1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Most overrated baseball player of all time

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

Page 22 of 33
  1. bigpern23

    bigpern23 Well-Known Member

    Please tell me Nomar was a typo (kind of like naming ARod twice).
     
    bigpern23, Jul 11, 2006
    #253
  2. Unibomber

    Unibomber Member

    I fixed the ARod error, but, no, Nomar is not a typo. Have you seen what he is doing again this season?
     
    Unibomber, Jul 11, 2006
    #254
  3. zimbabwe

    zimbabwe Active Member

    Offensively, the ONLY thing Jeter does better than Garciaparra is steal bases. In 1500+ FEWER at-bats, Garciappara has more doubles, more triples, more home runs. And a better average.

    Jeter has a better fielding percentage by .005. and is a vastly superior thief.
     
    zimbabwe, Jul 11, 2006
    #255
  4. shockey

    shockey Active Member

    enough with the killing of jeter already. jeter blows larkin away in every category. geez  louise. :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
     
    shockey, Jul 11, 2006
    #256
  5. Herbert Anchovy

    Herbert Anchovy Active Member

    Flip flop Jeter and Tejada last year and those two teams finish in the same spots that they eventually did.
     
    Herbert Anchovy, Jul 11, 2006
    #257
  6. DyePack

    DyePack New Member

    Thanks for checking in, Hawk. Are you having a good break?
     
    DyePack, Jul 11, 2006
    #258
  7. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Been too busy to post and stay up on this thread. For what it's worth, in my earlier posts, I didn't say Ripken doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame. I believe he does, based on the streak and the way he carried himself. My post had more to do with the "overrated" part of the thread's title. A lot of attitudes toward Ripken, even while he was playing, made him out to be a better player than he really was--an all-time great, rather than a very good player who had longevity and played every single day.

    To me, his numbers are like Don Sutton's numbers. If you are very good (above average) for a very long time, in aggregate you will hit some milestones. It doesn't mean you were one of the handful of best players at most points in your career.

    Ripkin had a few truly outstanding seasons. He also had quite a few clunkers, with batting averages in the .250s and home run totals in the teens. He wasn't a reliable 100 RBI guy. That is why I said that on the basis of his hitting accomplishments, I consider him to be on the lowest rung of Hall of Famers. He was a very good to excellent baseball player, who showed remarkable longevity.
     
    The Big Ragu, Jul 11, 2006
    #259
  8. Oscar Gamble

    Oscar Gamble New Member

    Most overrated baseball player of all time?

    Danny Goodwin, the biggest draft mistake in MLB history.

    Goodwin's the only player in history to be the first pick in the first round in two different MLB amateur drafts.  Goodwin was drafted #1 by the White Sox in 1971 but chose to attend college at Southern University.   After college, he was picked #1 by the Angels in 1975. On the day he was drafted by the Angels, his college coach was quoted as saying "Danny has devastating power. He can catch and throw as well as Johnny Bench and can run better. He has as much ability as a Bench, a Campanella, a Sanguillen."

    Drafted as a left-handed hitting catcher, he ended up playing in parts of 7 seasons for the Angels, Twins, and the A's as a DH/1B. Goodwin never played even one inning as a catcher in the majors.  He was never a regular appearing in a career high of 59 games in 1981 for the Twins.  The most at-bats he had in a MLB season was 159.  Goodwin's career batting average was .236 with a .301 OBP, and .373 SLG.

    While several #1 draftees have appeared in less MLB games, Goodwin's being chosen overall #1 in two drafts makes him the most overrated player of all time.  Hall-of-Famers Mike Schmidt and George Brett, and potential H-O-Fer Jim Rice were chosen after Goodwin in the 1971 draft.  Potential H-O-Fers Andre Dawson and Lee Smith were picked after Goodwin in 1974.
     
    Oscar Gamble, Jul 11, 2006
    #260
  9. Overrated

    Overrated Guest

    I think he falls into the Todd Van Poppel category of overhyped, not overrated.
     
    Overrated, Jul 11, 2006
    #261
  10. DyePack

    DyePack New Member

    The satellite feed just went out again, so I thought I'd use this time to annoy Ragu and counter more of the BS anti-Ripken arguments.

    I looked at his stats, and the guy was money for a 20-plus HR year with more than 80 to 90 RBIs. This was before the power explosion.

    And he did it from the SS position.

    As he did this, he won two Gold Gloves. Somehow he did not win in 1990 even though he made only three errors.
     
    DyePack, Jul 11, 2006
    #262
  11. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    That's not annoying. It's just an opinion. If you related to people that way all the time, people wouldn't think you're an ass.

    As I said, he's a hall of famer--for the streak, mostly. He was also a very solid baseball player who played the game right. I have no problems with Ripken. But as I pointed out earlier, 20+ HRs and 80 to 90 RBIs were good numbers, not great numbers. Not sure what you mean by the "power explosion." I am just comparing him to his era. In 21 seasons, he finished in the top 10 in HRs in the American League twice. He finished in the top 10 in the AL in RBIs only three times. He never had one of those 120 + RBI seasons that true sluggers have. That tells me there were always far more feared hitters playing at the same time as him.

    He put up 3,000 hits, but he played 162 games every season for 21 years. His .276 career average is more of a reflection of his hitting prowess than his 3,000 hits. That is a very good batting average. But is on the lower rung of Hall of Famers.

    Bottom line to me is that Ripken was an excellent ballplayer--who is so revered for the streak and how he carried himself that in many people's minds he's been exalted to a greatness as a player that he didn't really achieve.
     
    The Big Ragu, Jul 11, 2006
    #263
  12. Oscar Gamble

    Oscar Gamble New Member

    from dictionary.com:

    o·ver·hype
    tr.v. Slang o·ver·hyped, o·ver·hyp·ing, o·ver·hypes
    To promote or publicize to excess

    o·ver·rate
    tr.v. o·ver·rat·ed, o·ver·rat·ing, o·ver·rates
    To overestimate the merits of; rate too highly.

    - - - - -

    A-Rod, Jeter, Big Poppy, Kobe, Sammy Sosa, and Michael Jordan are all overhyped.

    Todd Van Poppel, Shawn Abner, and  Danny Goodwin were overrated by MLB scouts.
     
    Oscar Gamble, Jul 11, 2006
    #264
Page 22 of 33
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page