Eric Karros is the LA Dodgers homerun leader. He is the player with the most home runs to never appear in a All star game. He won Rookie of the year award as well. Plus he was snubbed from this list as well.
@@Bubba603 Karros doesn’t have the most HRs without appearing in an All Star. I’m not sure who the leader is in that but I know Tim Salmon has 299 HRs and he never played in an All Star Game.
Maybe the best example!! He had the misfortune of being in an outfield consisting of Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell. Then Richie Zisk was ripping up minor leagues, and getting a ton of attention! Then the"Cobra" appeared! So Al Oliver never got is due, despite typically hitting .300 ,getting 15-20 homers,and driving in 100 runs. In my opinion,he's a Hall of Famer!
I saw Oliver in a DH in Detroit in 1980 hit 4HRs, 1 in the 1st game and 3 in the 2nd game....plus a double, a triple. 21 total bases. Oliver hit one shot down the RF line and as it was rising it hit the 3rd deck wood about a foot foul with a loud THUD that had everyone in the stadium gasp. Sparky Anderson ran out of the dugout and motioned for the pitcher to intentionally walk Oliver. Have never seen an intentional walk after a batter was thrown a pitch before that or since. It was August 17, 1980
Hell yeah! The high bat circling batters stance was a favorite for us kids playing sandlot games here in Texas in the 70s and 80s. The fact that he was Latino was a plus for some us too.
You forgot to mention Cecil Cooper. The man was an elite hitter with power and played very good defense. His numbers fall a bit short of reaching HOF status but during his playing career, he was a great player.
With ALAN TRAMELL AT SS THEY LASTED I THINK THEY MAY HAVE TO SAY THEY HOLD THE RECORD FOR THE LONGEST SHORTSTOP SECOND BASE TOGETHER. BOTH VERY VERY GOOD PLAYERS
For some unrelated reason(s), the self important baseball writers just do not like Lou. I feel he is being kept out of the HOF because of personal reasons, not proffesional ones. Hopefully the veterans committee will do the right thing. Look up his numbers. He matches up or exceeds many other HOF second basemen.
Another one that should be on this list is Dave Stieb!! If Steve Rodgers makes this list then certainly Dave Stieb should make this list. To this day he leads practically every career pitching record for the blue Jay's.
@@craigodonnell696 so glad i did… i froze my ass a few times in the bleachers, but got tix behind the plate as well in 1985. That slider was just wicked… youd see guys break there ankles. Saw Henke in his prime too. The guy was huge.
Brett Butler was the best lead off hitter I ever witnessed. His ability to show the bunt at the very last moment, it would fake out everyone watching. That Giants lineup Butler, Thompson, Clark, Mitchell, and Williams was so tough. I am a Cincinnati Reds fanatic, and at Candlestick Park with that lineup and the swirling winds sent chills up my spine every game! Brett Butler was the one player I wish could play for the Reds.
Thanks for that trip down memory lane, that lineup was my childhood lineup. As a northern Californian who became a baseball fan at the end of the 80s, it was really all about the first basemen. Most kids my age into baseball would either have a Clark or McGwire poster on their walls. I tried to be a left handed hitter in my early little league days and I tried to model my swing around Clark's, although I never saw the success he did with it.
@@littleblackduck3134 Rickey Henderson is great, and could hit lead off homers. But, Brett Butler was a lefty, and it seemed he was already moving towards first base after he made contact with the ball. He could get on first base in so many ways. I think Brett Butler was a tougher out to get for pitchers. Brett Butler was also scarier in the later innings.
@@littleblackduck3134 Also, I am a Reds fan. We handled Rickey Henderson easily in the World Series. But every at bat was a battle against Brett Butler.
Another guy that should've been mentioned is Steve Garvey. 1300+ Rbi's, 10 Time All Star, MVP, AS MVP, 2600 hits, and 4 Time gold Glove. One of the most forgotten players in his prime
Willie kind of has the Bill Buckner stigma,. Put together a sound career offensively, blazing speed , but sadly rememberED for his costly errors in game two of the '66 WS, costing Koufax and the Dodgers dearly . Of course , he a team only manufactures two runs in four games, their chances ARE pretty to alim
Al Oliver to me is criminally underrated. Luis Tiant belongs in the HOF, as his numbers stack up well compared with Catfish Hunter, Jim Bunning, and others. Dwight Evans and Ron Cey are a couple of additional players that I think deserve more love. Others: Dave Parker, Dick Allen. and Lou Whitaker.
Robin Ventura should actually be remembered as more than just Nolan Ryan's punching bag. 6 Gold Gloves, a consistent 20+HR, 90+RBI man, a career OBP of .362, and 56.1 WAR, but only made two All-Star teams.
@@davidkurvach3993 He even had a grand slam turned into a single when he walked off a playoff game with a homer, but one of the baserunners broke protocol and didn't round the bases.
His record hitting streak is more memorable than anything he accomplished in the majors, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. That casts quite a shadow. . .
Chet the Jet was the first one that came to mind for me, as well. Might as well add in Brian Downing, Buddy Bell and Dwayne Murphy, too-- All good defenders that could hit for average and power as well as draw walks.
How about Johnny Damon...2,769 hits, 1,668 runs scored, 408 SB's another 1,138 rbi's out of the leadoff spot and made 2 all star teams. The guy was a run scoring machine. 32nd all time and every player ahead of him is in the HOF except steroid users, players recently retired and Rose.
Great video! When it comes to HOF consideration, however, I can't think of a more underrated and pretty much un-remembered guy than Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock. Name me another lifetime .305 hitter, All-Star Game MVP, and 4-time batting champion that not only never got HOF consideration, but almost never even shows up on lists like this. I can't think of one. Another name I would add to your list is Al Oliver, another truly great player whose name seems to be lost to history. Here's a 7-time All Star, a lifetime .303 hitter, more than 2,700 career hits, whose name has virtually disappeared from anyone's memory. I was glad to see Jimmy Wynn and Willie Davis on your list, particularly Willie. It's been largely forgotten what a disruptive force 3-Dog could be to a defense with his blistering speed. Keep the great videos coming!!!
I think the problem with Madlock is that he was a bad defensvie 3rd baseman and didn't hit for power. Kind of reminds me of Raplh Garr who hit .306 for his career. Still I respect his career and he was a good hitter who was hard to strikeout.
A few other players come to mind: Dick Allen - Allen's career ended in 77, but it took over 40 years for the light to start to go off in people's heads just how good he was. He almost made the Hall via the Veterans Committee, and let's hope the next time's the charm. Eric Davis - A five tool player who I know was sick at one point. Davis was awesome in the late 80's and early 90's. Ryan Howard - People are going to laugh at this one, but at the end of the 2011 regular season, no one was laughing. Between 2005 and 2011, this is a sample of Mr. Howard: NL ROY - 05 NL MVP - 06 World Series Winner - Phillies 08 5 Times in Post- Season Second Youngest player to 300 home runs (behind HOF'ER Eddie Mathews) When he was injured in the final game of the 2011 Phils-Cards NLDS, a potential HOF career quietly disappeared.
Davis was criminally underrated was a big fan of him growing up. Him and Mark Grace. I went to watch a Cardinals vs Tigers game at old Tiger Stadium when Mcgwire was making the run at the HR record. He didn't hit one that game but Davis did.
I think Allen was hurt by the fact that sports writers didn’t like his attitude.. which to me translates to him standing up for himself and telling certain people to take a hike .. still picture that SI cover of him juggling three baseballs with a cigarette 🚬 in his mouth while
You see....the player that I think is worthy of absolutely TOPPING this list.... Bill Buckner......over 2700 hits, a 290 career average and over 1200 RBIs. Only made one all star game and is known for a single error that just happened to occur last in a series of Red Sox blunders that night. He is the ultimate scapegoat and he deserved better than that.
@@waynejohanson1083solid player, but 15.0 total WAR in 22 seasons, 157th among first baseman, is not HoF. He had 4-5 solid seasons, then ground out the numbers via longevity.
@@rdspam Those are solid arguments, plus if I remember he didn't draw many walks either which inflates the batting average and lowers the on base percentage. And to me on base percentage is more important then batting average. Plus he did not hit for much power. More or less a singles hitter.
Those Boston fans who gave Buckner hell can live in shame forever; that game was lost thanks to Schiraldi and Stanley shitting the bed, but did they speak up in his defense?
I love you you called out my man the Toy Cannon. I always imagine how many home runs he would have had a a normal ball park instead of the Astrodome where homers went to die. Not a single hof vote crazy. If he was up today he would not make the hof but he would certainly be up there with his metrics.
Buddy Bell was a solid player for years. I think he holds the MLB record for longest time to get 2000 hits or something like that. Helluva third baseman, too.
Bell hit .299 with exactly 200 hits in 1979. That’s unusual, to have so many hits but not hit well over .300 but he was a solid, consistent player for many years in my day.
Tim Wallach. 2000 hits, multiple gold gloves and MVP votes, five all star games, a huge part of those late-80s, early-90s Expos teams that threatened to win it all. He started at third for over 150 games in ten of eleven consecutive seasons, and all games in 1993 until the "strike" ended the season. Imagine if he had played his entire career in a big market instead of Montreal. You mention Phillips who played longer than Wallach but with fewer hits.
Dick Allen, Fred Lynn, Dale Murphy, Bob Horner, Jackie Jensen, and Tony Oliva. If you look at prime, these guys all excel. Pitching-wise, Kaat, Rodgers, Steib, Sam McDowell, and prime Denny McClain deserve consideration.
@catchwrestle Jim Katt was voted into the HOF last year. As for Denny McClain the only HOF he deserves to be in is the Hall of Shame as he did time in prison for a pyramid scheme where he bilked some seniors out of their hard earned retirement money
Denny McClain had a very shady life, even if it was mostly after baseball. Embezzlement for starters. But hard to ignore a 31 win season 2 Cy Young and 2 straight MVP. But McClain's was a career much shorter than Sandy Koufax and his retire young, dominate greatness . One other 20 win season. Career 131 wins 91 losses for Denny McClain Bob Horner basically played 8 season with 218 HRs drove in season best 98 RBI. He should have been great but wasn't. Travis Hafner deserves recognition for the 4 year stretch he had but, still power hitting DHs get too much credit for not playing Defense. His career numbers similar to Horner. Jim Kaat is a freakin crime not in HOF. Especially with all the gold gloves and 283 wins 3.45 ERA. I guess critics tired of Kaat hanging on pitching as a reliever the last 5 years of career. Sam McDowell was a left handed Nolan Ryan. 8 straight years of 100 plus walks and 6 straight of 220 plus K's including twice over 300 K's. Like McClain short on wins: 141.
