We saw the ends of the Terry Francona and Larry Bowa eras . You've heard them allyou've used them all. Justice hit a ball to deep center field. 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. The 10 most underrated players in baseball, part 1 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. 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. Career Stats: 2,202 G; .276/.373/.351; 54 HR; 687 RBI; 2,210 H; 1,239 R; 271-for-365 SB. While Abbott wasn't an elite pitcher, the fact that he lasted a decade in major league baseball with only one hand is truly a remarkable featand it's a shame that future generations will view him only as an oddity and not as the inspirational figure he truly isif they notice him at all. He logged 7,370 plate appearances with a career slash line of .312/.397/.562. Dating back to the year 2000, we've seen 40 different players win Rookie of the Year Awards. 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. It was the best thing that ever happened for him. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports. From his first full season in the MLB rotation in 2006 through the 2013 season, he was one of the most durable pitchers in baseball, making at least 30 starts and working at least 180 innings . Career Stats: 1,197 G; .273/.347/.452; 166 HR; 674 RBI; 128-for-189 SB. Regardless, Rolen has borderline Hall of Fame numbers for a third baseman and quietly did much of it the first decade of the 2000s. He'd accomplish the feat three more times over the course of his career. However, who were the most underrated MLB players of the 2010s? 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. He posted a .994 fielding percentage in 1989, committing only five errors in more than 850 chances. A seven-time All-Star and one of the smoothest fielding third basemen of the 1940s, Ken Keltner almost single-handedly ended Joe DiMaggios 56-game hitting streak in 1941. Phillies: Most underrated players of the 2000s - That Balls Outta Here A homegrown star before Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau came along, Koskie made good as a 26th-round pick in the 1994 draft. Playing the bulk of his career with the Cardinals, White was a five-time All-Star, a seven-time Gold Glove Award winner at first base and one of only a handful of players to hit over .300 and drive in 100 runs in three consecutive seasons. ESPN.com - Page2 - The List: Underrated teams 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. Is Bryce Harper the most underrated player in baseball and is Bo Bichette the most overra. Baseball's Most Underrated Players of All Time Over his career, Beltre racked up over 3,000 hits and nearly made it to 500 home runs. 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. While he was slowed by injuries throughout his career, Johnson was a bona fide ace when healthy. 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. 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. The MLB All-Underrated Team for 2022 - MLB.com He has Rookie Cards in 1997 Bowman, Bowman Chrome and Topps Stars. 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. McRae is one of only a handful of players who have a rule be named after them. Before he was a postseason hero serving as a veteran utility man for the Washington Nationals, Kendrick was a rock solid second baseman for the better part of a decade with the Angels. Of his 184 home runs, only 50 came at the Astrodome. Here are the best NFL players of all time. 1919 Cincinnati Reds. 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. Jim Fregosi became the face of the Angels franchiseand its most popular playerduring the 1960s and early 1970s. Roberto Clemente: Almost criminally underrated and had he not died heroically in a plane crash in 1972, he'd be even less remembered. He had three straight seasons with at least 200 innings pitched, including a 2007 campaign where he went 16-6 with a 3.73 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 218 strikeouts in 231.2 innings to finish fourth in NL Cy Young voting. 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. 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. 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. Read our. His last three years with the Tigers . All 30 MLB Teams' Most Overrated and Underrated Player MLB's Most Underrated Players | Just Baseball Career Stats: 2,063 G; .265/.343/.416; 195 HR; 860 RBI; 1,963 H; 1,123 R; 91-for-151 SB. 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. Every MLB Team's Most Underrated Player Since 2000 When Frank White broke in with the Royals in 1973, he had the unenviable task of replacing fan-favorite Cookie Rojas at second base and was met with a less-than-warm welcome by Royals fans. He had a particularly strong stretch from 2000-2008, in which he hit .316/.416/.560 (150 OPS+) with 255 homers, 283 doubles, 850 RBIs, and 48.3 rWAR. It was an era in baseball defined by power. The Most Underrated MLB Players of All Time - Borgata Sports Online Clutch. When a discussion regarding the best second basemen in the history of baseball ensues, it's a rare occasion when Bobby Doerr's name is bought up. Its just a challenge for any non-As fan to name one of theseguys. Barry Sanders. Its tough for a third baseman if they dont have Mike Schmidts power, George Bretts batting average, or Brooks Robinsons highlight reel glove. 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. 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. Take a single nine-pocket sheet and a reasonable $100 budget, and build a nine-card collection with a unifying theme. Career Stats: 2,011 G; .284/.376/.527; 393 HR; 1,199 RBI; 1,949 H; 1,251 R; 67-for-117 SB. 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. But in reality, Jeff McNeil has been lighting it up at the plate this year, hitting an amazing. Youre correct. Indian Bob Johnson never had one of those super seasons that make everyone sit up and whistle. Dave Parker, Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? MLB All-Decade Team -- Who made our squad of baseball's best from 2010 He continued to shuffle roles effectively the next two years before the wheels fell off, but he was a 9.1-WAR player in his first four seasons in the big leagues for some contending Texas teams. Across 15 MLB seasons, he tallied 2,096 hits, 316 home runs, 1,220 RBI and 44.5 WAR. 