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. 13, was retired by the team. He was also a phenomenal defensive second baseman as well and one of the best at turning the double play, yet he never received a Gold Glove Award due to the presence of two other second basemen who were equally as adept with the glove: the Royals' Frank White and the Tigers' Lou Whitaker. 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. During the first six seasons of the 2000s, he hit .292/.406/.584 while averaging 35 home runs, 98 RBI and 6.1 . His 18.1 total WAR in a Royals uniform ranks 24th in franchise history. Career Stats: 1,350 G; .300/.359/.522; 242 HR; 898 RBI; 1,550 H; 809 R; SB Data Not Known. Graig Nettles and Darrell Evans came up in yesterdays post. Not only would he help the Red Sox win the American League Pennant in 1946, he did everything that he could to win the 1946 World Series, hitting .417 against the St. Louis Cardinals in what wound up being a Cardinals' sweep. Required fields are marked *. Wally Moses hit .300 or better in seven consecutive seasons to start his career, from 1935 through the 1941 season. 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. Doug Christie 9. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. He hit .292/.332/.424 for a 108 OPS+ with 28.5 WAR in nine seasons with the Halos, earning one All-Star selection and some down-ballot MVP support in 2014 when he logged a career-high 6.1 WAR. SP Cy Young:. Some might wonder how someone who is enshrined in the Hall of Fame could possibly be underrated, but without a doubt Ron Santo is arguably the most underrated player to ever play the game. 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. At the time he retired in 1985, his .980 career fielding percentage was the highest career mark for any shortstop, though that's since been surpassed by seven players, including Jimmy Rollins and Troy Tulowitzki, the new record holder. Yes. 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. 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. A two-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove award winner, Finley was an integral part of the Diamondbacks team that won the 2001 World Series, batting .368/.478/.526 with one home run, two RBI and five runs scored. 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 . Regardless, Rolen has borderline Hall of Fame numbers for a third baseman and quietly did much of it the first decade of the 2000s. 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. This includes managing the Yankees to a World Series triumph in 1996 and picking the American Olympic team in 2000 that went on to win the gold medal, which are just two examples of his incredible impact on the sport. For many, nostalgia remains the driving force behind baseball card collecting, and thats how we arrived at the idea of One-Sheet Collections. 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. Career Stats: 1,832 G; .295/.364/.447; 184 HR; 989 RBI; 1,826 H; 802 R; 27-for-55 SB. Career Stats: 2,063 G; .265/.343/.416; 195 HR; 860 RBI; 1,963 H; 1,123 R; 91-for-151 SB. Please enter the verification code that you received on your email. Otis knew better, and he and Hodges clashed until the day that the Mets traded Otis to the Royals prior to the 1970 season. Career Stats: 1,902 G; .265/.338/.398; 151 HR; 706 RBI; 1,726 H; 844 R; 76-for-116 SB. Some of them -- many of them! A two-time All-Star, White became one of the most popular Yankees during the 1970s with his no-nonsense style of play and remains a fan favorite to this day. All-time underrated athletes. Let's take a look at the 50 most underrated baseball players in the history of the game. Career Stats: 1,754 G; .273/.336/.450; 235 HR; 901 RBI; 87-for-157 SB. SP Christy Mathewson: (236-112, 1.98 ERA, 1.035 WHIP, 1,799 K, 2,996.2 IP) 3. Hell likely get into Cooperstown on the writers ballot, thanks to a late career renaissance with the Rangers that has pushed him near 3,000 hits and a .300 lifetime batting average. Your Account has been confirmed and activated successfully. Jermaine O'Neal 2. Upon the discovery of a tumor in his foot and with the Angels having mixed feelings about his future as a ballplayer, Fregosi was traded to the Mets in exchange for four players, most notably a right-handed pitcher named Nolan Ryan. Theres also Buddy Bell, Ron Santo, Ken Boyer and a range of other third basemen who hit respectably and offered superb, if under-appreciated, defensive value. Career Stats: 2,089 G; .271/.374/.488; 377 HR; 1,103 RBI; 1,820 H; 1,046 R; 43-for-73 SB. If memory serves correctly, its his truck, too. But that overshadowed what was a wonderful career on the field, and especially when fielding his position. Its just a challenge for any non-As fan to name one of theseguys. 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. It's time to unveil the 2022 MLB All-Underrated Team. 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. 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. Career Stats: 2,011 G; .284/.376/.527; 393 HR; 1,199 RBI; 1,949 H; 1,251 R; 67-for-117 SB. While his power numbers increased in each of his four seasons with the Tigers, from four home runs in 1974 to 21 round-trippers in 1977, Oglivie still wasn't given a chance to start everyday. I assume Heywards best years are in front of him. White made ridiculous catches in the outfield look routine while hitting for power and flashing excellent speed when he got on base. Fck. A key contributor on three World Series-winning Boston Red Sox teams in the 1910s, Dutch Leonard largely played in the shadow of Babe Ruth and "Smoky" Joe Wood. Get caught up:1960s, 70s, and 80s|1930s, 40s, and 50s|1900s, 10s, and 20s. Amazingly enough, Ryne Sandberg took home Gold Glove honors. Eckstein would reach the World Series a second time as a member of the Cardinals in 2006. He posted a .994 fielding percentage in 1989, committing only five errors in more than 850 chances. the first player to ever bat as a designated hitter. 