It has been published that Hank Aaron, after edging #toycannon Jim Wynn for the NL Home Run title (by 2 HR) in 1967, “declared that Wynn was the "real" Home Run champion due to playing half his games in the (cavernous pitcher-friendly) Astrodome, while Aaron played in the hitter-friendly Fulton County Stadium.” I was at MMP to see the Toy Cannon inducted into the inaugural Astros Hall of Fame class in 2019. He passed away less than a year later. 😢 Wynn was the first truly great Astro. I wear a Jimmy Wynn jersey to most Astros games. 🙏 Thank you for honoring him on this list ❤
Jim Wynn was never the same after his wife stabbed him 1971. Great player though! Morgan would be forgotten/overlooked too had he not been traded to the Reds after the 1971 season.
Sounds just like Aaron. What a gracious man. I grew up listening to the Astros in the late Sixties/ early Seventies, and when they were in a late inning rally, I quietly plea to God that Wynn would make it to the plate. They were tremendously fun to follow, despite their disappointing finishes.
Awesome video. Lots of guys deserving of more recognition...I'd add Dale Murphy, Frank Tanana, Aramis Ramirez, Lou Whitaker, Bret Saberhagen, and Tommy John.
Saberhagen won 2 Cy Youngs, a gold glove, and was World Series MVP. Hardly underrated. Dale Murphy is a 2X MVP. Clearly not underrated. When it comes to the hall of fame, yes but not overall.
@@1guitar12 no. That isn't the criteria of this video. They're talking about underrated players and Saberhagen and Murphy weren't underrated. Saberhagen, as I said, won many awards but his numbers don't make him hall of fame worthy.
Sid Fernandez was very underrated as pitcher. He allowed a career .209 opponents batting average. He was also a very important part of the Mets rotation from the mid 80s to the early 90s. Keep in mind future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw also has a career .209 opponents batting average. Fernandez's career opponents batting average, opponents, and OPS is also better than hall of famers like Greg Maddux.
Comparing Fernandez’s numbers to Maddux’s is a little apples and oranges. First, Maddux pitched in a different era. League OPS during his career was .745 and .726 for Fernandez’s. Second, Maddux pitched longer and therefore are more non-peak seasons which skews their numbers a bit. For example, Fernandez’s peak was his age 23-29 seasons where his ba/obp/slg/ops against was 207/282/331/614 while Maddux’s age 23-29 seasons produced 229/279/311/580. Apples. Oranges.
#DonjoSports - You make a great case. Look what it took to get THE GREAT RON SANTO into the hall. There was SO MUCH PRESSURE that I believe the voters were losing credibility...Good post.
Thanks for the vid...it was awesome. Guy that i think that should be mentioned as well is Al Oliver, Ben Oglivie, Steve Garvey, Dave Parker, Will Clark, Billy Wagner, Magglio Ordonez
To that list I'd add Dwight Evans. Played 20 years, was a great hitter and was considered one of the premier defensive outfielders in his day (8×GG). Ended up with lifetime 67 WAR.
As I watched the video it frustrated me that wasn't mentioned. Herr was an instrumental part of Herzog's Cardinals. The way these guys manufactured runs was awesome.
Great choice of Darrell Evans. He had great years with The Braves, Giants and Tigers. He won the AL HR crown with The Tigers in 85, and delivered some great clutch hitting with the powerful 84 world champion Tigers. I enjoyed this video. Very well researched.
There was a time when 400 career home runs was the magic number for the Hall of Fame, which would have qualified Darrell Evans and Dave Kingman, but their low career batting averages (.248 for Evans and .236 for Kingman) made them hard sells for hall of fame voters. I would put names like Dwight Evans and Luis Tiant on lists of under rated players (outside of Boston that is, Boston certainly loves and appreciates El Tiante and Dewey).
Dwight Evans had a career 2.72 batting Average and though Dave Kingman had a 2.36 career batting Average, I still believe they both belong in the HOF and so does Dale Murphy , Al Oliver and Steve Garvey .... the 1981 baseball strike (which to me was a waste of time) hurt alot of ball players like Dwight Evans , Dale Murphy , Dave Kingman , cuz those 55 or so games could of bumped up their career, Evans and Murphy would gotten their 400 homeruns and their hits & batting averages would pumped up their career as well .... Pete Rose that year (1981) would probably had of had one of his best years ever, probably would of amassed more than 210 hits , before the strike that year he was leading the N.L. in hits with 140 in only 108 games , remember also he played in all 162 games in 1980 and in 182, he did it again (162 games) .... again I repeat 1981 MLB strike hurt a few careers, just those 54 games would of been a different story for those few .... let me add also that Luis Tiant with no doubt belongs in the HOF , Unbelievable that El Tiante has almost the exact career numbers as Catfish Hunter and is not enshrined in the hall .... oops I almost forgot about my good friend Vida Blue who I met together with Willie Wilson and Hal McCrae back in 1982 in Yankee Stadium when he was pitching for the K.C. Royals ..... R.I.P. VIDA BLUE 🌟 🙏
@@rafaelramirez1507 Dave Parker belongs. If there was no strike, and he had one or two less injury plagued seasons, he easily reaches 3000 hits. You also can argue, that by playing defense, unlike the DH's who got elected, Parker was the more complete player because he risked injury while playing defense.....AND he was an elite defensive player.
As a boomer and a baseball fanatic since 1960, I have to mention a few oldie/goldies. Bob Allison was a great hitter who batted 3rd behind Killebrew. Was a great hitter and fielder. Rico Petrocelli was an outstanding SS who had some hitting and fielding records for a while. He played 3rd base in the 75 series and the Reds couldn't get anything past him. Ken Berry was a center fielder for the White Sox and could field as good as anyone and steal bases. I know 1968 was the year of the pitcher, and everyone talks about Gibson and McClain. They were amazing, but check out Luis Tiant's numbers for a 4th place team. Wicked excellent.
Paul Blair is the power hitting, crazy good fielding, outfielder I think of when I hear something about speed, power, and fielding for a Centerfielder.
Jose Cardinal was my 1st autograph. As a young Cubs fan I asked him if he felt weird playing for the Cubs being named 'cardinal'? He signed my book with, "The only Cardinal who Cubs fans cheer for". He instantly became my favorite player. 🤘🏼
I think one of the most underrated players was third baseman Aramis Ramirez. He hit 386 home runs and hit .283 for his career including hitting .300 or better seven times. He also drove in 100 or more runs seven times. Also, his highest strikeout year was only 100. He also had 495 doubles.
@@dereklamb4945 Aramis Ramirez's fielding percentage was .952. Mike Schmidt and Ron Santo (two hall of fame third basemen who had many gold gloves) had fielding percentages of .955 and .954, respectively. I realize fielding percentage isn't everything, but his fielding was not "more than suspect".
Delgado hit 57 doubles in 2000, not 57 HRs. Still, 41 HRs, 57 doubles, 137 RBIs, a .470 OBP, and a .344 average is unreal. Easily one of the most dominant offensive seasons in MLB history, yet somehow finished 4th in MVP voting.
Dave Steib, pitcher for Toronto, IMHO, a borderline HOFer Kent Hrbek, 1b for Minnesota, a great player Tim Wallach, 3b, mostly Montreal, overlooked on those good Montreal teams from the 1980s Lou Whitaker, 2b, Detroit A more recent player: Nick Markakis, a very good OF for nearly all of his career with Baltimore, only one all star game, but not with Baltimore Tony Phillips got the " utility player " label, hence the lack of HOF votes
I gotta put Atlanta's Dale Murphy in there. From 1982 to 1988, he was surely one of the most feared sluggers in the National League during those 7 seasons that included back to back MVP awards in '82' and '83', and was runner-up for the award in 1987 finishing second behind Chicago's Andre Dawson.
@@HummBabyBaseball another underrated guy is Reggie Sanders. You mentioned him in the video, as a member of the 300 HR/300 SB club along with Bobby Bonds, yet even you left him off this list despite him only ever getting 1 all star nod. How's that for under appreciated? Lol
Great video. Being an Astro's fan, glad to see Staub and Cruz on your list. I liked the stat for Staub that he reached base more often than Tony Gwynn.
Staub treated me so poorly at a golf tournament I was working 30 years ago that whe he barked at me to "put this case of wine in a cool place" I switched out his expensive wine with the cheapest 12 bottles of wine I could find and gave it to the waitresses who had to suffer dealing with that guy at the dinner after the tournament I wonder how far away Staub got before he saw his wine had been switched out
Absolutely your best video! I am actually briefly in this video, a teenage clubhouse boy with the Astros with your mention of Jose Cruz. Cruz was quiet in public but a riot in the clubhouse. You might consider doing a video of the division champions with the lowest output of homers. You will see that Jose Cruz led the 1980 NL West Champion Astros with 12 homers. But the Phillies just did everything they could to pitch around him in the 1980 season - without much success! Your TOP-25 gets no disagreement from me, with Darrell Evans being way atop the list. If you could have had another five players, you might have added Omar Vizquel (2,877 hits), Dwight Evans, Mike Easler - (seriously, check his numbers!) Tim Raines(!) and Lou Whitaker (retired with a 75.4 WAR)
Random anecdote...my dad was a diehard Cardinals fan, the kind of guy who would watch the transistor radio when the games were on. He was also known for his sly humor. One day in the mid 80s, we were toodlin' down the road when we passed by a bright red cardinal sitting on a fence. And I say, ooh, was that Ozzie or Vince? Without missing a beat, he says if it weren't so red, coulda been Herr. Hilarious. Thanks for the great video on our unsung heroes of the sport!
Great list! As a lifelong Yankee fan I appreciate the respect you gave to Willie Randolph and Graig Nettles. One guy who should be in the Hall and on this list is Dwight Evans. Elite defender, consistent power, 127 OPS+, 67.2 WAR, and a thorn in my Yankees’ side for 20 years.
