Jim Fregosi became the face of the Angels franchiseand its most popular playerduring the 1960s and early 1970s. His statistics might not scream offensive domination, but he was one of the great clutch hitters of his time. Watson became famous for scoring the 1,000,000th run inMLBhistory on May 4, 1975, narrowly beating Cincinnati's Dave Concepcion for the honor. Teams:St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, Stats:2,088 games, .296 BA, 162 HR, 1,071 RBI, .384 OBP, .436 SLG. Bottom line:A career total of 214 wins, and barely being over .500 at that, doesnt necessarily jump out at you. That's the beauty of sportsnobody watches a game the same way. Ronald Koeman - Barcelona. Adrian Beltre is probably going to make the Hall of Fame on his first ballot next season - the former Texas Ranger is one of 12 players in MLB history to get 3,000 hits and 400 home runs. KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - SEPTEMBER 25: Vinnie Pasquantino #9 of the Kansas City Royals bats against the Seattle Mariners at Kauffman Stadium on September 25, 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri. While I thought he was great at his job back then, it turns out that he was a damn fine ballplayer as well. His .482 lifetime on-base percentage is the highest of all time, and he ranks in the top 20 in total runs scored, home runs, runs batted in, and walks despite having missed almost five full seasons of his prime to military service. And his defense was unparalleled, as evidenced by his World Series-turning performance in Game 3 against the Dodgers in 1978. Yogi Berra. 10 Most Underrated MLB Players of All Time. 2009: .269, 44 R (21st), 22 HR (2nd), 43 RBI (25th), again . But those defensive skills transferred to just about every other position, making him invaluable. 2008: .279, 103 R (18th in MLB), 36 taters (9th, in the best pitcher's park in the L), 119 RBI (8th), all while batting in a lineup where the next best hitter was Kevin Kouzmanoff. Olerud fired the ball to Blue Jays' third baseman Kelly Gruber who clipped the heel of Sanders' foot for what should have been the second triple play in World Series history. Here are some of the most underrated players in baseball history. Teams:Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, Stats:2,456 games, .290 BA, 339 HR, 1,493 RBI, .339 OBP, .471 SLG. Tim Wallach could play both corner-infield and outfield positions, and even took the mound twice for the Expos, in 1987 and 1989. Jim Edmonds was far from the most talented player of his generation, but he got everything he could out of the talent he had. Bryan Zarpentine is a freelance writer and editor with most of his work focusing on the world of sports. Jun 18, 2009. 2,143: 3.24: Movies: May 30, 2010: VH-1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock bands. In fact, at age 32, Grich was leading the American League with 22 home runs and a .543 slugging percentage during the strike-shortened 1981 season. He played left tackle in 1972 and moved to right tackle in 1974. The 1982 Topps football set has a solid mix of rookie and veteran players. The fans in St. Louis called him Jimmy Ballgame because he played the game the right way and always found ways to help his team win games. Those players are still undervalued today, and they were overlooked even more during Oquendos era. 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. Of the 18 players elected to start the 1934 All-Star Game, Berger is the only one not enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Otis was part of an up-and-coming group of players that helped the Royals to five American League West division titles. Tigers' fans remember him fondly for his contributions during their march to the World Series championship in 1968. The following list of 20 underrated MLB players contains players whose accomplishments seem to have been diminished in due in large part to the accusations of rampant steroid abuse. Parker was also named an all-star seven times and helped two different teams win the World Series. He finished his quarter-century-long career with 288 wins and over 2,200 strikeouts. 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. Bottom line: Luis Tiant was a dominant pitcher. Had he spent the bulk of his career elsewhere, Watson is probably pushing 300 home runs, if not more. Brown also led the National League in ERA twice during his career, including once after he signed that mega contract. Pearson, once a top-ten prospect in all of baseball, has been restricted to just 33 largely unsuccessful big league innings since his debut in 2020, and didn't pitch at all in 2022 as a lat . He'd accomplish the feat three more times over the course of his career. 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. 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. 