The Overrated and Unappreciated

Athletes come in all different shapes, sizes, and ethnicities, but all athletes can be boiled down to a few types of players. There are the nice players; or the ones who contribute positively to their team's success. Yet despite all their positive contributions, they get overshadowed buy athletes with bigger names and usually much larger salaries. Managers would take a couple of these guys over some of the big named guys who are under appreciated. On the other side of the spectrum, there are the bad players. These athletes are usually over payed and under productive, have the wrong mindset to be at a professional level, or they have some kind of untapped potential that they should reach, but cannot. Today is a time to reflect on the five surprisingly good and five horribly bad that major league baseball has to offer.

Coming in at Number 5  for the most overrated players in Baseball: Matt Kemp Los Angeles Dodgers

LA is known for Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and the sports franchises that blanket the city. But Matt Kemp is a typical example of a player who gets too much attention because he plays for an LA team. Before this year, Kemp's career averages look something like this: .286 batting average, 17 home runs, and 66 runs batted in. The batting average is respectable, but the home runs are pedestrian and the runs batted in are nothing special. Despite this, most of the talking heads are considering him an MVP candidate for the national league. Last time I checked, the Dodgers were eleven games under .500 and 12.5 games back of the San Francisco Giants for first place in their division. The Dodgers chances to make the playoffs this year is extremely small and his numbers are not as jaw dropping as  Alex Rodriguez's were when he was with the Texas Rangers once upon a time. Kemp is having a very good year, let us see if he can keep this up for multiple seasons in a row.

The number 5 most underrated players in Baseball today: Ben Zobrist of the Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays don't have many house hold names, but one on the rise is Ben Zobrist. Early in his career, Zobrist did not play a whole lot and did not stick in one particular position. But when the Tampa Bay Rays went to the World Series in 2008, the production they got from Zobrist was a big reason why. Zobrist has only been a regular in the Rays lineup for two years, but during that two year stretch Zobrist has a .268 average with 19 homers and 83 runs batted in. Unlike Kemp the batting average is lower than it should be, but the homers are solid and 80 or more runs batted in are what a typical number five hitter should be producing for his team. But Zobrist does not hit fifth for the Rays, for he hits second due to his ability to drive runs in. 83 runs batted in from the number 2 hitter in a lineup? Pretty solid if you as me.

Back to the bad. The number 4 most overrated player in baseball: Nick Swisher of the New York Yankees

Nick Swisher has been regarded as one of the nicest players in the game of baseball and his presence does boost team chemistry. But in terms of his production, Swisher has not been nearly as good as the media likes to make them seem. Swisher does have good home runs and run batted in numbers in his career, but he has only once hit above .280 in his career. In fact, Swisher has only hit above .260 twice in eight seasons. The strikeouts for swisher have been piling up as well. The Yankees right fielder has a season average of 115 strikeouts per year. And every year in his career, except for two, swisher has had more strikeouts in a season than he had hits. Swisher is a solid player who is good for team chemisrty, but all of the hype Swisher has gotten as a stud on the Yankees is misplaced.

Number 4 most underrated player in MLB: Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals

For those who would have ever seen Ryan Zimmerman play, he would be regarded as one of the five best third baseman in baseball. For the majority of the casual fans who have not heard of Zimmerman, it is because he has been on one of the worst teams in baseball over the course of his career. Still,  Zimmerman's numbers have been some of the better ones offensively. Invader Zim has a .287 batting average with 23 dingers, 89 runs batted in and two career silver slugger awards. Zimmerman has been sound on the defensive side of the field as well, for the Nationals third baseman won a gold glove in 2009. But alas, as long as the Washington Nationals remain in mediocrity, Zimmerman's very good play will continue to go unnoticed.

Batting 3rd for team Overrated: Yadier Molina of the Saint Louis Cardinals.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this photograph accurately describes Yadier's offensive capabilities as a whole. The youngest Molina brother is easily the worst out of the three with a bat in his hands; and he has been one of the most inept offensive catchers in the league. In Molina's best year offensively his numbers were .304 with Seven home runs and 56 runs batted in. If Molina did not win three gold gloves as a catcher, he would be riding a minor league bus somewhere until he learned how to hit. Yet despite his offensive flaws, Molina has been voted to the last three all star games. He consistently beats out guys like the Cubs Giovanni Soto, Giants backstop Buster Posey, and Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz in the fan vote because Baseball Tonight plays the most popular game on ESPN called 'Name that Molina'. If he were not related to Bengie and Jose, Molina would just be regarded as a slow catcher who cannot hit.

