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Most overrated baseball player of all time

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by yourbuddy, Jul 10, 2006.

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  1. BYH

    BYH Active Member

    Interesting. I'd say you'd have to be rated to be overrated, but Van Poppel began his career with unmatched hype...none of which he came close to meeting.

    Edit: But I'd have to go with cougar on Gregg Jefferies. Spoiled little turd never came close to meeting his potential.
     
    BYH, Jul 10, 2006
    #13
  2. yourbuddy

    yourbuddy New Member

    I meant overrated, not overhyped, BitterYH. :)
     
    yourbuddy, Jul 10, 2006
    #14
  3. wheateater

    wheateater Member

    Jeff Frye.
     
    wheateater, Jul 10, 2006
    #15
  4. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    This is the 2nd reference to "turd" tonight, and I haven't seen that word in years. Weird.
     
    Songbird, Jul 10, 2006
    #16
  5. flaming_mo

    flaming_mo Guest

    [​IMG]
     
    flaming_mo, Jul 10, 2006
    #17
  6. dooley_womack1

    dooley_womack1 Well-Known Member

    I think answering the question involves picking someone who played a career, and most people considered it a really good or even great career, but you think it wasn't as good as touted. Not a Jeffries or Van Poppel, who didn't live up to early hype.
     
    dooley_womack1, Jul 10, 2006
    #18
  7. Chi City 81

    Chi City 81 Guest

    What about our esteemed SportsJournalists.com colleague Turd Ferguson?
     
    Chi City 81, Jul 10, 2006
    #19
  8. Overrated

    Overrated Guest

    Point taken. I just remember a whole summer hearing about Van Poppel and how he was the next big thing. I think I was 11 at the time and I lived in Michigan. His Upper Deck rookie card cost like $15 at that time. That's what I was going by.
     
    Overrated, Jul 10, 2006
    #20
  9. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Completely disagree about Nolan Ryan.

    For the purposes of this discussion I will limit it to Hall of Famers. Guy who always kind of bugged me was Cal Ripkin, Jr. Don't get me wrong. He was a great player, a symbol of the game and he redefined the shortstop position, leading the way for taller, more powerful hitters like Tejada, Jeter and ARod. But the memory of him for people always seemed greater than his actual performance, in part due to his streak. He was usually around a .270 hitter. A few years, he was more like a .250 hitter. He could drive in runs, but was typically good for 80 to 90 RBIs, rarely more than 100, and never big 130+ RBI numbers.. And his home run totals ranged from high teens to mid 20s most seasons, good numbers, but not a true slugger's numbers. He was a terrific player, solid fundamentally, and had longevity, but I think he has gone down in people's memories as having been greater than he really was. Even with 21 seasons, he really didn't hit any of the typical HOF milestones--was well short of 500 HRs, was well short of 1500 RBIs and was a career .275 hitter.
     
    The Big Ragu, Jul 10, 2006
    #21
  10. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    That wasn't "Tard" Ferguson? ;D
     
    Songbird, Jul 10, 2006
    #22
  11. buckweaver

    buckweaver Active Member

    There was that whole 3,000 hits thing, you know.

    And with 3,000+ hits and 400+ HRs, Ripken joins a club that only Yaz, Winfield, Aaron, Mays, Musial, Eddie Murray and Palmeiro* are a part of.

    Not to mention, you have to understand the era Ripken peaked in, say, 1983-1992, had exactly one 50-home run hitter in that entire decade -- Cecil Fielder, twice. So for Ripken to average 25 HRs a year during that era is just as impressive as somebody who averages 30-35 now. It's not league-leading, but it's still impressive.

    Plus, Ripken also revolutionized the profile of a shortstop, which until that time had been dominated by the likes of the Rabbit Maranvilles, Frankie Frisches, Phil Rizzutos, great-fielding, no-power types. Only Honus Wagner was more prolific a hitter at shortstop until Ripken (take Ernie Banks out of the discussion because he stopped playing SS in 1962) and there was nobody even close to Ripken's size to play that position until he came along. Now all the top shortstops are that size -- because Ripken paved the way.

    [/ripken defender to the death]
     
    buckweaver, Jul 10, 2006
    #23
  12. Overrated

    Overrated Guest

    Agree 100 percent. I'll take Alan Trammell any day of the week.
     
    Overrated, Jul 10, 2006
    #24
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