Post an Underrated Player and Give Him his Due Thread

[Cedrique]

Hal McRae - was on the early Reds team in the postseason and was on most of the Royals postseason teams.

Willie Wilson/Frank White - Brett gets a lot of the credit but in baseball 1 player doesn't make great teams.

You forgot Amos Otis

 

[msgkings322]

Omar Vizquel. Beyond the very good numbers, just the way he played, the way he carried himself. He was just a classy, uber-baseball player. Really a pleasure to watch even when not that productive like during his time with the Giants.

 

[DragonfromTO]

Hal McRae - was on the early Reds team in the postseason and was on most of the Royals postseason teams.

Willie Wilson/Frank White - Brett gets a lot of the credit but in baseball 1 player doesn't make great teams.

The guy that I think of as underrated on those Royals teams is Darrell Porter. He'd have gotten my MVP vote in 1979.

 

[scoutyjones2]

Ted Simmons

 

[Omar 382]

Scott Van Slyke. Even after an injury-riddled 2015, he still remains the best bench player in baseball. He is a good defensive left fielder, and (apart from last year) absolutely mashes left handers. He might be the best outfielder if given a full season of playing time on a number of other teams

 

[navamind]

J.D. Drew.

 

[Omar 382]

J.D. Drew.

The guy whose name mentioning conjures up images of Hitler, communism, and pure evil to Phillies fans?

 

[Omar 382]

Enos Slaughter. He had a higher WAR than Stan Musial in 1942, and finished with a line of .300/.382/.453 with a 126 wRC+

 

[navamind]

Mark Ellis. Fantastic defender, but never won a single GG. Career 92 OPS+ at 2B is actually pretty decent IMO.

BB-Ref has him pegged at 33.4 WAR (Fangraphs has him at 27.4).

 

[obxyankeefan]

Ed Delehanty no credit because he played in the 1800s

Tim Raines. Rickey overshadows him rightly. But he should be in the HOF

Kenny Lofton. Another leadoff hitter that does not get the credit he deserves

Dwight Evans. The best defensive RF I ever saw.

Hal Newhouser. Yes his 195 ERA+ was against a depleted MLB in 1945, but most people refuse to give him credit for the 190 ERA+ the following year once everyone came back from the war.

 

[Omar 382]

Riggs Stephenson. Because he was an outfielder while Ruth was an outfielder, he is largely forgotten. Certainly not a Hall of Famer, but from 1927-1929, he posted wOBA's of .418, .406, and .452 respectively, with a 148 wRC+ and a 5.1 WAR in 1929.

 

[Omar 382]

Ed Delehanty no credit because he played in the 1800s

Tim Raines. Rickey overshadows him rightly. But he should be in the HOF

Kenny Lofton. Another leadoff hitter that does not get the credit he deserves

Dwight Evans. The best defensive RF I ever saw.

Hal Newhouser. Yes his 195 ERA+ was against a depleted MLB in 1945, but most people refuse to give him credit for the 190 ERA+ the following year once everyone came back from the war.

I agree with all but Dewey. I find him largely overrated by fans. He was a very, very good player, but a lot want him in the HOF and I just don't see it.

 

[navamind]

I agree with all but Dewey. I find him largely overrated by fans. He was a very, very good player, but a lot want him in the HOF and I just don't see it.

the biggest problem with him is that he's regarded as a great defender and a very good hitter, but he wasn't really both simultaneously. He was playing at an all-star level for a long time, but he only had a handful of seasons where you could really call him one of the best in the league (and one of those was the strike-shortened 1981 season, where he probably should have won AL MVP). He still has 32.8 WAA. Very tough.

Reggie Smith was definitely better and should be in the HOF.

 

[Omar 382]

the biggest problem with him is that he's regarded as a great defender and a very good hitter, but he wasn't really both simultaneously. He was playing at an all-star level for a long time, but he only had a handful of seasons where you could really call him one of the best in the league (and one of those was the strike-shortened 1981 season, where he probably should have won AL MVP). He still has 32.8 WAA. Very tough.

Reggie Smith was definitely better and should be in the HOF.

Yeah, whether or not he gets into the HOF is a whole other story (but for the record I don't think he should be in). I was just commenting that I definitely don't think he should be mentioned in a thread discussing underrated players. Evans has almost taken on the ego of a martyr amongst Red Sox, and even just general, baseball fans

 

[Cedrique]

Wilbur Wood. He had an incredible 3 or 4 year run in the early 70's. He was just a couple years before my time so maybe he wasn't underrated back then or was overshadowed by guys like Palmer, Seaver, Ryan, Blue, etc.
But he had a 3 year stretch where his total WAR was 29.9 for that period and he didn't win any Cy Youngs. Pretty amazing.

 

[packerzrule]

Jim Gantner