Overrated players are in every sport. Whether it’s because a player had a few years of amazing numbers, longevity, or simply people just like them some players are way overvalued. Major League Baseball has seen more than its fair share themselves.
This list will go over The 15 Most Overrated Players in MLB History.
Bill Mazeroski
Mazeroski should be the poster boy for players in Cooperstown who just don’t belong. I understand that he was an amazing defender but can we really look past a .667 career OPS? If we want to use the Gold Glove argument, why isn’t a player like Frank White also in the Hall with almost identical numbers to Mazeroski?
Bo Jackson
Jackson was an amazing athlete on the diamond but a lot of the hype surrounding Bo was because he was a two-sport athlete. He spent just eight years in the bigs between the 80s and 90s and had a decent career yet I bet that almost every MLB fan born in the early 2000s has seen videos about him.
Derek Jeter
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This list has been immediately denounced by every Yankees fan. Jeter mainly makes this list because with a -9.4 defensive WAR, Jeter collected five Gold Glove awards. That’s just absolutely ridiculous. A liability on defense was praised and rewarded for no reason.
Catfish Hunter
Hunter certainly had himself a good career but in no world should he be sitting in the Hall of Fame. Not once did he ever lead MLB in any major statistical category except WHIP in 1974 and 1975. I’m not even sure he deserved the 1974 Cy Young as he just narrowly beat Fergie Jenkins.
Bruce Sutter
Sutter was certainly an amazing closer as he finished with 300 career saves. Unfortunately, there’s no way people can consider him a top closer of all time anymore. He’s currently tied for 30th all-time in saves with players like Aroldis Chapman getting further away from him.
Lloyd Waner
Warner finished his career with a -2.1 defensive WAR so his offensive performance must have been amazing for him to be in the Hall of Fame. He had a career OPS of just .787 and only hit 27 home runs in his 18-year career. Pretty mind-boggling that he’s in Cooperstown.
Harold Baines
The only explanation for why Baines is considered an all-time great is longevity because he really wasn’t that amazing. He only had six All-Star appearances and one Silver Slugger. If someone like Baines made it to the Hall of Fame then a player like Nelson Cruz should be a first ballot inductee.
Alfonso Soriano
Other than 2002 Soriano never really did much, Even then it wasn’t that amazing and he still finished third in MVP voting. Only once in his career did he have a season with an OPS over .900. He was pretty consistently average though so if that’s what you’re into Alfonso is gonna be your man.
Jason Giambi
For a good stretch in the early 2000s, Jason Giambi was an offensive powerhouse and even won MVP in 2000. There’s been a few players on this list bashed for their bad defense and Giambi should be at the forefront of that. His 20 seasons ended with a -19.7 defensive WAR. That is historically bad and cannot be overlooked.
Curt Schilling
Schilling is another example that longevity severely impairs how people think of baseball players. He had a lengthy 20-year career There’s a strong push to get him into Cooperstown but without a Cy Young and only six All-Star appearances, it just shouldn’t happen. Also other than innings pitched he never led the MLB in anything major statistics.
Dante Bichette
If his son Bo wasn’t in the MLB then we could never talk about Dante’s impact on MLB ever again and it wouldn’t matter. Four All-Stars and one Silver Slugger are impressive but he didn’t change the game. His 274 career home runs are also probably inflated as he played seven years in Colorado.
Lou Brock
Before Rickey Henderson, Brock was the kind of stealing bases. Brock sits second in career stolen bases now but it’s a stat that doesn’t feel as important for Flour because he wasn’t able to convert them into runs. That of course isn’t all his fault but he was necessarily great at hitting or fielding either.
Roger Maris
Maris is a player that most MLB fans have heard of even though his career ended in 1968. Other than 2 seasons in 1960 and 1961 Maris had a very average career. Other than those two years his OPS never got over .900 and he never got over 30 home runs.
Ryan Braun
If you know baseball you know Braun had a career tainted because of steroid use. Even with that being said he wasn’t some all-time great that should still be getting attention for his playing days. He was pretty horrible at defense and without juicing his offense took major hits in performance.
Andrew McCutchen
McCutchen is a funny case because he was so well known for his ability to make plays in the outfield with his speed and good offensive bat. Turns out he has a -8.7 defensive WAR and -77 defensive runs saved above average. He’s actually also only had three seasons with an OPS above .900.