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. Career Stats: 2,247 G; .260/.300/.320; 15 HR; 525 RBI; 2,191 H; 987 R; 318-for-423 SB. His best year of 1922 is one of the most underrated seasons of all time. Sievers has the "honor" of being the first man with 300 lifetime home runs not to be elected to baseballs Hall of Fame. Williams played from 1915 to 1929, mainly for the St. Louis Browns. 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. ", Teams:Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, California Angels, Stats:573 games, 229-172, 3.30 ERA, 187 CG, 49 SHO, 6.2 K/9 IP. Just . Unfortunately, Luis Tiant hasnt been awarded passage to Cooperstown just yet. A two-time All-Star, he wouldn't join a winning baseball team until 1946 when he was sold to the Boston Red Sox. So when will the Veterans Committee consider Evans? Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Bottom line: Certainly one of the premier defensive center fielders of his time with enough highlight-reel plays to keep you busy through lunch and dinner. He would sign with the Diamondbacks as a free agent prior to the 1998 season and, in 2001, scored the World Series-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 when Luis Gonzalez hit a bloop single off of Yankees' closer Mariano Rivera. 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. Joe DiMaggio, who had broken the consecutive-game hitting-streak record two weeks earlier (set by Willie Keeler in 1897) was vying for a 57th straight game with a hit. Who did I miss? A fiery player with a live arm, Larry Bowa was a five-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove Award winner with . Injuries would take their toll andultimatelyend his career in 1985 after only 38 innings of work. Mickey Mantle. Guerrero, Alonso, Olson, Freeman, and Goldschmidt all sit in the top 35 and are well deserving of those rankings. That is, he got to an impressive number of wins by hanging around for 26 seasons. Vaughn was a three-time All-Star who maintained a .293 batting average with 328 home runs and 1,064 RBI. Stiebs ERA was solid, he was durable never made less than 31 starts in 10 of 11 seasons between 1980 and 1990 and was terrific in fielding his position. He wasnt much of a power hitter, amassing just 101 home runs over a career that spanned two decades. Career Stats: 1,350 G; .300/.359/.522; 242 HR; 898 RBI; 1,550 H; 809 R; SB Data Not Known. 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. The most underrated players in baseball history. 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. Theres no way that Dave Parker gets the credit he deserves as someone who was an MVP and won back-to-back batting titles. It was the best thing that ever happened for him. Granted, he was only a .256 hitter with 14 career home runs. In the span of 12 years, he won eight batting titles, including a stretch of four in a row from 1906 to 1909. While he began his major league career in 1968, it wasn't until 1969 that a 22-year-old center fielder named Larry Hisle got a chance to play on a daily basis, and he rewarded the Phillies with a solid campaign that resulted in a fourth place finish in the Rookie of the Year voting. Money pitcher. My list of the greatest players in baseball, over time, goes back to 1901, the founding of the American League. He spent the last five seasons of his major league career with the Brewers, where he took two future Hall of Famers under his wing: Paul Molitor and Robin Yount. Here are the two reasons why Albert Pujols is one of the most underrated players in the history of baseball. 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. 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. But Wagner excelled at just about everything else. Mr. Between those offensive numbers and his defensive prowess, Rolen should be held in higher esteem. 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: 17 seasons (1996-2012) Teams: Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Cincinnati Reds A six-time All-Star and one of the most important pieces on the A's teams that won three consecutive World Series championships from 1972 through 1974, Campaneris was one of the great stolen base artists of his era, leading the league in steals six times. If not Hall of Fame, then certainly underrated. 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. Bottom line: Tommy John is sometimes referred to as an "accumulator." Gil Hodges and the Mets were convinced that Amos Otis was a third baseman. My Most Underrated MLB Players Going into 2023! 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. Pedro Martinez, one of the best W/L % all time, 2.92 ERA and was just a great pitcher before he got injured, but when everyone think of the 90s and 00s they think of Clemens, Johnson and Maddux. Rick Reuschel, a guy often cited as being underrated, makes an appearance near the top. 1. Heres our look at the game's most underrated players of all time. Yet brown got just 2.1% of the HOF vote. Also, Reuschel pitched for 20 seasons in the majors, and that longevity is just as impressive as his career 3.37 ERA across a career that long. 