My list of the greatest players in baseball, over time, goes back to 1901, the founding of the American League. The fact that Keith Hernandez isnt in the Hall of Fame is enough to make him one of the most underrated players in baseball history. Otis was part of an up-and-coming group of players that helped the Royals to five American League West division titles. Longtime sports writer and researcher Bob Carroll wrote an article for the National Pastimein 1985 about 12 players he believed should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He slugged 32 home runs, 43 doubles and 94 RBI. He won three Gold Gloves and three Silver Slugger awards in addition to his battling titles. The Cuban was often overlooked during his career as well, only making the All-Star Team three times. . 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 had a career average of .319 and OPS of .924. The 1982 Topps football set has a solid mix of rookie and veteran players. Darrell Evans - Bill James called him the most underrated player in baseball history. 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. In fact, he won the American League batting title in 1993, the year of Torontos second World Series win. Indeed, he was a powerful presence at the plate. Injuries would take their toll andultimatelyend his career in 1985 after only 38 innings of work. As a member of the Blue Jays, he was involved in one of the more bizarre plays in World Series history. Concepcion was rounding the bases after hitting a home run and crossed home plate roughly four seconds after Watson. Jim Edmonds was far from the most talented player of his generation, but he got everything he could out of the talent he had. 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. Maybe one of the most underrated MLB jerseys of all-time is the early 1970's Oakland Athletics' home jersey. A rare blend of both power and speed. 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. 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. He hit .332 with an OPS of 1.040 and had 39 home runs, 155 RBIs, and 37 stolen bases. His statistics might not scream offensive domination, but he was one of the great clutch hitters of his time. #1 of 219. That is, he got to an impressive number of wins by hanging around for 26 seasons. 5h Jamal Collier. Career Stats: 1,941 G; .263/.319/.419; 208 HR; 846 RBI; 1,934 H; 1,125 R; 346-for-444 SB. 320 batting average with a .370 OBP. Bottom line: Scott Rolen was among the best third basemen in the game during the first decade of the 2000s. Career Stats: 1,754 G; .273/.336/.450; 235 HR; 901 RBI; 87-for-157 SB. A native of Venezuela, Concepcion was considered a clutch player as evidenced by the .300-plus batting average in all three of the World Series that he appeared. Conine enjoyed success for a few seasons, placing third in Rookie of the Year balloting in 1993 and earning an All-Star selection in each of the next two seasons. Cameron: Aybar is MLB's most underrated player. But there are plenty of reasons why former St. Louis manager Whitey Herzog referred to Oquendo as the secret weapon.. Over the course of his career, Concepcion was a nine-time All-Star and a five-time Gold Glove winner. In 2010, as a member of the Padres, Eckstein went 113 consecutive games without committing an error as a second baseman, a record that stood until this past August when the Cubs' Darwin Barney tied it and later broke it. Teams:California/Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Stats:1,105 games, .284 BA, 393 HR, 1,199 RBI, .376 OBP, .527 SLG. Career Stats: 2,212 G; .257/.316/.416; 260 HR; 1,125 RBI; 2,085 H; 908 R; 51-for-117 SB. His 1985 season saw him earn his only All-Star berth and finish fifth in the MVP voting, after setting career highs in multiple categories including RBI, with 110 driven in on the season. Career Stats: 1,392 G; .267/.333/.429; 153 HR; 610 RBI; 1,254 H; 603 R; 39-for-77 SB. It's not like Vizquel is the second coming of Rey Ordonez, a slick fielding shortstop who was inept at the plate. 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. A nine-time All-Star over his 14-year career spent entirely with the Red Sox, Doerr was not only an excellent bunter but a second baseman with power as well. It makes no sense that a player with that resume isnt in the Hall of Fame. 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. Bottom line: Bit of a mystery how Larry Walker hasnt garnered more support for the Hall. Had he spent the bulk of his career elsewhere, Watson is probably pushing 300 home runs, if not more. And not too shabby at the plate, either. Lou Whitaker had a long and fruitful career that is often overlooked. 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. Pedro had a better ERA than all of them, same with winnign %. After averaging 147 games played over his first five seasons,a shoulder injury that he suffered in 1936 bogged down his career after that, and he would play in more than 100 games only once before calling it quits. Of his 184 home runs, only 50 came at the Astrodome. Career Stats: 1,311 G; .280/.345/.355; 35 HR; 392 RBI; 123-for-168 SB. For one, he's coming off an injury. 25 Greatest Action Movies of All Time. 6h Reuters. 