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. 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. Career Stats: 1,941 G; .263/.319/.419; 208 HR; 846 RBI; 1,934 H; 1,125 R; 346-for-444 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. With an undersized 60 frame, Oswalt slipped all the way to the 23rd round of the 1996 draft where the Houston Astros selected him out of Holmes Community College. Is Bryce Harper the most underrated player in baseball and is Bo Bichette the most overra. He is the only player to debut with the Marlins in 1993 and play for both of their World Series teams, in 1997 and 2003. 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. Top 10 Players of the 1900s 1. Career Stats: 2,084 G; .290/.351/.454; 191 HR; 1,097 RBI; 2,091 H; 940 R; 109 -for-185 SB. Doc Halladay has been the most consistent pitcher of this decade. Hall of Very Good: Ranking the MLB Players Likely to Get Bounced off MLB All-Decade Team -- Who made our squad of baseball's best from 2010 His big-league career was over before he turned 30. 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. 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? 1980-89: Dwight Evans. Career Stats: 2,024 G; .285/.347/.443; 214 HR; 1,071 RBI; 1,982 H; 870 R; 54-for-83 SB. Bonds qualifies here because the steroid-addled caricature he created for himself in his final seasons obscures everything he was before. In both the 1915 and 1916 World Series, Leonard threw complete game victories for the Red Sox, allowing just two runs and eight hits. 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. Get caught up:1960s, 70s, and 80s|1930s, 40s, and 50s|1900s, 10s, and 20s. Forget the Coors Effect. Its tough for a third baseman if they dont have Mike Schmidts power, George Bretts batting average, or Brooks Robinsons highlight reel glove. Among pitchers to start at least 220 games in . As a member of the Blue Jays, he was involved in one of the more bizarre plays in World Series 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. Watson is underrated due to his immense contributions to the sport. Copyright 2023, Beckett Collectibles, LLC. While I thought he was great at his job back then, it turns out that he was a damn fine ballplayer as well. 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. 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. Injuries would take their toll andultimatelyend his career in 1985 after only 38 innings of work. Career Stats: 1,190 G; .256/.346/.317; 14 HR; 254 RBI; 821 H; 339 R; 35-for-68 SB. Most underrated player on each American League team heading into 2022. 13, was retired by the team. Shareef Abdur-Rahim 8. That's the response we set out to elicit with our rundown of each MLB team's most underrated player of the past 20 years. During the first six seasons of the 2000s, he hit .292/.406/.584 while averaging 35 home runs, 98 RBI and 6.1 . Now, when anyone mentions Bonds, its to marvel over the freakishstats he offered from 2001 through 2004 or, conversely, to denounce his Hall of Fame candidacy. And . 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. All-time underrated athletes. Career Stats: 1,392 G; .267/.333/.429; 153 HR; 610 RBI; 1,254 H; 603 R; 39-for-77 SB. As the Yankees came back to prominence in 1976, White continued to excel on a team loaded with stars. Trailing 5-3 as they headed into the bottom of the ninth inning against the Detroit Tigers on June 22, 1979, Doug DeCinces stepped to the plate with two outs, Eddie Murray on first base, and a Ken Singleton home run having cut the deficit to one run. While his lifetime ERA of 3.17 would lead someone to expect Steve Rogers to have a more impressive career win-loss record, he was often the victim of terrible run support during many challenging years in Montreal. Career Stats: 399 G (393 GS); 158-152; 3.17 ERA; 1.23 WHIP; 2,837 IP; 2,619 H; 1.85 K/BB. This project has primarilybeen about identifying players who look underrated in the historic rear view. The type of player you love if hes on your team and hate if hes not, Pierzynski played 19 MLB seasons with the Twins, Giants, White Sox, Rangers, Red Sox, Cardinals and Braves. 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. He then returned to Seattle in 2004 after a three-year run with the Royals and put together some of the best years of his career. Its not the best peak in baseball history, but it also isnt far off. Corey Maggette Peja Stojakovi 5. 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. Required fields are marked *. Career Stats: 1,919 G; .291/.319/.391; 57 HR; 941 RBI; 2,158 H; 980 R; 363-for-400 SB*. In 1978, he finished third in the AL MVP voting behind the Yankees' Ron Guidry and the eventual winner, Boston's Jim Rice. Tim Wallach could play both corner-infield and outfield positions, and even took the mound twice for the Expos, in 1987 and 1989. But with a wiry framehe was 6'2", 160 pounds when the Red Sox drafted himnobody thought he'd be anything more than someone with gap power. 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. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. After a 31-homer, 21-steal season for the World Series winning Marlins in 2003, Lee was traded to the Cubs where he was a two-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner in seven seasons. 