Ron Leflore. Felipe Alou. Billy Pierce. Harvey Kuenn. Joe Adcock. Vada Pinson.Dick Stuart. Mike Cuellar. Tommy Davis. Bob Friend. Gil Hodges. Andres Gallaraga. Chris Chambliss. Bernie Williams.
Also to be included: - Rick Reuschel won 214 games and accumulated 69 career WAR - Frank Tanana won 240 games and accumulated 57 career WAR - Reggie Smith hit 314 HRs and accumulated 64 career WAR - Bill Freehan hit 200 HRs as a catcher and accumulated 44 career WAR And for a future list, I'm already including: - Marcus Semien, Matt Chapman, and Xander Bogarets These guys are all solid players right now but still don't get the respect that they deserve and probably never will after they retire.
I wonder if Bill Freehan might get some HOF consideration once Yadi Molina gets in. His Baseball Reference page is ridiculous. I think catchers in general don’t get enough respect considering all their responsibilities.
@@dfuller81It should be both Bill Freehan & Mickey Lolich together. They hold the record for longest pitcher/catcher battery combination ever & Lolich's career stats are almost identical to Jim Katt who was just voted in
@@Rockhound6165As a kid, visiting my grandparents, I saw Reggie throw a ball over Yeager's head. He wasn't that far from the warning track. I figure he threw it about 90 yards. Rick Reuschel combined with his brother Paul to throw a no hitter.
Tony Fernandez deserves some consideration, 17 yrs career, 2276 hits, 4 gold gloves, 2 WS rings, .288 BA. Much better numbers overall than many hall of famers. "Cabeza" was better than good. RIP.-
great video. nice list. i always felt bob hoerner, jack clark and even tho some give fred lynn and Dwight evans or especially darrell evans the credit i feel they r underappreciated as well... there r so many more.
Bob Allison , Bill Freehan, Jimmy Wynn , Norm Cash , Bobby Grich , Rusty Staub , Tommy John , Lou Whitaker , Sam McDowell, Rick Wise and Mickey Lolich have Hall of Fame credentials.
I grew up in the 80's, I haven't heard some of those names in so long. I've always been a huge Yankees fan so Willie Randolph is a legend to me. But I always liked Darrell Evans when he was in Detroit. I'm a lefty so I loved his straight up batting stance, I copied it in little league. But you forgot in my opinion the most underrated player in my opinion. Tommy John. He made a couple of all star teams, won some rings, won 20 games multiple times, has a freaking surgery named after him. And won like 280ish games. No hall of fame. What the "F" !!!!!!!!. And most of all, one of the GOOD guys. Just a super human being. Met him twine, just a fantastic guy. Thanks for the video, really enjoyed it. For the love of the game, get TJ some love ❤ Tommy John, "My Man" !!!!!!
I have been lobbying for Kenny Lofton for the Hall of Fame for years. I think he got overlooked by being on such star-studded teams (Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel, etc). Read the comments of opposing managers during his long prime. They all said, "Lofton has more impact on the game". He could beat you with his bat, glove, on the basepaths, etc. An "on base % better than George Brett" says it all.
Great video, brought back a ton of memories. I have comments on so many of the players but I'll just say this. I played as Darrell Evans and the Tigers on RBI baseball on the NES as a kid and that man was an absolute monster, Haven't thought about that or him in years, thank you for the trip down memory lane!
@@big8dog887This is why I HATE that so much weight and emphasis is attributed to sexy #'s like HR's and RBI's (those are both nice, of course), but, once upon a time, you had a Rusty Staub, or Mark Carreon who accumulated 0.3 or 0.5 WAR, but were considered to be EXTREMELY dangerous in those late game situations...they could come in at any time, and when they were seen headed out to the circle, the defense would have to juggle their priorities, baserunners like Henderson or Coleman could start dancing between bases, because they were incredible contact hitters, yet, PH's can't even sniff the HOF, despite grabbing a bat, in some of the scariest, "we HAVE to have big hit, or a perfect bunt" situations...Francisco Cabrera and Sid friggin Breem are the most hilarious example.
No one remembers Olerud’s pop (John Sr.) as a player, but especially for telling the late, great Jimbo Bouton to drill a batter in “Ball Four.” True to his character, Bouton refused because he didn’t wanna risk ruining a guy’s career who’d not done a thing to him. 🤷♂️
At Dodger stadium in the late 70's or early 80's, Jose Cruz hit a foul ball down the right field line that is still the hardest hit ball Ive ever seen. An absolute laser beam that exploded off the seats in front of me and sounded like a gun shot.
Man there are so many more players that could be on this list: Mark Grace, Eric Davis, Mark Langston, Andy Van Slyke, etc, etc. Could be a top 100 list
Awesome list!! Enjoyed the video very much, I remember watching most of these players as a young kid, and teen, I totally agree with your list, and the one that shocked me the most, was Tommy Herr, to watch him play at 2nd base, and Ozzie at short, was magic back in the 80s, Graig Nettles, would be in my top 5 3rd baseman of all time as well, thanks for list and the video, keep them coming!!..👍👍👍👍👍
Great video. Here are some other players that should be considered. Willie Wilson Larry Bowa Frank Tanana Roy Oswalt Mickey Lolich Bill Freehan Luis Tiant Vada Pinson Cecil Cooper Chili Davis Juan Pierre Vida Blue Chuck Finley George Foster
This is such a great video! I appreciate the effort it took to make it. This is exactly the type of videos I like..well done. These are exactly the type of players I think are underrated.
@davidl5037 Here is my Staub story. I worked in Port St Lucie at a golf course the Mets played in spring training. The coaches and players mostly...Darling...McDowell...Myers...etc. We had a golf tournament at the end of spring training in 1989. I worked there. Staub pulls up in his car. I am from Detroit and watched him play those years. I saw him get out of his car and I went over to get his clubs out of the trunk of his car. I wasn't going to spend much time but wanted to let Staub know I was from Detroit and enjoyed watching him play. He got short with me and interrupted me. I nicely said he had been my favorite Tiger(he wasnt). He shut me down again and was even more unkind. So...I decided to mock him. I said "I think my favorite play you ever made was in the 1976 all star game when you started in RF and how you played Steve Garveys single to RF". Staub glared at me. In 76 Staub hadn't played one game in RF(he was DH for Detroit). Yet he was voted to start. Garvey in the first inning of that game, and the reason Staub glared at me, hit a single to Staub in RF...and Staub fell down and Garvey made it to 3rd. Staub knew that I had just told him that his falling down in front of everyone in an All Star game was my favorite play. He barked at me to "put this case of wine in a cool place". It was in his car and would have gone bad in that heat. Staub was a chef in NYC and had an expensive case of wine. I took his wine and put it in a cool place. After the tournament at the dinner a waitresses was off to the side crying. A couple other waitresses were trying to calm her down. I walked up to them and asked what happened. One waitre told me that "the big red headed jackass was giving the staff a hard time and had been especially unkind to the one crying. That was it for me. I went to the local liquor store and bought the cheapest 12 bottles of wine I could find and replaced Staubs wine with the cheap stuff I just bought. At the end of the night Staub barked at me to " go get my wine and put it in my car". I took Staubs keys and said "yes sir". I wonder how far away Staub got before he saw the wine he had after that dinner. I gave every bottle away to the staff that had to suffer that guy.
@williamgullett5911 That sucks, man. Sorry to hear that. I never met him, but hopefully he was just having a bad day. He always seemed like a friendly guy and was very charitable. He was always well liked by the fans in NY and Montreal.
As a kid in ‘61 or ‘62, I saw him a lot as a $100K, 18 year old “bonus baby” playing for the Class A Durham Bulls in the Houston organization. A first baseman with a sweet swing.
Great job and I think you hit many on your list on the the nail head. You obviously did your research as well as considered generally overlooked stats and contributions of these great players on your list. It was an extensive list for sure but worth the time spent in celebrating players that were terribly underrated and missed when it was award time during their careers. I’m sure these players appreciate you for the recognition after careers and their efforts in playing the game. I enjoyed this presentation….please..carry on.
Steve Rogers on a hitting team wouldve been easily a 250 win pitcher... Excellent job on this list...cant disagree with any of these players or think of any left off the list... Great calls also on Cardenal, Herr, Giles, Wynn and Cruz... Some of my favorite Ballplayers... Did their jobs...
Good list. Glad you included Frank White and Jose Cruz. Those are two players I thought the world of watching baseball in the 1980s. Two names I thought could be included on a future list: Bill Madlock and Dave Parker. Also, the only piece of info I disagreed with was when you said Bobby Abreu played "elite" defense. I always thought he was mediocre in the field...at best. Good hitter though.
When I was playing little league in the mid-late 70s, any hot dog play, or trying to make a routine/good catch look difficult or heroic, it was called a Rusty Staub.
As I watched and you named many of the names I thought of, I expected number one to be Reggie Smith or maybe Buddy Bell but Evans is indeed the best choice. The other Evans would have been acceptable too. And special props to you from this Cardinals fan for including Tommy Herr; most people outside Cardinals Country wouldn't be so fair-minded as to include him at all. Well done.
As a HUGE fan of baseball in the 70's & 80's I was also expecting Reggie Smith and for sure Buddy Bell! Even though Brooks Robinson (got to meet him 🙂) got the gold glove almost automatically, most fans knew Bell was a better fielder some of those years towards the end of Brooks career imho.
Must say, I was shocked when you got to #1 and it wasn’t Maury Wills… The man literally changed the game, was the offensive engine on three World Series winners, yet was repeatedly snubbed by HOF voters.
@rickg1976 You are 100% correct about Maury Wills. My younger brother & I both grew up appreciating how Maury Wills changed the game & are infuriated that he isn't in the HOF.
How about 313 as a rookie followed by leading NL next 2 years at 354 & 339 ? Then 5 years later he had a run of 341 319 323 leading the league 2 more times. Bill Madlock. Cubs traded him to SF. Then he became a big part of the 79 Pirates Champion Lumber Company. Also we never left the Tv during a Dave Kingman or Greg Luzinski at-bat (unlike Harold Baines).
