Sun Jun 07, 2015 12:01 am
Here we go. This is my list of the most underrated very good-excellent players of the last 25 years, those players who played and produced beautifully, but never got their deserved general acknowledgment:
1. Brian Giles, Of. He produced awesome SOM cards, but also had speed, power, and a .400 career OBP.
2. Jermaine Dye, Rf. In someways, the prototype RF with his cannon arm, powerful swing, and laconic presence.
3. Cliff Floyd, 1b-Of. The big, well-travelled, and fragile Floyd hit, hit for power and got on base: proto-Moneyball
4. Steve Finley, Cf. Sabean drooled yearly over Finley's defense, pop, and over-all game...despite roids whispers.
5. Kevin Brown, Sp. Supposed poor teammate was well-travelled but provided ace performances in many places.
6. Eric Chavez, 3b. Roids stats diminished his pop, but his GG defense continued throughout his long career.
7. Sean Casey, 1b. The sweet-swinging Mayor didn't have Votto's power, but he was an old-school line-drive 1b.
8. Ugueth Urbina, Rp. Even name hasn't saved him from obscurity, but had some excellent years closing all over MLB.
9. Roy Oswalt, SP. He and Pedro opened the door for little righties, but Oswalt's great work often got overlooked.
10. Brian Roberts, 2b. Old-school speedy, scrappy 2b with pop toiled in practical obscurity for bad O's teams.