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. Doug Christie 9. McRae is one of only a handful of players who have a rule be named after them. Originally drafted as a catcher, Walker posted a 114 OPS+ while averaging 29 doubles, 16 home runs, 70 RBI and 2.7 WAR in six seasons as the everyday second baseman with the Pirates. Not to take anything away from any of those players, all of whom have had excellent careers, but none of them come close to fielding their position as well as Vizquel. 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. An on-base machine who regularly posted a .400 OBP while also tallying eight 100 RBI seasons as a middle-of-the-order run producer, he earned just two All-Star selections in his 18-year career. 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. Heywards 96 defensive runs saved are also best in baseball, by a wide margin, over the past five seasons. Take .05 off from his career OPS (quite a significant amount) and it still rounds up to .9. 320 batting average with a .370 OBP. 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. Career Stats: 331 G (273 GS); 139-113; 2.76 ERA; 1.23 WHIP; 2,192 IP; 2,092 H, 1.75 K/BB. Pitching: Christy Mathewson leads the pitching staff and he would battle Wagner for player of the decade honors. Every MLB Team's Most Underrated Player Since 2000 A lifelong Cubs fan and Chicago resident, nostalgia drives his card-collecting focus. Career Stats: 1,902 G; .265/.338/.398; 151 HR; 706 RBI; 1,726 H; 844 R; 76-for-116 SB. 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. Everyone loves labels, especially when it comes to athletes. Concepcion was rounding the bases after hitting a home run and crossed home plate roughly four seconds after Watson. Career Stats: 2,213 G; .290/.377/.376; 54 HR; 578 RBI; 2,375 H; 1,359 R; 558-for-815 SB. Is Lance Berkman leaning on a beat up old Ford in the Astrodome parking lot? Underrated teams. Go ask the Los Angeles Dodgers if they thought Nettles was unappreciated or underrated in Game 3 of the 1978 World Series. 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. The 1998 Bowman card above is one of 10 different Rookie Cards in his database. 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. Who are the most underrated Tigers of last 20 years? Renteria made his MLB debut in 1996 at the age of 19, finishing runner-up in NL Rookie of the Year voting. Vizquel hit .280 or better eight times, hit more than 30 doubles four times and led the league in sacrifice hits three times. Yet somehow, Tim Salmon was never named to an All-Star team. Career Stats: 2,012 G; .291/.364/.416; 89 HR; 674 RBI; 2,138 H; 1,124 R; 174-for-255 SB. 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. If theres any indication from Smiths showing on the Hall of Fame ballot 0.7 percent of the vote in 1988, one of the weaker ballots in recent memory Abreu doesnt have much to look forward to in five years. 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. Career Stats: 1,286 G; .264/.362/.379; 93 HR; 418 RBI; 1,203 H; 718 R; 200-for-305 SB. Phillies baseball in the early 2000s was a time to forget. Dave Parker, Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? 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. 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. He won another ring 13 years later when he captured World Series MVP honors as a member of the San Francisco Giants. Here are the best NFL players of all time. 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." Think about Dennis Johnson of the 1980sthe dude was a five-time All-Star and a Finals MVP. The Most Underrated NBA Players Of The Early 2000s During Guillen's five-year heyday with the Tigers (2004-2008), he hit .308 with an .870 OPS and 128 OPS+. A burly 6'7", 260-pound right-hander, Harang enjoyed a brief peak alongside Bronson Arroyo at the top of the Cincinnati rotation. His 18.1 total WAR in a Royals uniform ranks 24th in franchise history. One of the great leadoff hitters and bunters of the 1980s and early 1990s, Brett Butler somehow only made one All-Star game over his 17-year career. Its just a challenge for any non-As fan to name one of theseguys. Dating back to the year 2000, we've seen 40 different players win Rookie of the Year Awards. He has Rookie Cards in 1997 Bowman, Bowman Chrome and Topps Stars. Keltner made two outstanding backhanded plays at third to rob DiMaggio, and along with a walk and a ground out, the streak ended. 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. Yes, the Chicago "Black Sox" threw the World Series, but everybody believes that if Shoeless Joe and Co. had tried, they . Bob Watson not only played in relative obscurity for 13 seasons with the Astros but also had his home-run total reduced by the cavernous Houston Astrodome. 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. Ben Oglivie is a perfect example of a player that could have had more impressive career numbers had he been given a chance to play on a daily basis. The 10 most underrated players in baseball, part 1 Andrei Kirilenko 7. Career Stats: 2,324 G; .255/.293/.383; 160 HR; 886 RBI; 2,006 H; 912 R; 178-for-261 SB. Underrated: Jeff McNeil, Mets When you think of the 2022 Mets, the first players to come to mind are likely Pete Alonso, Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, and/or Francisco Lindor. Barry Sanders. So why was Guillen underrated or unappreciated? It's not like Vizquel is the second coming of Rey Ordonez, a slick fielding shortstop who was inept at the plate. I just read an article on Tim Raines being the second best leadoff man from his generation due to his elite OBP (career .385) and SB skills. Elton Brand 11. 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. 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. 