I love top 10 lists.
They are fun to read, always interesting, and everyone has their own opinion about the list — especially who was left off of it. Everyone also brings their own biases to sports discussions. I’m an Indians fan, so it should not be surprising that a few former Indians made the list below.
Today, I am listing the 10 most underrated baseball players of the last three decades. I’m doing it this way, rather than just the best players of the last 30 years or the Greatest Hitters of All Time, because I don’t feel like writing about the players who already legendary and who get discussed all the time.
For example, if I did the Greatest Hitters of All-Time. I would just end up reminding you of what you already know: how great of a hitter Joe Dimaggio was and how great it must of been banging Marilyn Monroe.
But I digress…
We’ll save that for another time. Joltin’ Joe is a Hall of Famer and a legend. Today, we’re going celebrate 10 players who were just a notch or two below, but who have not gotten their due.
I like doing underrated players because some of these players you may have forgotten over time. When you see their numbers and accomplishments, you might be surprised how good they really were.
Also, the list starts at 1980 because i don’t remember watching baseball in the 1970s or before.
Okay enough talking, lets start the list.
10. Tim Raines
23 Seasons. 7-Time All-Star. 2,605 Career Hits. .293 Career Batting Average. 808 Career Stolen Bases. .385 On Base Percentage. 2 World Series Wins (96,98). NL Batting Average Leader (1986) 4-Time NL Stolen Bases Leader.
Tim Raines was one of the best leadoff hitters in the 80s. He spent most of his prime with Montreal, which is why he isn’t remembered.
Don’t believe me? Do you remember that Andre Dawson, Gary Carter, and Pete Rose all played with him there? Larry Walker also spent time in Montreal and remember when Pedro Martinez won the NL Cy Young Award there?
Classic example of good player being forgotten because he played in a small market.
Tim excelled at a style of baseball that isn’t used as much now: stealing bases. Raines led the NL four times in stolen bases and topped 50 steals 8 times. His 808 career steals rank 5th all-time.
I couldn’t talk about Tim Raines without mentioning that sometimes he would hide vials of cocaine in his back pocket while he played.
They didnt call him “Rock” for nothing.
9. Mike Mussina
18 Seasons. 5-Time All-Star. 7-Time Gold Glove Winner. 270-153 Career Record. 3.68 Career ERA. .638 Winning Percentage. 2,813 Career Strike Outs. 1-Time AL Wins Leader (95).
Mike Mussina was one of the most consistent pitchers of the steroid-fueled 90s. Mussina also spent his whole career in the historically tough AL East, which featured the World Series winner 7 times while he pitched.
Too bad Moose could never win the big one. During his prime he played for mostly crappy Baltimore teams. Then when he signed with the Yankees, he played during the 2001-2008 stretch when they only made it to two World Series and lost both.
But even without a ring Mike should still make the Hall of Fame. Mussina has won 270 games and recorded a .638 winning percentage while pitching in the AL East during the peak of the steroid era.
Only five other pitchers have at least 270 wins and a better winning percentage and they are all in the Hall of Fame.
8. Fred McGriff
19 Seasons. 5-Time All-Star. 493 Career Home Runs. 2,940 Career Hits. .284 Career Batting Average. One World Series Win (95). Ten 30-Home Run Seasons. 3-Time Sliver Slugger Award Winner.
When he was traded to the Atlanta Braves in 1993, he helped spark one of the greatest division races in baseball history, when his 104-win Braves barely beat out the 103-win Giants. That was the first time a team with 100 wins did not make the playoffs.
He would later go on and win his first and only title with Atlanta in 1995. Besides Atlanta, the Crime Dog spent most of his of career with small market teams (Toronto, San Diego, and Tampa Bay).
Fred finished his career with 493 home runs, exactly the same as Lou Gehrig. He was a very consistent hitter, hitting for power and average.
He wasn’t bulky like some of the other sluggers of the 90s. He was kind of like a first base version of Ken Griffey Jr.