David Segui, look up his stats and you start to remember how hard of an out he was. 6x .300+ average. I hope one of these players watches this so they can recognize that we know and are aware that they are underrated. Glad to see Tommy Herr, Rusty Staub, and Willie Randolph on here 🥰
You got me on two of the players. Great list. I don't know if he belongs on the list, but Dave Concepción was one of my favorite player's when I was younger.
This is a really great and amazing video because it's easy to find the same old stuff about the superstars on the internet but doing a video like this requires real work. I also love that it began with Rusty Staub. He was my favorite. I saw him play in the Astrodome the year he got traded to Montreal from Houston. As a New Yorker and Mets fan I got to see him on two tours of duty for the Mets. Just to give you an idea of how dedicated he was to giving his all, he almost always led the Mets if not the league in getting hit by a pitch, including one which broke his wrist. In the 1973 NLCS as right fielder he made a game-saving extra inning catch running into the right-field wall. This separated his shoulder and this incident/injury became the reason that major league ballparks began to cushion their outfield walls. Off-the-field this redhead was loved in Montreal where he was learning to speak French for the fans and became known as Le Grand Orange, the big orange one. He created his own foundation and was committed to supporting charities. Later in his career when he became a pinch-hitter every Met fan smiled when he came into the game knowing we're still in it with Rusty at bat. He is sorely missed.
They say the same with Lou Whitaker, that he wasn't so Sweet to them. Which still isn't right that he didn't even stay on the ballot for more than one year. Ridiculous!
Kenny Lofton was the best centerfielder in baseball not named Ken Griffey Jr. in the 1990s. It was an absolute disgrace that he was removed from the HoF ballot after only one year. Part of that was the bad luck of timing in that there were a lot of good players on the ballot, but many of them had steroid questions. That lead some voters to fill out blank or nearly blank protest ballots. Despite playing in six fewer seasons, Lofton's career numbers are very similar to Tim Raines (who spent 10 years on the ballot before being elected in 2017) while playing better defense. In Lofton's only year on the ballot, he got 3.2% of the vote, while Raines received 52.2% that same year. Hopefully the Veteran's Committee will correct this injustice and select Lofton to the Hall some day.
Another one from that team that no one likes to talk about, Albert Belle. His stat line from 94 to 99, is insane. He hit for power, drove in runs, hit for .300 and could get on base. I know he earned All Stars and Silver Sluggers but him not winning MVP is a travesty.
@@joeinreallife6293 Bernie was good but he was more of an offensive guy. Lofton didn't have the HRs or RBIs but he was far better defensively, stolen bases and was good at getting runs
@@joeinreallife6293 I did and they actually are very close, nearly identical is some cases. Both played exactly 1096 games with Kenny outhitting Bernie 1356 to 1298. Slash lines of .310/.384/.429 for Lofton and .304/.389/.487 for Williams. The difference is power vs. speed (and that is basically preference for what you want as Lofton hit leadoff and Williams was in the middle of the order, hence a big difference in RBI totals of 412 and 681). Lofton had 433 steals to Williams' 106, while Bernie had the power edge 151 HRs to 63. Lofton had four Gold Gloves to Williams' three, with Bernie not getting his first until Lofton was traded to the National League for the 1997 season. I'm not a big WAR fan, but Lofton comes out on top thanks to a huge edge defensively, while they are comparable on offense. Overall, it probably comes down to what you want out of your centerfielder, but thanks to his game changing speed and superior defense, I'll take Kenny Lofton every time.
Darrell Evans may be underrated but let's be real in that his stats are mostly due to his longevity. He's a .248 career hitter, averaging 20 home runs and about 65 RBIs per year. OPS+ for his career is 119 - very good but not elite. Never hit better than .277 and made 2 All Star game. His career WAR is 58.7, again very respectable but only good for 210th (sandwiched by Brett Saberhagen and Sammy Sosa, neither of who sniffed the HOF). Evans' legacy is as a good, solid player who played for a damn long time.
People have pointed out the walk statement about Wynn being wrong. I think he had the NL single season record ( not overall MLB ).
My mistake
My mother used to work with his mother. My mom drove her home every night. He was less than 5' 10" more like 5' 8". but he signed my cards for me!!!
Eric Karros is the LA Dodgers homerun leader. He is the player with the most home runs to never appear in a All star game. He won Rookie of the year award as well. Plus he was snubbed from this list as well.
@@Bubba603 his career WAR is 10.4. Karros was not a snub.
@@Bubba603 Karros doesn’t have the most HRs without appearing in an All Star. I’m not sure who the leader is in that but I know Tim Salmon has 299 HRs and he never played in an All Star Game.
Another almost forgotten player was Vada Pinson (1958 - 1975) who had 2757 hits (including 256 home runs) while stealing 305 bases.
Fantastic choice, I don’t get why he is forgotten, such a great player.
He should be in the HOF easy
Oh yeah
Yes unfortunately I defensive probably will not make the Hall of Fame been out of baseball too long
Saw Pinson play many a time in the early ‘60’s . Great hitter , had some power and durable . He’d get my vote for HOF .
I always think Mark Grace gets overlooked because he didn’t hit for power. Great bat and great glove.
True
I was sure Amazing Grace was going to be on the list. I couldn’t believe he was left off. No one got more hits in the entire decade of the ‘90s 😮
Did he win a WS with Arizona?
@@Baloothepibble Sure did. We love Gracey here in AZ!
@@ReddieMiller good, I’m glad he got one. Underrated player!
What about Al Oliver? A great hitter with the Pirates, Rangers, Expos and only was on the HOF ballot for 1 year
Yes one of the best hitters ever
I was thinking about Al Oliver as well 👍 #17
Maybe the best example!! He had the misfortune of being in an outfield consisting of Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell. Then Richie Zisk was ripping up minor leagues, and getting a ton of attention! Then the"Cobra" appeared! So Al Oliver never got is due, despite typically hitting .300 ,getting 15-20 homers,and driving in 100 runs. In my opinion,he's a Hall of Famer!
I saw Oliver in a DH in Detroit in 1980 hit 4HRs, 1 in the 1st game and 3 in the 2nd game....plus a double, a triple. 21 total bases.
Oliver hit one shot down the RF line and as it was rising it hit the 3rd deck wood about a foot foul with a loud THUD that had everyone in the stadium gasp.
Sparky Anderson ran out of the dugout and motioned for the pitcher to intentionally walk Oliver. Have never seen an intentional walk after a batter was thrown a pitch before that or since.
It was August 17, 1980
@@williamgullett5911 awesome!
Glad to see Jose Cruz get some love. He was one of the players we pretended to be as kids in the back yard playing ball.
And his son Jose Jr!
Happy to read I was not the only one doing that.
Yes with the leg kick
Do not forget his running mate in center field. Cesar Cedeno....
Hell yeah!
The high bat circling batters stance was a favorite for us kids playing sandlot games here in Texas in the 70s and 80s. The fact that he was Latino was a plus for some us too.
Sweet Lou Whitaker…so underrated, can’t believe he’s not in the Hall
Yeah but how many guys in the hall were on Magnum P I
@@morganknox6642 and Tom Selleck actually has a MLB at-bat.
You forgot to mention Cecil Cooper. The man was an elite hitter with power and played very good defense. His numbers fall a bit short of reaching HOF status but during his playing career, he was a great player.
He made a bunch of all star teams and had 4-5 great years and he was known as an elite hitter with power who hit for high average.
Coop was a very good player w the Harvey’s Wallbangers Brewers. Excellent hitter
He was criminally underrated even in his prime.
In 1980 he had an epic season overshadowed by George Brett
Red Sox also 👍
Let's not forget about Sweet Lou Whitaker
With ALAN TRAMELL AT SS
THEY LASTED I THINK THEY MAY HAVE TO SAY THEY HOLD THE RECORD FOR THE LONGEST SHORTSTOP SECOND BASE TOGETHER.
BOTH VERY VERY GOOD PLAYERS
Dam baseball writers did, man should be in the hall.
For some unrelated reason(s), the self important baseball writers just do not like Lou. I feel he is being kept out of the HOF because of personal reasons, not proffesional ones. Hopefully the veterans committee will do the right thing. Look up his numbers. He matches up or exceeds many other HOF second basemen.
Whitaker should be in the hall of fame.
No. Let’s forget him.
Another one that should be on this list is Dave Stieb!! If Steve Rodgers makes this list then certainly Dave Stieb should make this list. To this day he leads practically every career pitching record for the blue Jay's.
I was considering him for sure..
I saw Stieb in his prime going to games at Exhibition Stadium. To this day, the best slider ive ever seen.
@@stevejohnson1577 I envy you, I was never lucky enough to see him. Everytime I got tickets to see him he ended up on the dl
84 to 90 he went 101- 64 would of had better record if better team early on a very good pitcher
@@craigodonnell696 so glad i did… i froze my ass a few times in the bleachers, but got tix behind the plate as well in 1985. That slider was just wicked… youd see guys break there ankles. Saw Henke in his prime too. The guy was huge.
Brett Butler was the best lead off hitter I ever witnessed. His ability to show the bunt at the very last moment, it would fake out everyone watching. That Giants lineup Butler, Thompson, Clark, Mitchell, and Williams was so tough. I am a Cincinnati Reds fanatic, and at Candlestick Park with that lineup and the swirling winds sent chills up my spine every game! Brett Butler was the one player I wish could play for the Reds.
It was one of my favorite eras! I'll never forget that 1989-90 lineup!
Thanks for that trip down memory lane, that lineup was my childhood lineup. As a northern Californian who became a baseball fan at the end of the 80s, it was really all about the first basemen. Most kids my age into baseball would either have a Clark or McGwire poster on their walls. I tried to be a left handed hitter in my early little league days and I tried to model my swing around Clark's, although I never saw the success he did with it.
Brett Butler was a good one.
@@littleblackduck3134 Rickey Henderson is great, and could hit lead off homers. But, Brett Butler was a lefty, and it seemed he was already moving towards first base after he made contact with the ball. He could get on first base in so many ways. I think Brett Butler was a tougher out to get for pitchers. Brett Butler was also scarier in the later innings.
@@littleblackduck3134 Also, I am a Reds fan. We handled Rickey Henderson easily in the World Series. But every at bat was a battle against Brett Butler.