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. One-Sheet Collections: Underrated 2000s Baseball Stars MLB's overrated and underrated players of the 2022 season He was also an excellent fielder who held multiple fielding records at the time of his retirement that have since been passed. 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. 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. Jim Abbott (1989-1999) 1 of 50 Career Stats: 263 G (254 GS); 87-108; 4.25 ERA; 1.43 WHIP; 1,674 IP;. 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. 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. After going without a hit in the first two games of the series, he went on a tear. Career Stats: 1,754 G; .273/.336/.450; 235 HR; 901 RBI; 87-for-157 SB. He has Rookie Cards in 1999 Bowman, Bowman Chrome, Bowmans Best, Stadium Club, Topps and Topps Chrome. 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. 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. 5 most underrated MLB players going into 2022 season - Sportskeeda A versatile outfielder who could play all three outfield positions equally well, Jim Northrup spent all but one of his 12 major league seasons wearing a Tigers' uniform. *Caught stealing totals are incomplete per Baseball-Reference.com. 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. Career Stats: 2,243 G; .277/.362/.464; 342 HR; 1,331 RBI; 35-for-76 SB. Career Stats: 443 G (412 GS); 176-137; 3.44 ERA; 1.25 WHIP; 2,895.1 IP; 2,572 H; 1.61 K/BB. 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. The 50 Most Underrated MLB Players of All Time - Bleacher Report 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. Across 15 MLB seasons, he tallied 2,096 hits, 316 home runs, 1,220 RBI and 44.5 WAR. "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. Career Stats: 1,806 G; .399/.355/.458; 192 HR; 1,058 RBI; 1,910 H; 895 R; 48-for-74 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 by no means an all-or-nothing power hitter though, with a .293/.406/.537 career batting line. My thought, by the way, is that many 19th century ballplayers are underrated and that were just re-discovering them via Baseball Reference.). Rico never had the attention of the media like his more famous teammate Carl Yastrzemski did, but Boston fans knew that he was a special player, and he remains one of the most popular Red Sox players of the past 50 years. Please enter the verification code that you received on your email. Career Stats: 1,881 G; .271/.360/.404; 160 HR; 758 RBI; 1,803 H; 964 R; 233-for-350 SB. The Opening Day starter twice during his time in Cleveland, Westbrook eclipsed 200 innings three years in a row from 2004 to 2006. However, who were the most underrated MLB players of the 2010s? A four-time All-Star, Bando led the A's in RBI three times and was the second third baseman in American League history to hit 200 home runs in their career. The best they can generally hope for is a belated nod from the Veterans Committee. A nine-time All-Star over his 14-year career spent entirely with the Red Sox, Doerr was not only an excellent bunter but a second baseman with power as well. 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. It's time to unveil the 2022 MLB All-Underrated Team. 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. When 22-year-old Bert Campaneris made his major league debut in 1964, he took Twins starter Jim Kaat deep in his first major league at-bat. While he was slowed by injuries throughout his career, Johnson was a bona fide ace when healthy. Seemingly every baseball generation has its underrated third basemen. 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 racked up 18.6 WAR in nine seasons with the team, earning three All-Star selections and peaking as a 6-WAR player in 2006 when he helped the Tigers reach the World Series. Career Stats: 1,246 G; .304/.361/.433; 76 HR; 513 RBI; 1,216 H; 535 R; 45-for-69 SB. Graig Nettles and Darrell Evans came up in yesterday's post. 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. Top 100 MLB players of all time - Debating who is too high and - ESPN It wasn't until he made his way to the Minnesota Twins in November of 1972, however, that his career really began to flourish. He debuted in 1997 and earned the first of three All-Star selections in 2000. Career Stats: 2,212 G; .257/.316/.416; 260 HR; 1,125 RBI; 2,085 H; 908 R; 51-for-117 SB. Career Stats: 1,887 G; .267/.354/.475; 318 HR; 1,147 RBI; 1,703 H; 945 R; 14-for-33 SB. 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. The following year he helped lead the Florida Marlins to an unexpected World Series title. And an obp over .410! Among Rolens accolades from 2000 through 2009: 48.3 WAR, 127 defensive runs saved and a .285/.368/.497 slash. 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. Most underrated player on each American League team heading into 2022 Heres How to Tell Them Apart. Take a single nine-pocket sheet and a reasonable $100 budget, and build a nine-card collection with a unifying theme. As the decade comes to a close, the baseball community is beginning to look back at the 2010s. Now go take a look at his career stats. He posted a .994 fielding percentage in 1989, committing only five errors in more than 850 chances. 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. MLB: Unveiling the All-Underrated team of the decade - Call to the Pen In his second go-around with the team, he hit .291/.354/.477 for a 120 OPS+ while averaging 23 home runs, 98 RBI and 3.0 WAR over five seasons.