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. The Most Underrated MLB Players of All Time. Probably own at least two of these and flipped through them countless times and never noticed that. A switch-hitting left fielder who spent his entire career with the Yankees, Roy White was an excellent defensive outfielder who led all American League left fielders in fielding percentage from 1968 through the 1971 season. 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. 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. The youngest player to play in an MLB game in 2019 was Elvis Luciano a 19-year-old pitcher 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. During the 1990s and 2000s, Jones was consistently one of the best hitters in MLB. Copyright 2023, Beckett Collectibles, LLC. 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. Career Stats: 263 G (254 GS); 87-108; 4.25 ERA; 1.43 WHIP; 1,674 IP; 1,779 H; 1.43 K/BB. If you do not receive the verification code within 60 Seconds, we will send you the activation link again. The great game of baseball. Career Stats: 1,286 G; .264/.362/.379; 93 HR; 418 RBI; 1,203 H; 718 R; 200-for-305 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. Career Stats: 399 G (393 GS); 158-152; 3.17 ERA; 1.23 WHIP; 2,837 IP; 2,619 H; 1.85 K/BB. By navigating the site, you agree to the use of cookies to collect information. A few even deserved a Cy Young Award or should be in the Hall of Fame. The most underrated player of each decade: Recent years - Baseball Career Stats: 1,350 G; .300/.359/.522; 242 HR; 898 RBI; 1,550 H; 809 R; SB Data Not Known. Four times he hit over .300, three times he slugged more than 20 home runs and only once did he break the 100 RBI mark. 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 . Beltres lucky. Left unprotected by the Kansas City Royals in the 1993 expansion draft, the Florida Marlins took the talented youngster for their own. Heck, make it 1990 through 1998. 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. 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. From 1999 through the 2004 season, Vidro was unquestionably one of the most productive second basemen in the game. The Most Underrated NBA Players Of The Early 2000s Sievers has the "honor" of being the first man with 300 lifetime home runs not to be elected to baseballs Hall of Fame. 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. In spite of it all, Rolen will be lucky to top 15 percent his first time on the writers ballot. For his career, he drew 1,243 walks while striking out only 675 times. It's easy to go overlooked when you can call Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese and Gil Hodges teammates during your career. Injuries kept him from reaching his full potential, but he still quietly launched 320 home runs in 13 seasons, and he won World Series MVP in 2002. Niese spent six full seasons in the Mets rotation from 2010 through 2015, posting a 59-59 record with a 3.86 ERA while averaging 171 innings per year. 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. 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. 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. Elton Brand 11. Michael Redd 6. 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. 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. Yankees' Gary Sanchez tops list of underrated MLB players - Sports Some of them -- many of them! Career Stats: 1,941 G; .263/.319/.419; 208 HR; 846 RBI; 1,934 H; 1,125 R; 346-for-444 SB. 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. 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. Career Stats: 1,998 G; .277/.343/.425; 193 HR; 1,007 RBI; 2,020 H; 1,092 R; 341-for-434 SB. Pitching: Christy Mathewson leads the pitching staff and he would battle Wagner for player of the decade honors. 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. My thought, by the way, is that many 19th century ballplayers are underrated and that were just re-discovering them via Baseball Reference.). And an obp over .410! The 1994 third-round pick has just one Rookie Card in the 1996 Bowman base set. A five-time All-Star, White was one of the smoothest fielding second baseman of his era, winning eight Gold Glove Awards. I truly believe Todd Helton is one of the most grossly underrated players of our generation. Career Stats: 2,089 G; .271/.374/.488; 377 HR; 1,103 RBI; 1,820 H; 1,046 R; 43-for-73 SB. DeCinces wouldn't have the same kind of memorable moments with the Angels as he did with the Orioles, but he was a solid contributor to the Angels success nonetheless. One of the more versatile players of his time. 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. Is Lance Berkman leaning on a beat up old Ford in the Astrodome parking lot? 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. Aside from his Topps flagship rookie, he also has Rookie Cards in 1993 Fleer Final Edition and Ultra. 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. Whether it was Nomar Garciaparra, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez or Miguel Tejada, Vizquel was always an afterthought when it came to talking about the best shortstops in the game. In 1978, he finished third in the AL MVP voting behind the Yankees' Ron Guidry and the eventual winner, Boston's Jim Rice. All rights reserved. Two years later, he was in the majors, and he quickly emerged as the staff ace. He was traded from Baltimore to the Angels in 1982 to make room for Cal Ripken Jr.; ironically, DeCinces was the man who had the unenviable task of replacing legendary third baseman Brooks Robinson, so his time in Baltimore was sandwiched in between two all-time greats. He has two 20/20 seasons on his resume and fell three home runs short of adding three more to his collection. New Leafs defenceman Jake McCabe fights Tyler Myers after huge hit on 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. 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.) It sounds crazy, I know, to suggest a player who won three National League MVPs and eight Gold Gloves in a decade was anything but one of the most celebrated players of it. Tim Wallach could play both corner-infield and outfield positions, and even took the mound twice for the Expos, in 1987 and 1989. To qualify for the All-Underrated Team, a player must have: Zero All-Star selections Now go take a look at his career stats.