Another guy that should've been mentioned is Steve Garvey. 1300+ Rbi's, 10 Time All Star, MVP, AS MVP, 2600 hits, and 4 Time gold Glove. One of the most forgotten players in his prime
This is an UNDERRATED list. I wouldn't call a 10 time all-star, an MVP, an all-star MVP, and 4 time gold glove winner "underrated"....
The Willie Davis matter shocks me. He played his career in the pitcher dominant 1960s, got 2,500 hits, and the zilch is extremely undeserved.
In 1962, Tommy Davis had one of the greatest hitting seasons ever, but no one remembers it. A great pure hitter, everything off of his bat was a rope.
@@scottodonnell7121 AND he won the 1963 NL batting title (326) leading the Dodgers to a sweep over the Yankees.
Willie kind of has the Bill Buckner stigma,. Put together a sound career offensively, blazing speed , but sadly rememberED for his costly errors in game two of the '66 WS, costing Koufax and the Dodgers dearly . Of course , he a team only manufactures two runs in four games, their chances ARE pretty to alim
I agree!!
Al Oliver to me is criminally underrated. Luis Tiant belongs in the HOF, as his numbers stack up well compared with Catfish Hunter, Jim Bunning, and others. Dwight Evans and Ron Cey are a couple of additional players that I think deserve more love. Others: Dave Parker, Dick Allen. and Lou Whitaker.
The problem with Richie Allen is there was about 20 other guys that have similar totals are better than him
Dick Allen's exclusion from the Hall is criminal.
All great players.
How about Rusty Staub Boog Powell Frank Howard Bill Buckner Norm cash I could probably tell you a hundred guys
And I think Kurt flood should be in before Ritchie Allen
Robin Ventura should actually be remembered as more than just Nolan Ryan's punching bag. 6 Gold Gloves, a consistent 20+HR, 90+RBI man, a career OBP of .362, and 56.1 WAR, but only made two All-Star teams.
Not to mention all of the grand slams: two in one game, one in each end of a double header and 18 total.
@@davidkurvach3993 He even had a grand slam turned into a single when he walked off a playoff game with a homer, but one of the baserunners broke protocol and didn't round the bases.
WAR is an idiotic, meaningless statistic.
His record hitting streak is more memorable than anything he accomplished in the majors, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. That casts quite a shadow. . .
Legend
Great list. Mine would also include Chet Lemon. Check out the number he put up between 1978-1984 while playing elite defense in CF.
Chet the Jet was the first one that came to mind for me, as well. Might as well add in Brian Downing, Buddy Bell and Dwayne Murphy, too-- All good defenders that could hit for average and power as well as draw walks.
Jim Edmonds - 393 HR, .284 BA, 8 GG, better WAR than Ichiro or Piazza - 1 year on the HOF ballot
WAR is a completely meaningless, hypothetical statistic.
outstanding defensive player, he was a highlight reel player. good choice
Right??
One of those guys that made good teams better too.
Man he was good hit alot hr it's seemed like every night on baseball tonight he was in the highlight reel
How about Johnny Damon...2,769 hits, 1,668 runs scored, 408 SB's another 1,138 rbi's out of the leadoff spot and made 2 all star teams. The guy was a run scoring machine. 32nd all time and every player ahead of him is in the HOF except steroid users, players recently retired and Rose.
That's ok.. the HOF has plenty of Racist in there.. don't need another one...
You could probably come up with a list of 300 are more players do we say should be in the Hall of Fame but then the Hall of Fame with just water down
I agree.
@@mikekeeler6362already is watered down.
@@dapper892it’s harder to get in the hof now than ever
Great video! When it comes to HOF consideration, however, I can't think of a more underrated and pretty much un-remembered guy than Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock. Name me another lifetime .305 hitter, All-Star Game MVP, and 4-time batting champion that not only never got HOF consideration, but almost never even shows up on lists like this. I can't think of one. Another name I would add to your list is Al Oliver, another truly great player whose name seems to be lost to history. Here's a 7-time All Star, a lifetime .303 hitter, more than 2,700 career hits, whose name has virtually disappeared from anyone's memory. I was glad to see Jimmy Wynn and Willie Davis on your list, particularly Willie. It's been largely forgotten what a disruptive force 3-Dog could be to a defense with his blistering speed. Keep the great videos coming!!!
I think the problem with Madlock is that he was a bad defensvie 3rd baseman and didn't hit for power. Kind of reminds me of Raplh Garr who hit .306 for his career. Still I respect his career and he was a good hitter who was hard to strikeout.
A few other players come to mind:
Dick Allen - Allen's career ended in 77, but it took over 40 years for the light to start to go off in people's heads just how good he was. He almost made the Hall via the Veterans Committee, and let's hope the next time's the charm.
Eric Davis - A five tool player who I know was sick at one point. Davis was awesome in the late 80's and early 90's.
Ryan Howard - People are going to laugh at this one, but at the end of the 2011 regular season, no one was laughing. Between 2005 and 2011, this is a sample of Mr. Howard:
NL ROY - 05
NL MVP - 06
World Series Winner - Phillies 08
5 Times in Post- Season
Second Youngest player to 300 home runs (behind HOF'ER Eddie Mathews)
When he was injured in the final game of the 2011 Phils-Cards NLDS, a potential HOF career quietly disappeared.
If Howard had not fallen over the cliff as a hitter, for sure. Davis!!! Allen!!!! Great talents, well deserved!
Dick Allen was terrific player
Davis was criminally underrated was a big fan of him growing up. Him and Mark Grace. I went to watch a Cardinals vs Tigers game at old Tiger Stadium when Mcgwire was making the run at the HR record. He didn't hit one that game but Davis did.
@@rickyuhnke7979 The defensive shifts and his refusal to adjust (he never heard of "bunting?") played a lot to his downfall as a hitter.
I think Allen was hurt by the fact that sports writers didn’t like his attitude.. which to me translates to him standing up for himself and telling certain people to take a hike .. still picture that SI cover of him juggling three baseballs with a cigarette 🚬 in his mouth while
You see....the player that I think is worthy of absolutely TOPPING this list.... Bill Buckner......over 2700 hits, a 290 career average and over 1200 RBIs. Only made one all star game and is known for a single error that just happened to occur last in a series of Red Sox blunders that night. He is the ultimate scapegoat and he deserved better than that.
To me he is deserving of hall of fame consideration.
@@waynejohanson1083solid player, but 15.0 total WAR in 22 seasons, 157th among first baseman, is not HoF. He had 4-5 solid seasons, then ground out the numbers via longevity.
@@rdspam Those are solid arguments, plus if I remember he didn't draw many walks either which inflates the batting average and lowers the on base percentage. And to me on base percentage is more important then batting average. Plus he did not hit for much power. More or less a singles hitter.
All through the 70s at Wrigley too
Those Boston fans who gave Buckner hell can live in shame forever; that game was lost thanks to Schiraldi and Stanley shitting the bed, but did they speak up in his defense?
I love you you called out my man the Toy Cannon. I always imagine how many home runs he would have had a a normal ball park instead of the Astrodome where homers went to die. Not a single hof vote crazy. If he was up today he would not make the hof but he would certainly be up there with his metrics.
Buddy Bell was a solid player for years. I think he holds the MLB record for longest time to get 2000 hits or something like that. Helluva third baseman, too.
I agree. Over 2500 career hits and a career WAR of over 66. And great defensively as well.
His dad Gus Bell was pretty darn good too.
Bell hit .299 with exactly 200 hits in 1979. That’s unusual, to have so many hits but not hit well over .300 but he was a solid, consistent player for many years in my day.
Dave Concepcion is so underrated he didnt even make the underrated list..
Tim Wallach. 2000 hits, multiple gold gloves and MVP votes, five all star games, a huge part of those late-80s, early-90s Expos teams that threatened to win it all. He started at third for over 150 games in ten of eleven consecutive seasons, and all games in 1993 until the "strike" ended the season. Imagine if he had played his entire career in a big market instead of Montreal. You mention Phillips who played longer than Wallach but with fewer hits.
Great player and yes so underrated.
Dick Allen, Fred Lynn, Dale Murphy, Bob Horner, Jackie Jensen, and Tony Oliva. If you look at prime, these guys all excel. Pitching-wise, Kaat, Rodgers, Steib, Sam McDowell, and prime Denny McClain deserve consideration.
@catchwrestle Jim Katt was voted into the HOF last year. As for Denny McClain the only HOF he deserves to be in is the Hall of Shame as he did time in prison for a pyramid scheme where he bilked some seniors out of their hard earned retirement money
Denny McClain had a very shady life, even if it was mostly after baseball. Embezzlement for starters. But hard to ignore a 31 win season 2 Cy Young and 2 straight MVP. But McClain's was a career much shorter than Sandy Koufax and his retire young, dominate greatness . One other 20 win season. Career 131 wins 91 losses for Denny McClain
Bob Horner basically played 8 season with 218 HRs drove in season best 98 RBI. He should have been great but wasn't. Travis Hafner deserves recognition for the 4 year stretch he had but, still power hitting DHs get too much credit for not playing Defense. His career numbers similar to Horner.
Jim Kaat is a freakin crime not in HOF. Especially with all the gold gloves and 283 wins 3.45 ERA. I guess critics tired of Kaat hanging on pitching as a reliever the last 5 years of career. Sam McDowell was a left handed Nolan Ryan. 8 straight years of 100 plus walks and 6 straight of 220 plus K's including twice over 300 K's. Like McClain short on wins: 141.
I sat next to tony last year at a wolves.game man he is a real.nice guy and still looks great for is age everyone loves him in mn
Oliva 304 ave 226 hr 8 time all star 1963 rcoy 3 time batting champ and two rings as a manager too
It has been published that Hank Aaron, after edging #toycannon Jim Wynn for the NL Home Run title (by 2 HR) in 1967, “declared that Wynn was the "real" Home Run champion due to playing half his games in the (cavernous pitcher-friendly) Astrodome, while Aaron played in the hitter-friendly Fulton County Stadium.” I was at MMP to see the Toy Cannon inducted into the inaugural Astros Hall of Fame class in 2019. He passed away less than a year later. 😢 Wynn was the first truly great Astro. I wear a Jimmy Wynn jersey to most Astros games. 🙏 Thank you for honoring him on this list ❤
Jim Wynn was never the same after his wife stabbed him 1971. Great player though! Morgan would be forgotten/overlooked too had he not been traded to the Reds after the 1971 season.
