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. Here are nine underrated ones: 1) Luis Gonzalez, D-backs, 2001 57 HR, 36 2B, 7 3B, 100 BB, 1.117 OPS So the man puts together one of the great offensive seasons of all-time, and all anyone wants to talk to him about is a bloop single that just cleared the infield. Career Stats: 1,392 G; .267/.333/.429; 153 HR; 610 RBI; 1,254 H; 603 R; 39-for-77 SB. 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. His peak gets lost in the shuffle pitching alongside CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee. At his peak, Edmonds was one of the greatest two-way center fielders in MLB history. 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 Opening Day starter twice during his time in Cleveland, Westbrook eclipsed 200 innings three years in a row from 2004 to 2006. 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. 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. A seven-time All-Star, his 2.48 ERA led the American League in 1985. He'd hit another home run off of Kaat in the seventh inning, becoming only the second player in baseball history, at that time, to hit two home runs in his first game. Underrated teams. Career Stats: 1,311 G; .280/.345/.355; 35 HR; 392 RBI; 123-for-168 SB. 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. Honorable mention: Craig Biggio, who willbe lambasted as one of the worst defensive Hall of Famers when his 3,000 hits get himenshrined. 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. -- have ascended to all-time great status, with the award being a mere stepping-stone to untold other accolades and achievements. Of his 184 home runs, only 50 came at the Astrodome. 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. In the five seasons that followed a respectable sixth-place finish in 2004 AL Rookie of the Year voting, DeJesus hit .286/.357/.427 for a 107 OPS+ while filling up the stat sheet and averaging 30 doubles, eight triples, 10 home runs, 63 RBI, 79 runs and 2.9 WAR. His ability to play anywhere and everywhere on the field made him one of the more valuable players that Whitey Herzog ever had at his disposal. 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 would hit .275 or better five times and put together seven consecutive seasons in which he stole at least 20 bases a year. Everyone loves labels, especially when it comes to athletes. I truly believe Todd Helton is one of the most grossly underrated players of our generation. 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? Widely considered to be one of the greatest defensive shortstops to ever play the game, Omar Vizquel is entering the final two weeks of his career as an active player with the Toronto Blue Jays. Youre correct. He hit .313/.374/.489 while averaging 39 doubles, 16 home runs and 73 RBI during that six-year span, hitting alongside Vladimir Guerrero in the Montreal Expos lineup. His 5.5 WAR this season is seventh-best in the majors. SP Christy Mathewson: (236-112, 1.98 ERA, 1.035 WHIP, 1,799 K, 2,996.2 IP) 3. Five times he hit more than 30 home runs, twice he broke the 100 RBI barrier and eight times he hit more than 20 home runs and drove in at least 70 runs. Its a simple concept with infinite possibilities. 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 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. 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. Your Account has been confirmed and activated successfully. As one of the top picks in the 1997 draft, he was widely featured in 1998 products. 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 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. 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. Think about Dennis Johnson of the 1980sthe dude was a five-time All-Star and a Finals MVP. Career Stats: 2,324 G; .255/.293/.383; 160 HR; 886 RBI; 2,006 H; 912 R; 178-for-261 SB. Graig Nettles and Darrell Evans came up in yesterday's post. 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. For many, nostalgia remains the driving force behind baseball card collecting, and thats how we arrived at the idea of One-Sheet Collections. Now, lets turn our attention to an era still settling. 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. 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. Seriously? 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. 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. 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. The 1953 National League batting champion with a .344 mark, Furillo was an important part of two World Series championship winning teams in 1955 and 1959. Career Stats: 2,488 G; .267/.322/.357; 101 HR; 950 RBI; 2,326 H; 993 R; 321-for-430 SB. 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 pitchers threw the ball harder, and the sluggers hit the ball further than any previous decade. 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. 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. The little things that don't necessarily show up in the box score might matter more to you than they do to someone else. He is currently working on assembling the entire base catalogs of four of his all-time favoritesKerry Wood, Mark Prior, Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee. The rate stats matter most with Mize. The Big Puma was a six-time All-Star and he finished his career with 366 home runs and 1,234 RBI, yet he was a one-and-done on the Hall of Fame ballot with just 1.2 percent of the vote in 2019. 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. 