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. Career Stats: 2,202 G; .276/.373/.351; 54 HR; 687 RBI; 2,210 H; 1,239 R; 271-for-365 SB. 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. 250,000 people packed around st. Johns cathedral. Mickey Mantle. . He spent his entire career with the Tigers, playing in Detroit from 1977 to 1995. 2,143: 3.24: Movies: May 30, 2010: VH-1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock bands. Furillo finished his career needing only one hit to raise his career average to .300. Rolen was also Rookie of the Year and amassed more than 2,000 hits in his career while being named an all-star seven times. 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. Even his career totals of 339 home runs and a .290 average deserve more respect than hes received. In fact, from 2000 through 2009, Rolen had 127 defensive runs saved. So when will the Veterans Committee consider Evans? Part of the Impossible Dream Sox team that won the 1967 American League pennant in one of the closest races in history, Petrocelli hit two home runs in Game 6 of the World Series, forcing a Game 7 that the Sox ultimately lost to Bob Gibson and the Cardinals. Bill White, .286/.351/.455; 202 HR, seven time gold glove winner as a first baseman. Career Stats: 1,553 G; .251/.332/.420; 210 HR; 773 RBI; 1,352 H; 653 R; 10-for-32 SB. He went to the postseason 11 times, which is why hes the all-time leader in postseason stolen bases. 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. I'd say Mike Trout is underrated. 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. Voters don't like the paucity of homers from a corner infield spot, but the overall package of offense and defense puts Hernandez . He won eight Gold Gloves, including six in a row during his time with the Cardinals. No one-year wonders or self-promoters here. You've heard them allyou've used them all. Bottom line:A career total of 214 wins, and barely being over .500 at that, doesnt necessarily jump out at you. 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. A versatile outfielder who could play all three outfield positions equally well, Jim Northrup spent all but one of his 12 major league seasons wearing a Tigers' uniform. In my opinion, Todd Helton might be the most underrated player between 2000-2009. The Most Underrated MLB Players of All Time. He would hit .275 or better five times and put together seven consecutive seasons in which he stole at least 20 bases a year. Unfortunately, Luis Tiant hasnt been awarded passage to Cooperstown just yet. Left unprotected by the Kansas City Royals in the 1993 expansion draft, the Florida Marlins took the talented youngster for their own. Conine wasn't about gaudy numbershe was simply consistent. Brooklyn Nets. But enough procrastinating. 10y Dave Cameron. Career Stats: 1,902 G; .265/.338/.398; 151 HR; 706 RBI; 1,726 H; 844 R; 76-for-116 SB. If it wasnt for Ozzie Smith, he would have won more than just one Gold Glove and would be remembered far more than he is. Lake Trafford, Immokalee, Florida. He may not have been overly dominant with a 3.16 career ERA. Hisle was a solid all-around player who never really got his due, largely in part to being overshadowed by his more heralded Hall of Fame teammates with the Twins, Rod Carew and Harmon Killebrew. 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. Despite only going to the All-Star Game four times and leading the National League in saves once, Reardon amassed 367 career saves, which still puts him just outside the top 10 on the all-time list. But if you take the money he made out of the equation, Brown was better than most people realize because they get too wrapped up in his shortcomings. In all his years and all his positions, he was never very good defensively. 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. He was a key contributor to the Tigers unbelievable 35-5 start and eventual world championship in 1984, one of the most dominant seasons in baseball. The most overrated pitcher in baseball may shock some of you, but man, oh man, has he been dreadful since the sticky substance crackdown. In the span of 12 years, he won eight batting titles, including a stretch of four in a row from 1906 to 1909. With his 10 all-star selections on top of that, his absence from Cooperstown is proof that he remains an underrated player. But with a wiry framehe was 6'2", 160 pounds when the Red Sox drafted himnobody thought he'd be anything more than someone with gap power. 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. 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. 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. The Greatest Relief Pitchers of All Time. Here is the player who I think is one of the most underrated players in baseball. 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. 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. His real claim to fame, however, came in 1973 when he stepped into the batter's box in spring training, becoming the first player to ever bat as a designated hitter. Thats why were happy to do the leg work and come up with a list of the 20 most underrated players in baseball history. Oakland Athletics: Reggie Jackson. 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