Sounds just like Aaron. What a gracious man. I grew up listening to the Astros in the late Sixties/ early Seventies, and when they were in a late inning rally, I quietly plea to God that Wynn would make it to the plate. They were tremendously fun to follow, despite their disappointing finishes.
Awesome video. Lots of guys deserving of more recognition...I'd add Dale Murphy, Frank Tanana, Aramis Ramirez, Lou Whitaker, Bret Saberhagen, and Tommy John.
Whitaker and Tanana for sure.
Murphy,Saberhagen, and John weren't underrated.
Saberhagen won 2 Cy Youngs, a gold glove, and was World Series MVP. Hardly underrated. Dale Murphy is a 2X MVP. Clearly not underrated. When it comes to the hall of fame, yes but not overall.
@@Rockhound6165 Ok so isn’t this all about about HOF underrated?
@@1guitar12 no. That isn't the criteria of this video. They're talking about underrated players and Saberhagen and Murphy weren't underrated. Saberhagen, as I said, won many awards but his numbers don't make him hall of fame worthy.
Sid Fernandez was very underrated as pitcher. He allowed a career .209 opponents batting average. He was also a very important part of the Mets rotation from the mid 80s to the early 90s.
Keep in mind future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw also has a career .209 opponents batting average.
Fernandez's career opponents batting average, opponents, and OPS is also better than hall of famers like Greg Maddux.
Sid had great stuff but seemed to have that one bad inning and little run support so the wins were a problem.
Fernandez was tough, but his career ERA+ was 111. You'd have to be around 120 to be considered great. Clayton Kershaw's ERA+ is at 156.
He was also an above average hitter!
Comparing Fernandez’s numbers to Maddux’s is a little apples and oranges.
First, Maddux pitched in a different era. League OPS during his career was .745 and .726 for Fernandez’s.
Second, Maddux pitched longer and therefore are more non-peak seasons which skews their numbers a bit.
For example, Fernandez’s peak was his age 23-29 seasons where his ba/obp/slg/ops against was 207/282/331/614 while Maddux’s age 23-29 seasons produced 229/279/311/580.
Apples. Oranges.
#DonjoSports - You make a great case. Look what it took to get THE GREAT RON SANTO into the hall. There was SO MUCH PRESSURE that I believe the voters were losing credibility...Good post.
Some of my faves include Al Oliver, Bill Madlock, David Cone, Tommy John, Andres Gallaraga, Dan Quisenberry, Willie Wilson, and even J.R.Richard
Oops! Forgot Carney Lansford.
Thanks for the vid...it was awesome. Guy that i think that should be mentioned as well is Al Oliver, Ben Oglivie, Steve Garvey, Dave Parker, Will Clark, Billy Wagner, Magglio Ordonez
To that list I'd add Dwight Evans. Played 20 years, was a great hitter and was considered one of the premier defensive outfielders in his day (8×GG). Ended up with lifetime 67 WAR.
Willie Davis with a war of 60.7 and 2500+ hits should be in the HoF...good call.
Tommy Herr has one of the most amazing stas imo. Drove in 110 runs with only 8 home runs in 1985.
As I watched the video it frustrated me that wasn't mentioned. Herr was an instrumental part of Herzog's Cardinals. The way these guys manufactured runs was awesome.
He made whiteyball click as much as Ozzie, Willie and Vince!
Great choice of Darrell Evans. He had great years with The Braves, Giants and Tigers. He won the AL HR crown with The Tigers in 85, and delivered some great clutch hitting with the powerful 84 world champion Tigers. I enjoyed this video. Very well researched.
Also part of the only trio of teammates to hit 40 homers in the same year. Along with Hank Aaron and Davey Johnson.
@@ROB-xm5fv yes. I remember. 73 Braves?
I offended Darrell in real life once at a huntsville stars game . Haha
There was a time when 400 career home runs was the magic number for the Hall of Fame, which would have qualified Darrell Evans and Dave Kingman, but their low career batting averages (.248 for Evans and .236 for Kingman) made them hard sells for hall of fame voters. I would put names like Dwight Evans and Luis Tiant on lists of under rated players (outside of Boston that is, Boston certainly loves and appreciates El Tiante and Dewey).
Darrell Evans has a small case. Kingman has none. Dwight Evans & Tiant one could make a decent argument for.
Dwight Evans had a career 2.72 batting Average and though Dave Kingman had a 2.36 career batting Average, I still believe they both belong in the HOF and so does Dale Murphy , Al Oliver and Steve Garvey .... the 1981 baseball strike (which to me was a waste of time) hurt alot of ball players like Dwight Evans , Dale Murphy , Dave Kingman , cuz those 55 or so games could of bumped up their career, Evans and Murphy would gotten their 400 homeruns and their hits & batting averages would pumped up their career as well .... Pete Rose that year (1981) would probably had of had one of his best years ever, probably would of amassed more than 210 hits , before the strike that year he was leading the N.L. in hits with 140 in only 108 games , remember also he played in all 162 games in 1980 and in 182, he did it again (162 games) .... again I repeat 1981 MLB strike hurt a few careers, just those 54 games would of been a different story for those few .... let me add also that Luis Tiant with no doubt belongs in the HOF , Unbelievable that El Tiante has almost the exact career numbers as Catfish Hunter and is not enshrined in the hall .... oops I almost forgot about my good friend Vida Blue who I met together with Willie Wilson and Hal McCrae back in 1982 in Yankee Stadium when he was pitching for the K.C. Royals ..... R.I.P. VIDA BLUE 🌟 🙏
So true Steve and Kingman would have reached the 500 home run mark if the owners of MLB did not shut him out if the game
Dwight Evans was a name I kept expecting, but he never came up. Still a good list, though.
@@rafaelramirez1507 Dave Parker belongs. If there was no strike, and he had one or two less injury plagued seasons, he easily reaches 3000 hits. You also can argue, that by playing defense, unlike the DH's who got elected, Parker was the more complete player because he risked injury while playing defense.....AND he was an elite defensive player.
As a boomer and a baseball fanatic since 1960, I have to mention a few oldie/goldies.
Bob Allison was a great hitter who batted 3rd behind Killebrew. Was a great hitter and fielder. Rico Petrocelli was an outstanding SS who had some hitting and fielding records for a while. He played 3rd base in the 75 series and the Reds couldn't get anything past him. Ken Berry was a center fielder for the White Sox and could field as good as anyone and steal bases. I know 1968 was the year of the pitcher, and everyone talks about Gibson and McClain. They were amazing, but check out Luis Tiant's numbers for a 4th place team. Wicked excellent.
Yes! Allison immediately came to my mind too.
Paul Blair is the power hitting, crazy good fielding, outfielder I think of when I hear something about speed, power, and fielding for a Centerfielder.
Jose Cardinal was my 1st autograph. As a young Cubs fan I asked him if he felt weird playing for the Cubs being named 'cardinal'? He signed my book with, "The only Cardinal who Cubs fans cheer for". He instantly became my favorite player. 🤘🏼
Isn't it Jose "Cardenal"? If this is the same one that played for my Indians during my childhood.
And as I recall when I was a kid, the cardinals shouldn't have traded Cardenal, he had a good year, then in the second year, he was traded
I think one of the most underrated players was third baseman Aramis Ramirez. He hit 386 home runs and hit .283 for his career including hitting .300 or better seven times. He also drove in 100 or more runs seven times. Also, his highest strikeout year was only 100. He also had 495 doubles.
As a Cardinals fan, I despised Ramirez. He had a good bat, but the glove was more than suspect as I recall
@@dereklamb4945 Aramis Ramirez's fielding percentage was .952. Mike Schmidt and Ron Santo (two hall of fame third basemen who had many gold gloves) had fielding percentages of .955 and .954, respectively. I realize fielding percentage isn't everything, but his fielding was not "more than suspect".
I agree that Ramirez is underrated. I suspect it probably has a lot to do with the era during which he played.
Ramirez and Giles .. pitt had some Bashers but still stunk
Delgado hit 57 doubles in 2000, not 57 HRs. Still, 41 HRs, 57 doubles, 137 RBIs, a .470 OBP, and a .344 average is unreal. Easily one of the most dominant offensive seasons in MLB history, yet somehow finished 4th in MVP voting.
Dave Steib, pitcher for Toronto, IMHO, a borderline HOFer
Kent Hrbek, 1b for Minnesota, a great player
Tim Wallach, 3b, mostly Montreal, overlooked on those good Montreal teams from the 1980s
Lou Whitaker, 2b, Detroit
A more recent player: Nick Markakis, a very good OF for nearly all of his career with Baltimore, only one all star game, but not with Baltimore
Tony Phillips got the " utility player " label, hence the lack of HOF votes
Love that you brought up Steib…if he had turned those 1 hitters into no hitters, he’d be in the hall today without a doubt!
I Agree More with your list!!! Dave STeib Definitely got Shafted!
Hrbek was my favorite growing up
@@chrisv791 his teammates despised him. They would laugh out loud when he lost his no-hitters
I gotta put Atlanta's Dale Murphy in there. From 1982 to 1988, he was surely one of the most feared sluggers in the National League during those 7 seasons that included back to back MVP awards in '82' and '83', and was runner-up for the award in 1987 finishing second behind Chicago's Andre Dawson.
Lofton & Delgado should be in the hall of fame
100%
Damn right
@@HummBabyBaseball another underrated guy is Reggie Sanders. You mentioned him in the video, as a member of the 300 HR/300 SB club along with Bobby Bonds, yet even you left him off this list despite him only ever getting 1 all star nod. How's that for under appreciated? Lol
No doubt!!
lofton 100% delgado has an argument but i don't think he could be a shoe in
Great video. Being an Astro's fan, glad to see Staub and Cruz on your list. I liked the stat for Staub that he reached base more often than Tony Gwynn.
Staub treated me so poorly at a golf tournament I was working 30 years ago that whe he barked at me to "put this case of wine in a cool place" I switched out his expensive wine with the cheapest 12 bottles of wine I could find and gave it to the waitresses who had to suffer dealing with that guy at the dinner after the tournament
I wonder how far away Staub got before he saw his wine had been switched out
What about Cesar Cedeno and J.R. Richard.