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. A two-time All-Star, Wynn led the National League in walks twice over the course of his career and hit 20 or more home runs on eight different occasions. On the other hand, that little bloop single did win Game 7 of the World Series. 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. That's the beauty of sportsnobody watches a game the same way. Originally a Yankee, Hal Morris was sent to Cincinnati in 1989 in exchange for Tim Leary in a perfect example of how George Steinbrenner used to run the club; trading prospects for veterans. 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. Watson became famous for scoring the 1,000,000th run inMLBhistory on May 4, 1975, narrowly beating Cincinnati's Dave Concepcion for the honor. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports. Here are the best NFL players of all time. 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. Jurrjens made 115 starts in the big leagues before his age-26 season, going 50-33 with a 3.40 ERA in 702.1 innings, and he was an All-Star in 2011 when he went 13-6 with a 2.96 ERA in 152 innings. Career Stats: 1,672 G; .282/.385/.498; 299 HR; 1,016 RBI; 1,674 H; 986 R; 48-for-90 SB, To most of us he's Tim Salmon, but to those in the know, he's simply known as "King Fish.". 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. Considering that Campy finished his career with more triples (86) than home runs (79), that's a pretty impressive feat. Tim Wallach could play both corner-infield and outfield positions, and even took the mound twice for the Expos, in 1987 and 1989. He was a two-time All-Star and also won a Silver Slugger. We throw around words like ballplayers toss around a baseball during pregame warm-ups in the outfield. Let's take a look at the 50 most underrated baseball players in the history of the game. After starting his career with three years of limited playing time in Cleveland, Jay Bell was dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1989, where he became the everyday shortstop for the team that went to the NLCS in three consecutive seasons. Indian Bob Johnson never had one of those super seasons that make everyone sit up and whistle. 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. Lopez had a 2.47 ERA in 446 regular season outings, along with a 1.38 ERA and nine holds in 25 playoff appearances. And an obp over .410! 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. Career Stats: 2,063 G; .265/.343/.416; 195 HR; 860 RBI; 1,963 H; 1,123 R; 91-for-151 SB. He slugged 107 home runs and made two All-Star appearances in four years with the South Siders. Ibanez began his MLB career with five forgettable seasons as a part-time player with the Mariners before breaking out in Kansas City. Hecostthe Astros one defensive run for the decadewhile providing offense that surely totaledmore aggregate value than a slick-gloved infielder with no bat. He has two 20/20 seasons on his resume and fell three home runs short of adding three more to his collection. 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. Career Stats: 2,247 G; .260/.300/.320; 15 HR; 525 RBI; 2,191 H; 987 R; 318-for-423 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. In both the 1915 and 1916 World Series, Leonard threw complete game victories for the Red Sox, allowing just two runs and eight hits. If you do not receive the verification code within 60 Seconds, we will send you the activation link again. A five-time All-Star, White was one of the smoothest fielding second baseman of his era, winning eight Gold Glove Awards. Hornsby fell one homer short of doing it twice. And . I should clarify. Northrup was a streaky power hitter but one who had a short, quick stroke and a good eye at the plate. Forget the Coors Effect. 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. He represented Toronto in two midsummer classics, won three consecutive Silver Sluggers from . 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. Career Stats: 1,941 G; .263/.319/.419; 208 HR; 846 RBI; 1,934 H; 1,125 R; 346-for-444 SB. Some of them, shall we say, have not. Part of the excellent Baltimore Orioles teams of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Don Buford was a relatively unknown leadoff hitter who holds the record for grounding into the fewest double plays per at-bat than anyone else, one every 138 at-bats. Thanks for another fun article. Career Stats: 1,190 G; .256/.346/.317; 14 HR; 254 RBI; 821 H; 339 R; 35-for-68 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. 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? A fixture on the first four National League All-Star teams from 1933 though 1936, Wally Berger was a power-hitting center fielder who led the National League in home runs (34) and RBI (130). 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. 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.) Probably own at least two of these and flipped through them countless times and never noticed that. It was the best thing that ever happened for him. He was also named MVP of the 1980 American League Championship Series when he hit .545 with a home run, three RBI and three runs scored as the Royals swept the Yankees in three games. In 1181 total games in a Blue Jays uniform, Bell slashed .286/.325/.486 with 202 homers and 740 RBI. Lance Lynn is not only the Rangers' most underrated player, but he's also the league's most underrated starting pitcher since debuting in 2011. Career Stats: 1,881 G; .271/.360/.404; 160 HR; 758 RBI; 1,803 H; 964 R; 233-for-350 SB. Of the 18 players elected to start the 1934 All-Star Game, Berger is the only one not enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
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