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. Bottom line: A great contributor to some very good Red Sox teams. 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. With his 10 all-star selections on top of that, his absence from Cooperstown is proof that he remains an underrated player. Well to be honest a lot of performances have usually been noticed without fail, but there are those that are overshadowed either by his own level of fame or by the work of others since it's become very easy to believe that as great as he is, Harrison Ford has been pushed to the side a bit in a few . It's a relatively simple design: a white background with a big Oakland Athletics A. 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 career average of .319 and OPS of .924. Jay Bell is one of many players who can be considered underrated because not enough fans and critics give strong defensive players enough credit. #1 of 219. Throw in four seasons of at least 100 RBI, and you've got yourself a pretty complete player. 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. Career Stats: 331 G (273 GS); 139-113; 2.76 ERA; 1.23 WHIP; 2,192 IP; 2,092 H, 1.75 K/BB. The four-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger recipient has long been one of the most underrated players in baseball, but has become one of the best players in baseball over the last several years. Left unprotected by the Kansas City Royals in the 1993 expansion draft, the Florida Marlins took the talented youngster for their own. 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. While much of how we view athletes is performance-based and backed up with statistics, some of it is simply subjective. 250,000 people packed around st. Johns cathedral. He wasnt even an all-star in one of the two years that he led the American League in ERA. 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. Morris never made an All-Star team and never achieved superstar status; he was simply consistent and reliable, and that doesn't ever wind up having a spotlight shone on it. Teams:Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Stats:2,234 games, .295 BA, 255 HR, 1,230 RBI, .398 OBP, .465 SLG. Here are the 11 most underrated players in MLB, in no particular order: 1. Knowing that they couldn't afford to re-sign him when his contract expired, the Pirates traded him to the Padres in August of 2003 in exchange for Jason Bay and Oliver Perez, though he wouldn't enjoy the same level of success with the Padres. 43. Except for his first season in 1972, when the team was over .500, Rick Reuschel never knew another winning season nor any National League East finish over third place during his tenure at Wrigley. Stark, a baseball columnist and television analyst for the better part of the last three decades, attempts to identify the most overrated and underrated players of all time at each position. 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. 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. 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. In an August rainstorm. It's not like Vizquel is the second coming of Rey Ordonez, a slick fielding shortstop who was inept at the plate. Teams:Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, Stats:443 games, 176-137, 3.44 ERA, 103 CG, 30 SHO, 5 K/9 IP. One of the more versatile players of his time. the first player to ever bat as a designated hitter. Scott Rolens struggle to get into the Hall of Fame is disappointing to see and proof that hes one of the most underrated MLB players of his generation. Lofton was a six-time All-Star who won four Gold Gloves in leading the renaissance of the Indians' franchise. Anyway Sosa, Reardon, Reuschel and Wagner also don't belong on a list of underrated players. . He played over a decade in the big leagues, winning 11 Gold Gloves, including nine in a row at one point. He won three Gold Gloves and three Silver Slugger awards in addition to his battling titles. Frankly, thats the way it should be and it should be more than enough to keep him out of the Hall of Fame. Career Stats: 1,806 G; .399/.355/.458; 192 HR; 1,058 RBI; 1,910 H; 895 R; 48-for-74 SB. He was also an excellent fielder who held multiple fielding records at the time of his retirement that have since been passed. #34 of 255. Career Stats: 2,084 G; .290/.351/.454; 191 HR; 1,097 RBI; 2,091 H; 940 R; 109 -for-185 SB. Their have been almost 150 years of the MLB and 19,349 players to ever play an inning as of this writing. 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. But Lofton was a phenomenal athlete who actually went to the University of Arizona on a basketball scholarship. 1 of 10. 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