The two third basemen in recent years whove seemed poised to join Nettles, Evans and company in underrated purgatoryare Adrian Beltre and Scott Rolen. He reminds me a bit of Reggie Smith, another eternally underrated outfielder. To qualify for the All-Underrated Team, a player must have: Zero All-Star selections In 1978, he finished third in the AL MVP voting behind the Yankees' Ron Guidry and the eventual winner, Boston's Jim Rice. Career Stats: 399 G (393 GS); 158-152; 3.17 ERA; 1.23 WHIP; 2,837 IP; 2,619 H; 1.85 K/BB. While his power numbers increased in each of his four seasons with the Tigers, from four home runs in 1974 to 21 round-trippers in 1977, Oglivie still wasn't given a chance to start everyday. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Stay in the know about the latest sports card, hobby news, and promotions from Beckett. Thanks for another fun article. Career Stats: 1,311 G; .280/.345/.355; 35 HR; 392 RBI; 123-for-168 SB. The 1998 Bowman card above is one of 10 different Rookie Cards in his database. A fiery player with a live arm, Larry Bowa was a five-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove Award winner with the Philadelphia Phillies, a team with whom he'd spend 11 years of his 15-year major league career as a player. I also count him as one of the few players 25 and under who already hasa shot at Cooperstown. Phillies: Most underrated players of the 2000s - That Balls Outta Here Youre correct. Copyright 2023, Beckett Collectibles, LLC. His batting average fell 64 points (from .289 to .225) and his OPS dropped 79 points (from .863 to .784), yet his average exit velocity (91 mph), hard-hit percentage (46.7 percent), expected SLG (.542) and barrel percentage (16 percent) were all excellent, and his 7.9 percent walk rate was the best of his career. Heywardturned 25 on August 9, and to a frustrated Bravesfan, their right fielderhasstruggledsince finishing runner-up in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2010. Career Stats: 1,190 G; .256/.346/.317; 14 HR; 254 RBI; 821 H; 339 R; 35-for-68 SB. Michael Finley 3. Read our. In 1181 total games in a Blue Jays uniform, Bell slashed .286/.325/.486 with 202 homers and 740 RBI. But enough procrastinating. That's the beauty of sportsnobody watches a game the same way. Before Clayton Kershaw arrived on the scene, it was Billingsley who was on his way to becoming a homegrown ace for the Dodgers after the team selected him 24th in the 2003 draft. Theres also Buddy Bell, Ron Santo, Ken Boyer and a range of other third basemen who hit respectably and offered superb, if under-appreciated, defensive value. Owner of 11 Gold Glove awards, including nine straight from 1993 through 2001, Vizquel only made three All-Star games, due primarily to the fact that he's been overshadowed by those who were more offensively gifted. Missed the first three parts of this series? He was also an excellent fielder who held multiple fielding records at the time of his retirement that have since been passed. Career Stats: 1,847 G; .291/.400/.502; 287 HR; 1,078 RBI; 1,897 H; 1,121 R; 109-for-154 SB. Throw in four seasons of at least 100 RBI, and you've got yourself a pretty complete player. However, lefties Jeremy Affeldt and Lopez were also integral members of the relief corps. It was an era in baseball defined by power. While Abbott wasn't an elite pitcher, the fact that he lasted a decade in major league baseball with only one hand is truly a remarkable featand it's a shame that future generations will view him only as an oddity and not as the inspirational figure he truly isif they notice him at all. Hornsby fell one homer short of doing it twice. All told, he racked up 60.4 WAR in 17 seasons with 393 home runs and 1,199 RBI. So why was Guillen underrated or unappreciated?