@@williamgullett5911 To bad he was a jerk too you at least on that day. Still a good ball player.
The hardest ball I ever saw hit was by Cedeno. Line drive HR to left in the Dome. Got out in about two seconds. @@waynejohanson1083
Absolutely your best video! I am actually briefly in this video, a teenage clubhouse boy with the Astros with your mention of Jose Cruz. Cruz was quiet in public but a riot in the clubhouse. You might consider doing a video of the division champions with the lowest output of homers. You will see that Jose Cruz led the 1980 NL West Champion Astros with 12 homers. But the Phillies just did everything they could to pitch around him in the 1980 season - without much success!
Your TOP-25 gets no disagreement from me, with Darrell Evans being way atop the list. If you could have had another five players, you might have added Omar Vizquel (2,877 hits), Dwight Evans, Mike Easler - (seriously, check his numbers!) Tim Raines(!) and Lou Whitaker (retired with a 75.4 WAR)
Very good choices and I'm impressed with your baseball knowledge and choice of five Expos. One more, please: Al Oliver!
Random anecdote...my dad was a diehard Cardinals fan, the kind of guy who would watch the transistor radio when the games were on. He was also known for his sly humor. One day in the mid 80s, we were toodlin' down the road when we passed by a bright red cardinal sitting on a fence. And I say, ooh, was that Ozzie or Vince? Without missing a beat, he says if it weren't so red, coulda been Herr. Hilarious. Thanks for the great video on our unsung heroes of the sport!
Great list! As a lifelong Yankee fan I appreciate the respect you gave to Willie Randolph and Graig Nettles. One guy who should be in the Hall and on this list is Dwight Evans. Elite defender, consistent power, 127 OPS+, 67.2 WAR, and a thorn in my Yankees’ side for 20 years.
Lymon Bostock career was cut short by a senseless murder in 1978, but what a career he was having!
Sad thing is we will never know how is career would have turned out.
Ron Leflore. Felipe Alou. Billy Pierce. Harvey Kuenn. Joe Adcock. Vada Pinson.Dick Stuart. Mike Cuellar. Tommy Davis. Bob Friend. Gil Hodges. Andres Gallaraga. Chris Chambliss. Bernie Williams.
Also to be included:
- Rick Reuschel won 214 games and accumulated 69 career WAR
- Frank Tanana won 240 games and accumulated 57 career WAR
- Reggie Smith hit 314 HRs and accumulated 64 career WAR
- Bill Freehan hit 200 HRs as a catcher and accumulated 44 career WAR
And for a future list, I'm already including:
- Marcus Semien, Matt Chapman, and Xander Bogarets
These guys are all solid players right now but still don't get the respect that they deserve and probably never will after they retire.
Not to mention that Reggie Smith had a cannon for an arm.
I wonder if Bill Freehan might get some HOF consideration once Yadi Molina gets in. His Baseball Reference page is ridiculous. I think catchers in general don’t get enough respect considering all their responsibilities.
@@dfuller81It should be both Bill Freehan & Mickey Lolich together. They hold the record for longest pitcher/catcher battery combination ever & Lolich's career stats are almost identical to Jim Katt who was just voted in
@@Rockhound6165As a kid, visiting my grandparents, I saw Reggie throw a ball over Yeager's head. He wasn't that far from the warning track. I figure he threw it about 90 yards. Rick Reuschel combined with his brother Paul to throw a no hitter.
I remember always watching Carlos Delgado crush homeruns on SportsCenter year in and year out.
Your placement of Evans at #1 is spot-on.
Matt Williams is most underrated player, hit 375 homeruns, and multiple golden gloves, was not for 94 , he would hit 60 plus home runs.
Juan "Going Going" González...434 hr's / 2 Mvp's / 1,404 Rbi's / 1,936 Hits / in 1998 - 50 doubles - 45 hr's 157 rbi's - .318 avg. --- 12 full sea. or less...WOW !!!!
Lived in Houston in ‘87 and ‘88. Jose Cruz was absolutely beloved by Astros fans at the time and had the best intro.
I would love to add Bill Buckner to this list. Career 289 hitter 2715 Hits
Not to mention batting champion in 1980.
Absurdly remembered for not making what was actually a fairly difficult play in a game the Mets had already tied and were going to win anyway.
@@paulevans6403 Mets fan?
Tony Fernandez deserves some consideration, 17 yrs career, 2276 hits, 4 gold gloves, 2 WS rings, .288 BA. Much better numbers overall than many hall of famers. "Cabeza" was better than good. RIP.-
How about Frank Viola? I’m not sure he had quite the hall career but he was pretty good!
Good Call
great video. nice list. i always felt bob hoerner, jack clark and even tho some give fred lynn and Dwight evans or especially darrell evans the credit i feel they r underappreciated as well... there r so many more.
Bob Allison , Bill Freehan, Jimmy Wynn , Norm Cash , Bobby Grich , Rusty Staub , Tommy John , Lou Whitaker , Sam McDowell, Rick Wise and Mickey Lolich have Hall of Fame credentials.
Also some pitchers I would include: Brett Saberhagen, David Cone and some more hitters: Daryl Strawberry, Troy Glaus, and Ronnie Gant
Daryl Strawberry is overrated, not underrated.
I grew up in the 80's, I haven't heard some of those names in so long. I've always been a huge Yankees fan so Willie Randolph is a legend to me. But I always liked Darrell Evans when he was in Detroit. I'm a lefty so I loved his straight up batting stance, I copied it in little league. But you forgot in my opinion the most underrated player in my opinion. Tommy John. He made a couple of all star teams, won some rings, won 20 games multiple times, has a freaking surgery named after him. And won like 280ish games. No hall of fame. What the "F" !!!!!!!!. And most of all, one of the GOOD guys. Just a super human being. Met him twine, just a fantastic guy. Thanks for the video, really enjoyed it. For the love of the game, get TJ some love ❤ Tommy John, "My Man" !!!!!!
I was in attendance for Willie Randolph’s first hit ⚾️
I have been lobbying for Kenny Lofton for the Hall of Fame for years. I think he got overlooked by being on such star-studded teams (Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Omar Vizquel, etc). Read the comments of opposing managers during his long prime. They all said, "Lofton has more impact on the game". He could beat you with his bat, glove, on the basepaths, etc. An "on base % better than George Brett" says it all.
Your forgot to mention Albert Belle. That Indians team sure could hit, too bad the pitching was horrible.
Al Oliver & Vada Pinson
Came here to mention Al Oliver. Pinson is right there too.
I was going to mention Al Oliver .
Great video, brought back a ton of memories. I have comments on so many of the players but I'll just say this. I played as Darrell Evans and the Tigers on RBI baseball on the NES as a kid and that man was an absolute monster, Haven't thought about that or him in years, thank you for the trip down memory lane!
Killer vid, as always! I was taken by surprised when Jack Clark, Gary Maddux and Devon White didn't make an appearance.
@@littleblackduck3134 Was it 8? My gosh...that's some interesting research...most Gold Gloves not in HOF. 8 GG's should be enough!!
@@JunkYardCardGuy Omar Vizquel had 11.
@@big8dog887This is why I HATE that so much weight and emphasis is attributed to sexy #'s like HR's and RBI's (those are both nice, of course), but, once upon a time, you had a Rusty Staub, or Mark Carreon who accumulated 0.3 or 0.5 WAR, but were considered to be EXTREMELY dangerous in those late game situations...they could come in at any time, and when they were seen headed out to the circle, the defense would have to juggle their priorities, baserunners like Henderson or Coleman could start dancing between bases, because they were incredible contact hitters, yet, PH's can't even sniff the HOF, despite grabbing a bat, in some of the scariest, "we HAVE to have big hit, or a perfect bunt" situations...Francisco Cabrera and Sid friggin Breem are the most hilarious example.
...WAR is an utterly ridiculous and meaningless statistic.
No one remembers Olerud’s pop (John Sr.) as a player, but especially for telling the late, great Jimbo Bouton to drill a batter in “Ball Four.” True to his character, Bouton refused because he didn’t wanna risk ruining a guy’s career who’d not done a thing to him. 🤷♂️
Bret Butler's game reminds me a lot of Ichiro's. Butler was a great leadoff hitter and centerfielder. He is definitely underrated.
At Dodger stadium in the late 70's or early 80's, Jose Cruz hit a foul ball down the right field line that is still the hardest hit ball Ive ever seen. An absolute laser beam that exploded off the seats in front of me and sounded like a gun shot.
Dwight Evans. 8 gold gloves and led the AL in homers during the 80s. Also, he had a cannon for an arm, no one ran on him
Man there are so many more players that could be on this list: Mark Grace, Eric Davis, Mark Langston, Andy Van Slyke, etc, etc. Could be a top 100 list
Van Slyke and Tommy Herr.
Tim Hudson was highly underrated pitcher. 222-133 career record and 3.22 ERA. A true modern day workhorse
If he retired today, with those numbers, he'd probably get in. Halladay was only slightly better.
Awesome list!! Enjoyed the video very much, I remember watching most of these players as a young kid, and teen, I totally agree with your list, and the one that shocked me the most, was Tommy Herr, to watch him play at 2nd base, and Ozzie at short, was magic back in the 80s, Graig Nettles, would be in my top 5 3rd baseman of all time as well, thanks for list and the video, keep them coming!!..👍👍👍👍👍
Watched the whole video, just to see my boy Jose Cruz! Loved that guy
Gamer. Never got hurt and produced every year
Great video. Here are some other players that should be considered.
Willie Wilson
Larry Bowa
Frank Tanana
Roy Oswalt
Mickey Lolich
Bill Freehan
Luis Tiant
Vada Pinson
Cecil Cooper
Chili Davis
Juan Pierre
Vida Blue
Chuck Finley
George Foster
Could also add AL Oliver, Mark Grace, Chet Lemon, Miguel Tejada, Jason Kendall & Dave Conception.
#josecruz was my favorite player when I was a kid growing up in Houston. Thanks for recognizing his talent #hummbaby
This is such a great video! I appreciate the effort it took to make it. This is exactly the type of videos I like..well done. These are exactly the type of players I think are underrated.