Unfortunately, Fred is most remembered for his appearance on Tom Emanski’s famous Baseball World instructional videos…which have produced back to back to back AAU National Championships.
And yes, I did buy the Tom Emanski Baseball World videos. And we finished back to back to back AAU National Championship Runner Ups.
So close.
7. Todd Helton
14 Seasons. 5-Time NL All-Star. .325 Career Batting Average. 327 Career Home Runs. 2,195 Career Hits. 3-Time NL Gold Glove Winner. 4-Time NL Silver Slugger Award Winner.NL Batting Average Leader (2000). .424 Career OBP. .981 Career OPS.
Todd Helton has quietly amassed a pretty amazing career. He already has over 2,000 hits and 300+ homers. In fact, if you analyze Todd’s stats, you will be amazed how he compares with some of baseball’s all-time greats.
Todd Helton is 10th in career on-base percentage. So in 100+ years of baseball Todd Helton is the 10th best player ever at getting on base. Helton is ranked 11th on the OPS all-time list too. Add in 3 Gold Gloves and Helton can do it all.
But he plays 81 games at Coors Field, a hitter-friendly ball park. So that and no rings is why he isn’t ranked to high. Also, his home run totals have suspiciously dropped over the past few years.
6. Jack Morris
18 Seasons. 5-Time All-Star. 254-186 Career Record. 3.90 Career ERA. Won Four World Series (84, 91, 92, 93). 2-Time AL Wins Leader. 1991 World Series MVP.
Jack Morris was a solid pitcher during the 80s and pitched well in crunch time. Morris is remembered most for Game 7 in the 1991 World Series when he out dueled John Smoltz. That game Morris pitched 10 innings and struck out 8. His performance earned him the World Series MVP.
Wherever Jack went winning always followed him. He won a ring in Detroit with the 1984 team that started off 35-5. He spent a year in Minnesota where he won a championship. Then he won two championships with the Blue Jays.
Morris gets the nod ahead of Mussina because Jack has 4 rings and Mike has 0.
5. Omar Vizquel
22 Seasons. 3-Time All-Star. 2,739 Career Hits. .272 Career Batting Average. 11-Time Gold Glove Winner. 2nd Most Gold Gloves For a Shortstop. Tied For Fewest Errors By a Shortstop In a Season With 3. .985 Career Fielding Percentage.
Omar Vizquel was a defensive wizard for the Tribe during the mid-90s. Omar’s amazing defense and above average hitting helped lead Cleveland to 6 Central Division titles and two trips to the World Series.
From 1993 to 2001 Omar won 9 straight Gold Gloves. Then when he signed with San Francisco, he won two more Gold Gloves at the age of 38 (2005) and 39 (2006).
His .985 career fielding percentage ranks first among shortstops. In 2000 he only committed three errors the whole season.
Too bad Vizquel spent his prime in the AL, which featured great shortstops Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Cal Ripknen, Nomar Garciaparra, and Miguel Tejada. Their offense overpowered Omar’s defense and stole some of the spotlight away from him.
With the latest fad in baseball being defense, Omar may finally be acknowledged as a great shortstop and should take his rightful place in the Hall of Fame.
4. Chipper Jones
17 Seasons. 6-Time All-Star. 432 Career Home Runs. 2,467 Career Hits. .306 Career Batting Average. .405 OBP. 1 World Series Ring (95). 1999 NL MVP. 2-Time NL Sliver Slugger Award Winner. NL Batting Average Leader (2008).
See…I am trying to be fair. I have picked two Braves that beat my Cleveland Indians in the 1995 World Series.
But seriously…Chipper is a great player. He is 3rd all time for most home runs hit by a switch hitter. His .306 career batting is impressive for a power hitter. For much of his career, Jones was a bit overshadowed by Atlanta’s god-like pitching staff.
He also was a good postseason player, hitting 13 HRs with a batting average of .288 in 92 games. All he is missing to be considered an all-time great is that he hasn’t won enough rings.
