Joe missed some prime years due to WWII which would have drastically impacted his stats.
And which years would you take away? 8 of his 13 years were exceptional, unlike Mattingly who really had four great years and not much beyond that. Joe's down years exceeded the average player of his era by far. The same cannot be said for Donnie Baseball.
Really and truly, I cannot believe some of the names that are showing up here.
Sandy Koufax??? Why don't you ask any NL hitters who played in the mid-sixties if he was overrated.
Reggie Jackson??? The greatest clutch player in the history of baseball, right up there with Joe Montana, John Elway, and Michael Jordan as far as coming up big in big games.
Rickey Henderson??? Could DO IT ALL on the baseball field. A great leftfielder and a great offensive player.
Derek Jeter and Don Mattingly??? Maybe they got more ink than they deserved because they played in NY, but they were undoubtedly great players. If Mattingly made the HOF, I'd concede that was a bit much. But only a bit, and he isn't there despite having been a Yankee.
Cal Ripken??? Revolutionized the shortstop position, and the streak speaks for itself.
Pete Rose??? Epitomized what it meant to be a professional baseball player. And wherever he played, his teams got better.
When you talk about overrated players, you have to list people like Dave Kingman, Cliff Johnson, Rob Deer, Bob Hoerner, and Boog Powell. And possibly people like Dave Winfield and Alex Rodriguez, who never came up big when the big chips were down.
But please, leave greatness off the list.
Sandy Koufax??? Why don't you ask any NL hitters who played in the mid-sixties if he was overrated.
Reggie Jackson??? The greatest clutch player in the history of baseball, right up there with Joe Montana, John Elway, and Michael Jordan as far as coming up big in big games.
Rickey Henderson??? Could DO IT ALL on the baseball field. A great leftfielder and a great offensive player.
Derek Jeter and Don Mattingly??? Maybe they got more ink than they deserved because they played in NY, but they were undoubtedly great players. If Mattingly made the HOF, I'd concede that was a bit much. But only a bit, and he isn't there despite having been a Yankee.
Cal Ripken??? Revolutionized the shortstop position, and the streak speaks for itself.
Pete Rose??? Epitomized what it meant to be a professional baseball player. And wherever he played, his teams got better.
When you talk about overrated players, you have to list people like Dave Kingman, Cliff Johnson, Rob Deer, Bob Hoerner, and Boog Powell. And possibly people like Dave Winfield and Alex Rodriguez, who never came up big when the big chips were down.
But please, leave greatness off the list.
At that time, his numbers were no better than McGriff, or McGwire.
His career numbers aren't that far off from Keith Hernandez, Wally Joyner, John Olerud, Will Clark or Cecil Cooper. None of them get any love, but Mattingly is the man because he's from NY?
Maybe he could hit in the clutch, but that didn't get him any rings.
The title of the thread is most overrated. For a guy not winning rings and not in the HOF, he gets too much love.
I myself watched Don play. I never, ever, saw any 1st baseman pick, throw, or move better than Don. As far as hitting he connected as well as anyone. Just my opinion. I can't or won't say he was better than Hernandez, Joyner, Olerud, Clark, or Cooper but if given my choice Mattingly would play each and every day as the starting 1st baseman on my team. That includes McGwire too.
I agree Sheff in his prime hit the ball hard. But for all the media he gets, he's never really dominated.
He lead the league in AVG once, and never lead in HR's or RBI's and never won an MVP. For a future HOF'er with no dominate stats, he gets more media attention and credit than is warranted....thus overrated.
Are there really any otherwise intelligent people saying these players were any good?
Keith Hernandez played in 300 more games than Mattingly; they were almost exactly the same in MVP voting; Mattingly was slightly better at hitting homeruns, Hernandez better at reaching base; Hernandez was far better defensively
And Murray was better than both of them. Mattingly had three years top five in MVP and maybe another five seasons where he was a very good player. Murray had five years top five in MVP and another 11 seasons where he was still very good
I think most people are smart enough to see Murray as an all-time great and Mattingly as merely very good. But if I am wrong on that, Mattingly would definitely be overrated
Jackson is an interesting case. The few times he came through in the World Series (less than a dozen games) seems insignificant compared to the 2800 games he played from April through September. Ten seasons top 10 in OPS and another five pretty close. Give him too much credit for those World Series homeruns and that is likely overrating him; ignore that when he retired he was sixth all-time in homeruns, 15th in total bases and 20th in walks (along with nearly every year being so far above league average) and that is likely underrated him
Pedestrian? Joyner (16 yrs.) sorry but 162 gm. avg. not better in runs, hits, HR's, RBI, or batting average. Hernandez (17 yrs.) same sorry. Olerud (17 yrs.) same sorry. Clark (15 yrs.) only was better in runs and HR's. Cooper (17 yrs.) averaged 1 more HR than Don. Murray got his 21 yrs. in and was better than them all in only HR's and RBI, very deserved of the Hall. Who had the highest fielding pct. of them all? I'll give you one hint his first name begins with a D and his last name begins with a Mattingly.
Let me change my Joe D. comment a little. After looking at his numbers again my bad. But I did say he was arguiably the best player in baseball history. I will stick with that. Besides he dated Marilyn Monroe. My hero.