Rusty Staub was a hall of fame player!
100%
Agreed! One of my favorite mets ever. Almost 3k hits. Rusty should be in the HOF!!!
@davidl5037 Here is my Staub story.
I worked in Port St Lucie at a golf course the Mets played in spring training. The coaches and players mostly...Darling...McDowell...Myers...etc.
We had a golf tournament at the end of spring training in 1989. I worked there. Staub pulls up in his car. I am from Detroit and watched him play those years. I saw him get out of his car and I went over to get his clubs out of the trunk of his car. I wasn't going to spend much time but wanted to let Staub know I was from Detroit and enjoyed watching him play. He got short with me and interrupted me. I nicely said he had been my favorite Tiger(he wasnt). He shut me down again and was even more unkind. So...I decided to mock him.
I said "I think my favorite play you ever made was in the 1976 all star game when you started in RF and how you played Steve Garveys single to RF". Staub glared at me. In 76 Staub hadn't played one game in RF(he was DH for Detroit). Yet he was voted to start.
Garvey in the first inning of that game, and the reason Staub glared at me, hit a single to Staub in RF...and Staub fell down and Garvey made it to 3rd.
Staub knew that I had just told him that his falling down in front of everyone in an All Star game was my favorite play. He barked at me to "put this case of wine in a cool place". It was in his car and would have gone bad in that heat. Staub was a chef in NYC and had an expensive case of wine. I took his wine and put it in a cool place.
After the tournament at the dinner a waitresses was off to the side crying. A couple other waitresses were trying to calm her down. I walked up to them and asked what happened. One waitre told me that "the big red headed jackass was giving the staff a hard time and had been especially unkind to the one crying.
That was it for me.
I went to the local liquor store and bought the cheapest 12 bottles of wine I could find and replaced Staubs wine with the cheap stuff I just bought.
At the end of the night Staub barked at me to " go get my wine and put it in my car". I took Staubs keys and said "yes sir".
I wonder how far away Staub got before he saw the wine he had after that dinner. I gave every bottle away to the staff that had to suffer that guy.
@williamgullett5911 That sucks, man. Sorry to hear that. I never met him, but hopefully he was just having a bad day. He always seemed like a friendly guy and was very charitable. He was always well liked by the fans in NY and Montreal.
As a kid in ‘61 or ‘62, I saw him a lot as a $100K, 18 year old “bonus baby” playing for the Class A Durham Bulls in the Houston organization. A first baseman with a sweet swing.
Great job and I think you hit many on your list on the the nail head. You obviously did your research as well as considered generally overlooked stats and contributions of these great players on your list. It was an extensive list for sure but worth the time spent in celebrating players that were terribly underrated and missed when it was award time during their careers. I’m sure these players appreciate you for the recognition after careers and their efforts in playing the game. I enjoyed this presentation….please..carry on.
Steve Rogers on a hitting team wouldve been easily a 250 win pitcher...
Excellent job on this list...cant disagree with any of these players or think of any left off the list...
Great calls also on Cardenal, Herr, Giles, Wynn and Cruz...
Some of my favorite Ballplayers...
Did their jobs...
*Well researched. Great job man!*
Good list. Glad you included Frank White and Jose Cruz. Those are two players I thought the world of watching baseball in the 1980s. Two names I thought could be included on a future list: Bill Madlock and Dave Parker. Also, the only piece of info I disagreed with was when you said Bobby Abreu played "elite" defense. I always thought he was mediocre in the field...at best. Good hitter though.
Second basemen seem to get cheated in the Hall of Fame vote. Look at this list: White, Grich and Randolph.
Abreu was always afraid of the wall
When I was playing little league in the mid-late 70s, any hot dog play,
or trying to make a routine/good catch look difficult or heroic, it was called a Rusty Staub.
As I watched and you named many of the names I thought of, I expected number one to be Reggie Smith or maybe Buddy Bell but Evans is indeed the best choice. The other Evans would have been acceptable too. And special props to you from this Cardinals fan for including Tommy Herr; most people outside Cardinals Country wouldn't be so fair-minded as to include him at all. Well done.
As a HUGE fan of baseball in the 70's & 80's I was also expecting Reggie Smith and for sure Buddy Bell! Even though Brooks Robinson (got to meet him 🙂) got the gold glove almost automatically, most fans knew Bell was a better fielder some of those years towards the end of Brooks career imho.
Must say, I was shocked when you got to #1 and it wasn’t Maury Wills…
The man literally changed the game, was the offensive engine on three World Series winners, yet was repeatedly snubbed by HOF voters.
@rickg1976 You are 100% correct about Maury Wills. My younger brother & I both grew up appreciating how Maury Wills changed the game & are infuriated that he isn't in the HOF.
Jim Hickman
How did he change the game?
How about 313 as a rookie followed by leading NL next 2 years at 354 & 339 ? Then 5 years later he had a run of 341 319 323 leading the league 2 more times. Bill Madlock. Cubs traded him to SF. Then he became a big part of the 79 Pirates Champion Lumber Company. Also we never left the Tv during a Dave Kingman or Greg Luzinski at-bat (unlike Harold Baines).
Bill deserves much love. Great hitter.
Willie Wilson deserves some recognition.
Had NO idea Willie Davis had over 2500 hits! He was overshadowed by his brother Tommy who led the league in hitting twice I believe
David Segui, look up his stats and you start to remember how hard of an out he was. 6x .300+ average. I hope one of these players watches this so they can recognize that we know and are aware that they are underrated. Glad to see Tommy Herr, Rusty Staub, and Willie Randolph on here 🥰
What happened
no one cares about average
You got me on two of the players. Great list. I don't know if he belongs on the list, but Dave Concepción was one of my favorite player's when I was younger.
Great video I enjoyed it!
Thank you Steven!
This is a really great and amazing video because it's easy to find the same old stuff about the superstars on the internet but doing a video like this requires real work. I also love that it began with Rusty Staub. He was my favorite. I saw him play in the Astrodome the year he got traded to Montreal from Houston. As a New Yorker and Mets fan I got to see him on two tours of duty for the Mets. Just to give you an idea of how dedicated he was to giving his all, he almost always led the Mets if not the league in getting hit by a pitch, including one which broke his wrist. In the 1973 NLCS as right fielder he made a game-saving extra inning catch running into the right-field wall. This separated his shoulder and this incident/injury became the reason that major league ballparks began to cushion their outfield walls. Off-the-field this redhead was loved in Montreal where he was learning to speak French for the fans and became known as Le Grand Orange, the big orange one. He created his own foundation and was committed to supporting charities. Later in his career when he became a pinch-hitter every Met fan smiled when he came into the game knowing we're still in it with Rusty at bat. He is sorely missed.
Cheo Cruz! My all time favorite Astro.
Let's not forget Al Oliver...hit .303 with over 2,700 hits in his career. No idea why he isn't in, other than maybe a subpar OBP
Kenny Lofton was a HOF culero, thats why he was not given more of a thought for Cooperstown. He was downright surly with the media.
They say the same with Lou Whitaker, that he wasn't so Sweet to them. Which still isn't right that he didn't even stay on the ballot for more than one year. Ridiculous!
that's the reality of the hall of fame and the sporting media in general. If you're not nice to them they're very vindictive
Great list, great video. I probably would have added Evan's teammates Whitaker on the list somewhere probably personal bias. Thank for the vid.
How in gods name did Tim Salmon not make an All-star team?
Of course it's hard to remember every All Star game, so it stunned me to realise that nope, he never played in one.
>21:04 Jose Cruz #25 Houston Astros and #25 with Leones del Ponce in PP winter league.
Kenny Lofton was the best centerfielder in baseball not named Ken Griffey Jr. in the 1990s. It was an absolute disgrace that he was removed from the HoF ballot after only one year. Part of that was the bad luck of timing in that there were a lot of good players on the ballot, but many of them had steroid questions. That lead some voters to fill out blank or nearly blank protest ballots. Despite playing in six fewer seasons, Lofton's career numbers are very similar to Tim Raines (who spent 10 years on the ballot before being elected in 2017) while playing better defense. In Lofton's only year on the ballot, he got 3.2% of the vote, while Raines received 52.2% that same year. Hopefully the Veteran's Committee will correct this injustice and select Lofton to the Hall some day.
I lived in Seattle my whole life… & we hated the Indians due to 95’ AL playoffs lol, but even having Griffey… I for some reason always loved Lofton.
Another one from that team that no one likes to talk about, Albert Belle. His stat line from 94 to 99, is insane. He hit for power, drove in runs, hit for .300 and could get on base. I know he earned All Stars and Silver Sluggers but him not winning MVP is a travesty.
Bernie Williams was the second best CF in baseball after Griffey in the 90s.
Compare the stats, it's not even close.
@@joeinreallife6293 Bernie was good but he was more of an offensive guy. Lofton didn't have the HRs or RBIs but he was far better defensively, stolen bases and was good at getting runs
@@joeinreallife6293 I did and they actually are very close, nearly identical is some cases. Both played exactly 1096 games with Kenny outhitting Bernie 1356 to 1298. Slash lines of .310/.384/.429 for Lofton and .304/.389/.487 for Williams. The difference is power vs. speed (and that is basically preference for what you want as Lofton hit leadoff and Williams was in the middle of the order, hence a big difference in RBI totals of 412 and 681). Lofton had 433 steals to Williams' 106, while Bernie had the power edge 151 HRs to 63. Lofton had four Gold Gloves to Williams' three, with Bernie not getting his first until Lofton was traded to the National League for the 1997 season. I'm not a big WAR fan, but Lofton comes out on top thanks to a huge edge defensively, while they are comparable on offense. Overall, it probably comes down to what you want out of your centerfielder, but thanks to his game changing speed and superior defense, I'll take Kenny Lofton every time.
Darrell Evans may be underrated but let's be real in that his stats are mostly due to his longevity. He's a .248 career hitter, averaging 20 home runs and about 65 RBIs per year. OPS+ for his career is 119 - very good but not elite. Never hit better than .277 and made 2 All Star game. His career WAR is 58.7, again very respectable but only good for 210th (sandwiched by Brett Saberhagen and Sammy Sosa, neither of who sniffed the HOF). Evans' legacy is as a good, solid player who played for a damn long time.