With Atlanta’s incredible pitching and solid offense, winning only one championship was a pretty disappointing; but at least one is better then none.
3. Trevor Hoffman
18 Seasons. 7-Time All-Star. 596 Career Saves (Most All-Time). 2.87 Career ERA. Nine 40 Save Seasons. 2-Time NL Saves Leader. 2-Time NL Reliever of the Year Award Winner.
Before you start reading this I suggest you blast some of AC/DC’s “Hells Bells”…because it’s Trevor Time.
Trevor Hoffman was one of the most dominating closers in this generation, but he has been overshadowed by another closing great, Mariano Rivera.
Even though Rivera deserves all the praise he as received, let’s not forget about Hoffman. Trevor Hoffman is the all-time career saves leader and he holds the MLB record with 8 consecutive seasons with 30 or more saves. He also holds the record for the most 40-save seasons with 9.
Hoffman’s consistency is surprising when you consider that a) he has never had overpowering stuff, and b) that closers, like kickers, can be head cases who can lose their confidence and never be the same pitcher again. But Hoffman is still pitching, now with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Unfortunately, this has been Hoffman’s worst season in his career, as he has a 8.33 ERA and only 5 saves. But one season shouldn’t tarnish this future Hall of Famer’s great career.
2. Jim Thome
20 Seasons. 5-Time All-Star. 574 Career Home Runs. .277 Career Bating Average. .404 Career OBP. .960 Career OPS. 17 Postseason Home Runs. 2006 AL Comeback Player of the Year. Six 40-Home Run Season.
Jim Thome, who I’ve written about before, is one of the most underrated home run hitters in the history of baseball. Thome is 10th on the all-time home run list. Has the 5th lowest rate of at bats per home run (AB/HR) in MLB history and he has a great career OBP (.404) for a power hitter.
The two knocks on Thome are that he strikes out a lot — 2,537 times to be exact — and he has never won a World Series.
Jim has had two chances to win a title (95, 97). During the 1995 season Thome came into his own, hitting 25 home runs and had a .314 batting average. Unfortunately a great pitching staff stifled the 100-win Indians. (BTW, that Indians team won 100 games in a strike shortened season, as they went 100-44 in the regular season).
In 1997 Jim started to show his true power, blasting 40 home runs, which was then a career high. In Game 7 vs. the Florida Marlins the Tribe had a 3-2 lead until Jose Mesa blew the lead in the 9th…and the rest is history.
If Thome hangs around for a few years and gets 600 home runs, he should be a mortal lock for the Hall of Fame.
1. Eddie Murray
21 Seasons. 8-Time All-Star. 504 Career Home Runs. 3,225 Career Hits. .287 Career Batting Average. 1977 AL Rookie of the Year. 3-Time Gold Glove Winner. 3-Time Sliver Slugger Award Winner. Won one World Series (83). Part of the 500/3,000 Club.
Steady Eddie was one of the premier first basemen during the 80s. He normally had good years, not great, but never bad. He twice finished 2nd for the AL MVP, plus he won a title too.
But what sets Eddie from the rest of these players is that he is in the most prestigious club for hitters in baseball: the 500 home runs/3,000 hits club. The only other three players are in that club are Hank Aaron, Rafael Palmeiro, and Willie Mays; not a bad group to be in.
Eddie also won 3 Sliver Slugger Awards, 3 Gold Gloves, and only struck out more than 100 times once in his career. He was a key part of the 1983 Baltimore Orioles, which beat the Philadelphia Phillies in 5 games to win the World Series.
The biggest reason why we don’t hear Eddie’s name among other great first baseman was his attitude. Murray was a good teammate but he was a quiet guy who didn’t like talking to the media.
This rubbed some people the wrong way and is one of the reasons why he is forgotten. But the baseball writers did show some respect when they elected Eddie Murray to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.
Well here’s my list, if you think there is someone I left off, post your opinion below.
Pingback: 10 Most Underrated MLB Stars from 1998-2010 « The Sports Report