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. Bonds pre-2000 is only underrated because of his 2000-on roids numbers. Jim Abbott (1989-1999) 1 of 50 Career Stats: 263 G (254 GS); 87-108; 4.25 ERA; 1.43 WHIP; 1,674 IP;. A homegrown star before Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau came along, Koskie made good as a 26th-round pick in the 1994 draft. However, who were the most underrated MLB players of the 2010s? 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. Al Oliver. All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs. His batting average fell 64 points (from .289 to .225) and his OPS dropped 79 points (from .863 to .784), yet his average exit velocity (91 mph), hard-hit percentage (46.7 percent), expected SLG (.542) and barrel percentage (16 percent) were all excellent, and his 7.9 percent walk rate was the best of his career. A six-time All-Star with the Yankees, Willie Randolph was one of the best second basemen in the game for more than a decade. Over his career, Beltre racked up over 3,000 hits and nearly made it to 500 home runs. 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. And . 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. While the Royals would fall to the Phillies in the World Series, White was also part of the 1985 Royals team that won the only World Series championship in team history. He led American League third basemen four times inassists, five times indouble plays, and twice infielding percentage. 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. The only other players with that many trips to the plate and slash stats that high are Babe Ruth, Rogers Hornsby, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Joe DiMaggio, Larry Walker and Manny Ramirez. Thus far, Heyward has mostly seemed to offer tantalizing glimpses of what he might become. Honorable mention: Bobby Abreu, who fell just short ofa .300/.400/.500 slash for the first decade of the 2000s. 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. Thing is, Biggio was a valuable fielder during the 90s. Heywardturned 25 on August 9, and to a frustrated Bravesfan, their right fielderhasstruggledsince finishing runner-up in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2010. From 1903 to 1909, he averaged 29 wins per season, leading the NL three times in . Think about Dennis Johnson of the 1980sthe dude was a five-time All-Star and a Finals MVP. He has Rookie Cards in 1997 Bowman, Bowman Chrome and Topps Stars. 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. White chased the ball down and caught it while crashing full speed into the walla play some have said was more impressive than "The Catch" by Willie Maysthen threw a strike to Blue Jays' second baseman Roberto Alomar. In 1990, Oquendo set the National League record for fewest errors by a second baseman in at least 150 games by committing only three. In fact, some of Alou's season-best numbers are quite impressive. Career Stats: 1,998 G; .277/.343/.425; 193 HR; 1,007 RBI; 2,020 H; 1,092 R; 341-for-434 SB. 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. There have been just 12 position players worth three or more WAR in each of the last four seasons. Sievers has the "honor" of being the first man with 300 lifetime home runs not to be elected to baseballs Hall of Fame. Career Stats: 1,650 G; .242/.309/.324; 41 HR; 490 RBI; 1,340 H; 736 R; 385-for-516 SB. Interestingly enough, Finley could have had multiple 20/20 and 30/30 seasons, but the speed that he exhibited early in his career wasn't quite the same when his power finally developed. He hit over .300 in eight different seasons and hit over 20 home runs in nine different seasons. From 2000-06 the team won 85 games five times but never made the playoffs. 1980-89: Dwight Evans. However, lefties Jeremy Affeldt and Lopez were also integral members of the relief corps. 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. 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. Randolph was a patient hitter, drawing more than 80 walks seven times in his career, including a career high of 119 in 1980, a number that lead the American League. Furillo finished his career needing only one hit to raise his career average to .300. 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. DeCinces took Tigers' reliever Dave Tobik deep into the night, leading the Orioles to a comeback 6-5 victory on what has been called "the night Oriole Magic was born." The best they can generally hope for is a belated nod from the Veterans Committee. So why was Guillen underrated or unappreciated? Most underrated player on each American League team heading into 2022. 6. 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. Aside from his Topps flagship rookie, he also has Rookie Cards in 1993 Fleer Final Edition and Ultra. He was a multi-inning bullpen weapon in 2005 (65 G, 5 SV, 2.21 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 85.2 IP) and an excellent starter in 2008 (22 GS, 10-8, 2.54 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 141.2 IP) in what was his only year as a full-time member of the rotation. Career Stats: 2,247 G; .260/.300/.320; 15 HR; 525 RBI; 2,191 H; 987 R; 318-for-423 SB. During Guillen's five-year heyday with the Tigers (2004-2008), he hit .308 with an .870 OPS and 128 OPS+. Career Stats: 1,311 G; .280/.345/.355; 35 HR; 392 RBI; 123-for-168 SB. He has two 20/20 seasons on his resume and fell three home runs short of adding three more to his collection. All MLB players dream of earning a place alongside legends such as Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Lou Gehrig, Tom Seaver, Willie Mays, and Bob Gibson. Upon his trade to the Cardinals in 1985, Oquendo faced a bit of a problemthe Cardinals were already set at shortstop with Ozzie Smith. 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.