Number 3 most underrated player: Chase Utley of the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Phillies second baseman in baseball has not received much appreciation from the city of brotherly love, or from many others for that matter. Chase Utley has been the best second baseman in baseball for the latter half of the 2000-2010 decade, period the end. Utley's numbers are star worthy to say the least. A .292 batting average with 28 home runs and 103 runs batted in over the course of his career has been proof of how good he really is. Add one world series ring into his trophy case and you have a radiant superstar right? Nope. Utley's name has frequently overshadowed by names such as Dustin Pedroia and Robinson Cano in recent years. Pedroia won an MVP in 2008 with a .326 average 17 homers and 83 RBI's. In the same year, other than batting average, Utley's numbers were way better than Pedroia (33 homers 104 RBIs). And Cano has only had one year, last year, when his numbers were better than Utley's. Cano may pass Utley in terms of skill one day, but that time has not come yet. So Utley can continue to be quietly dominant.

Number 2 most overrated player: Hunter Pence Houston Astros.

The Houston Astros are the worst team in baseball by far, and part of this reason is because they rely on fake stars such as Hunter Pence. Pence doesn't hustle, doesn't play any form of defense, and strikes out a great deal. Pence has only struck out less than 100 times once in 2007, and he got punched out 95 times in the 07 season. Yet somehow, Pence has been an all star twice in his career. The reason for this is because every team is required to send a representative to the All Star game, but that is a separate issue. The only thing that keeps Pence is a relevant player in the fact that he has been solid offensively for his career. Pence's career line is .292 with 25 homers and 91 Runs batted in. But those numbers can be accurately described as a career year for a team's number 7 hitter, Pence hits 3rd for the Astros with the productivity of a number 7 hitter. The Astros stink and Pence is an awful of anti-perspirant.

Coming in at number 2 for team underrated: Michael Young of the Texas Rangers.

 Michael Young has been a Texas Ranger for 12 years, and at times during those years, the Rangers have appreciated Young as less as the casual fan does. But offensively Young has been one of the best players that nobody is talking about . Michael Young has kept the hits on coming, for he has averaged 199 hits per season over the course of his career. Couple those awesome hit totals with a .301 career batting average, 17 homers and 88 runs batted in on a yearly basis, you have a house hold name right? Try again Texas. Throughout the course of his career, Young has been overshadowed by superstar steroid users such as Rafael Palmeiro, Juan Gonzalez, and Alex Rodriguez. And when the time came for young to step into the spotlight, management had him change positions about as much as a regular people changer their socks. And not once has Young complained about being tossed from position to position like a hot potato. His numbers have only been overshadowed by his character, either way he deserves more stardom than he gets.

Now for the big ones, the most overrated and underrated players in the game of baseball.

The number 1 most overrated player in baseball: Jayson Werth of the Washington Nationals

Jayson Werth was signed in the off season by the Washington Nationals to a contract that will pay him 126 million dollars over the course of seven years. And his numbers have not been able to generate anywhere near that kind of money. Werth has a mediocre career line, for his average is .265 with 24 home runs and 82 runs batted in. Plus Werth's strikeout totals have gone up every time he has had a career year. Look at his best year in 2009. Yes Werth hit 36 homers and drove in 99 RBI's, but he also punched out 156 times. Those numbers simply do not justify the kind of contract that the Nationals gave him. It's normal for big market teams such as the Yankees and Red Sox to overpay for bad players, but when a team such as inept as the Nationals are willing to spend so much money on a player who was supposed to turn around their team.

And now the final piece of bread on this Baseball player sandwich

Number 1 most underrated player in the game: Brian McCann of the Atlanta Braves

Where to begin with the Braves catcher? For starters Brian McCann has been elected to six all star teams and has won four silver sluggers during his seven year career. McCann's career line has been outstanding: the Brave's backstop has a .291 batting average with 25 homers and 101 runs batted in over the course of his career. So with all of these accolades and awards, how is a guy like A.J Pierzynski more well known across the majors than the best catcher in baseball? The simple answer is the fact that the Braves have not made the playoffs since 2005, the same year Pierzynski's White Sox won their first World Series in 87 years. With a tough division year in and year out, the fighting Ted Turners have not always been able to surround their players with the most talent. But Brian McCann has been a great find for the Braves, and seems to be well on his way to another great year this year.

There are all different kinds of players, but the most fun to talk about are the guys who do not get enough credit for what goes right, and who didn't play well enough when everything goes wrong.