Let me change my Joe D. comment a little. After looking at his numbers again my bad. But I did say he was arguiably the best player in baseball history. I will stick with that. Besides he dated Marilyn Monroe. My hero.
that is truth right there.overrated basically means newscasters and other media build a guy up so high
he cant produse that way till he retires.though i feel
statistics are not a tell all by any means.they build up
a player then they cant wait to tear em down.fantasy sports
has also misled people about statistics being the only way
to judge a player.
Major reason Jeter has even been able to play in October is because of his teammates. While a great player he has done far less to help the Yankees reach the postseason than most people think, especially on the defensive side. And even once he reaches the postseason, by just looking at his stats, it appears that he is the same player April through September as he is in October
If people really argue Dimaggio as best player ever, he his vastly overrated. An All-Time great, but easy to see him behind Mays and Mantle at the same position and Williams in the same generation. But I don't think that goes on too much
Mattingly was easily better than Joyner and Olerud. Means absolutely nothing for this purpose. It would be like saying Jose Canseco was better than Raul Mondesi , therefore Canseco cannot be overrated. No one thinks Wally Joyner and Don Mattingly were equals. As far as 162 game averages, Hernandez started his career at a younger age and ended at a later age. Throw away those seasons and the RBI and runs scored per 162 games are pretty close. Mattingly has a nice edge in extra base hits and slugging percentage, Henandez has an even bigger edge in singles, walks and on-base percentage
Fielding percentage is only a fraction of defensive value. If people fail to realize that, than that is a good way to find overrated and underrated players. For a first baseman, taking away hits, starting double plays, turning foul balls into outs and saving errors from other infielders are all important as well. While Mattingly was best in the league, Hernandez was perhaps best of all-time
This is not to say Hernandez was superior to Mattingly, only that if they are not rated as at least close, than whoever is rated as far superior is most certainly overrated
Not sure about Lynn. Won an MVP in 75, by 79 he was even better. After that he was hurt every year, but still averaged 120 games a year. A good player can still do a lot to help a team playing 120 games a year. Jim Rice only played a few more games over his career and made the Hall-of-Fame while Lynn has been mostly forgotten despite the huge difference in defensive ability and playing so many more games outside of the best hitters park in the league
If people really argue Dimaggio as best player ever, he his vastly overrated. An All-Time great, but easy to see him behind Mays and Mantle at the same position and Williams in the same generation. But I don't think that goes on too much
Mattingly was easily better than Joyner and Olerud. Means absolutely nothing for this purpose. It would be like saying Jose Canseco was better than Raul Mondesi , therefore Canseco cannot be overrated. No one thinks Wally Joyner and Don Mattingly were equals. As far as 162 game averages, Hernandez started his career at a younger age and ended at a later age. Throw away those seasons and the RBI and runs scored per 162 games are pretty close. Mattingly has a nice edge in extra base hits and slugging percentage, Henandez has an even bigger edge in singles, walks and on-base percentage
Fielding percentage is only a fraction of defensive value. If people fail to realize that, than that is a good way to find overrated and underrated players. For a first baseman, taking away hits, starting double plays, turning foul balls into outs and saving errors from other infielders are all important as well. While Mattingly was best in the league, Hernandez was perhaps best of all-time
This is not to say Hernandez was superior to Mattingly, only that if they are not rated as at least close, than whoever is rated as far superior is most certainly overrated
Not sure about Lynn. Won an MVP in 75, by 79 he was even better. After that he was hurt every year, but still averaged 120 games a year. A good player can still do a lot to help a team playing 120 games a year. Jim Rice only played a few more games over his career and made the Hall-of-Fame while Lynn has been mostly forgotten despite the huge difference in defensive ability and playing so many more games outside of the best hitters park in the league
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People talk about the overrated thing at times in all
sports.the player someone is talking about can be a very
good player but to some can still be overrated.well if the
guy is very good,isnt that enough?almost every player has
a part of his game that could use improvement.especially
as the player gets on in his career.
sports.the player someone is talking about can be a very
good player but to some can still be overrated.well if the
guy is very good,isnt that enough?almost every player has
a part of his game that could use improvement.especially
as the player gets on in his career.
http://articles.courant.com/2011-05...0531_1_online-poll-weekly-poll-alex-rodriguez
Alex Rodriguez Voted Most Overrated In Poll Of Players
May 31, 2011
Sports Illustrated took a look a look at the most overrated players in baseball in its weekly poll. In a survey of 185 current major-leaguers, 18 percent said Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is the most overrated in the game. Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain was second (12 percent) followed by Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter (7 percent), Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth (4 percent) and Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon (4 percent).
In an online poll of fans, Jeter was No. 1 with 45 percent calling him the most overrate followed by Red Sox DH David Ortiz (17) and Rodriguez (14).
Alex Rodriguez Voted Most Overrated In Poll Of Players
May 31, 2011
Sports Illustrated took a look a look at the most overrated players in baseball in its weekly poll. In a survey of 185 current major-leaguers, 18 percent said Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is the most overrated in the game. Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain was second (12 percent) followed by Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter (7 percent), Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth (4 percent) and Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon (4 percent).
In an online poll of fans, Jeter was No. 1 with 45 percent calling him the most overrate followed by Red Sox DH David Ortiz (17) and Rodriguez (14).
