20-steal player in 2007 and 2008, Hart also had a 31-homer, 102-RBI campaign in 2010 when he earned his second All-Star selection. 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. If you do not receive the verification code within 60 Seconds, we will send you the activation link again. Bonds qualifies here because the steroid-addled caricature he created for himself in his final seasons obscures everything he was before. However, injuries took a toll from there, and he pitched just 65 more innings in the majors. Bonds packaged this with averages from 1990-98of 36 home runs, 36 steals and a .305/.438/.600 slash. Morris hit .340 in his first full season with the Reds and was an instrumental part of the team that upset the heavily favored Oakland Athletics in the 1990 World Series. The youngest player to play in an MLB game in 2019 was Elvis Luciano a 19-year-old pitcher The Expos selected him out of Puerto Rico in the sixth round of the 1992 draft, and he was included in the rookie-filled 1993 Bowman set the following year. All-time underrated athletes. However, things clicked following a trade to the White Sox, and he posted a 149 OPS+ with 36 home runs and 100 RBI to finish fifth in AL MVP voting in his first year with the team. In between, he was a five-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger winner, and two-time Gold Glove winner who helped set the table for some potent St. Louis Cardinals lineups in his prime. 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. The left-hander signed a two-year, $17.5 million contract with the Angels after the 2008 season, but he stands as the best closer in Rockies franchise history. The tussle between Myers and McCabe was short yet spirited, but the new Toronto blueliner picked up 17 penalty minutes on the play five for fighting, plus a two-minute instigator and a 10-minute misconduct. Heywards 96 defensive runs saved are also best in baseball, by a wide margin, over the past five seasons. 1919 Cincinnati Reds. His peak gets lost in the shuffle pitching alongside CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee. One of the more versatile players of his time. While phenoms came, collected their MVP trophies, and faded, he just kept plodding along hitting .300, with a couple dozen homers and a hundred "ribbies" year after yearlike a guy punching a time clock. 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? Owner of 11 Gold Glove awards, including nine straight from 1993 through 2001, Vizquel only made three All-Star games, due primarily to the fact that he's been overshadowed by those who were more offensively gifted. 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. He has Rookie Cards in 1997 Bowman, Bowman Chrome and Topps Stars. 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. Yet somehow, Tim Salmon was never named to an All-Star team. 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. Over the next four seasons, Giles would be named to two All-Star teams while posting an average season of .309/.426/.604 with 37 HR, 106 RBI and 10 stolen bases. "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. He reminds me a bit of Reggie Smith, another eternally underrated outfielder. Seemingly every baseball generation has its underrated third basemen. Yes. 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. The best they can generally hope for is a belated nod from the Veterans Committee. 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. 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. Gil Hodges and the Mets were convinced that Amos Otis was a third baseman. His production was as steady as any player could hope, even if he was never a bonafide superstar. 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. Otis knew better, and he and Hodges clashed until the day that the Mets traded Otis to the Royals prior to the 1970 season. While he hit the first-ever home run at Veterans Stadium as a member of the Phillies, it wasn't until Don Money was traded to the Brewers following the 1972 season that he enjoyed the most success of his career. From 1903 to 1909, he averaged 29 wins per season, leading the NL three times in . A nine-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove Award winner during his 15 major-league seasons, Santo wasn't elected to the Hall of Fame until nearly 40 years after his retirementand tragically, one year after his death. Top 5 Underrated Position Players 5: Ty France (UTIL), Seattle Mariners Last year, Ty France came on to the scene when he hit over .300 in 23 appearances during the shortened season. Underrated throughout his career, his 60.2 WAR speaks to star-level production. Ill zero in on Oaklands bullpen pastcloser Sean Doolittle. From 1999 through the 2004 season, Vidro was unquestionably one of the most productive second basemen in the game. Its tough for a third baseman if they dont have Mike Schmidts power, George Bretts batting average, or Brooks Robinsons highlight reel glove. Sam Cassell 1. A five-time All-Star, White was one of the smoothest fielding second baseman of his era, winning eight Gold Glove Awards. 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. Sharing a lineup with Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun and slugging middle infielders Rickie Weeks and J.J. Hardy, he wasn't always a focal point, but he stands as one of the most underrated outfielders of his era. When Jose Oquendo broke into the majors with the Mets in 1983 as a 19-year-old shortstop, he became the first player in franchise history who was younger than the franchise itself. 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. Had Jim Wynn not spent 11 years of his 15-year career playing in the Houston Astrodome, one of the more pitching friendly parks in the history of the game, chances are that he'd have approachedor surpassedthe 400 home run mark for his career. Not to mention a career batting average over .310 (including the highest single season batting average of the 2000s[.372!]) Before Clayton Kershaw arrived on the scene, it was Billingsley who was on his way to becoming a homegrown ace for the Dodgers after the team selected him 24th in the 2003 draft. Career Stats: 1,941 G; .263/.319/.419; 208 HR; 846 RBI; 1,934 H; 1,125 R; 346-for-444 SB. He was a four-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger winner, crushing an AL-best 47 home runs in 2000 at the age of 23. He finished seventh in AL Cy Young voting in 2013 when he posted a 1.09 ERA in 73 appearances, and he nailed down all seven save chances with a 0.66 ERA in 13.2 innings during the team's World Series run that year. Its not the best peak in baseball history, but it also isnt far off. Jones also made three All-Star Games and won . Shareef Abdur-Rahim 8. During the first six seasons of the 2000s, he hit .292/.406/.584 while averaging 35 home runs, 98 RBI and 6.1 . A top-25 prospect at the start of the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Quentin failed to live up to expectations during his time in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. Some of them, shall we say, have not. We saw the ends of the Terry Francona and Larry Bowa eras . Of his 184 home runs, only 50 came at the Astrodome. 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. As one of the top picks in the 1997 draft, he was widely featured in 1998 products. Some of them -- many of them! I grew up with Bill White, watching him team up with Phil Rizzuto on WPIX in New York to call Yankees games from the late '70s through the early '90s. By the time his career came to an end, White was celebrated along with Rojas as two of the more popular players in Royals history. White made ridiculous catches in the outfield look routine while hitting for power and flashing excellent speed when he got on base. The rate stats matter most with Mize. He is currently the leader amongst active. He also deserves credit for his handling of a pitching staff, including the 2005 White Sox team that won a World Series title on the strength of a stellar starting rotation. The Most Underrated MLB Players of All Time. Let's take a look at the 50 most underrated baseball players in the history of the game. Career Stats: 2,084 G; .290/.351/.454; 191 HR; 1,097 RBI; 2,091 H; 940 R; 109 -for-185 SB. He generated down-ballot MVP support three different times, and was an All-Star in 2012 when he hit .324/.394/.540 for a 149 OPS+ with 32 doubles, 16 home runs and 68 RBI in a 4.6-WAR season. Biggiocost his team 100 defensive runs lifetime which will rank worst among Hall of Famers, at least until someone like Dick Allen, Derek Jeter or Gary Sheffield goes in. He won Silver Slugger honors in 2014, hitting .271/.342/.467 for a 126 OPS+ with 23 home runs and 76 RBI and two years later he was traded to the Mets for left-hander Jon Niese. He was a two-time All-Star and also won a Silver Slugger. Like Oaklandsmore celebrated starting rotation, theres tremendous depthin the bullpen (plus a couple oftalented relievers on the 40-man roster who could getSeptember call-ups.) Tigers' fans remember him fondly for his contributions during their march to the World Series championship in 1968.
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