Overrated? Let’s Discuss That. Pt. 3/3

And the big finish! (We’re dismembering a Top 50 Most Overrated All Time list published on bleacher-report.com
See PART 1 – PART 2
20. Dave Stewart I didn’t realize Dave Stewart was highly rated. Also you say “Consistency makes you a great player. Glimpses of greatness makes you overrated.” Consistency hasn’t meant anything to you on several of the aforementioned players. Also glimpses of greatness do not make you overrated. Being viewed more highly than you should be makes you overrated.

19. Jason Giambi I won’t argue about him.

18. Thurman Munson “Sadly, Munson is glorified for how his life ended, which seems to inflate his play.” Ouch. From what I udnerstand he was a huge part of the team, the captain even when he died. He collected over 1500 hits in 11 seasons and had an average of .292. You compare him to Carlton Fisk and Johnny Bench, but generally when he is spoken of he isn’t compared to them. He’d be overrated if he was. But he is given proper credit for his abilities as a ballplayer and the effect he had on the team and fans in New York.

Overrated? Let’s Discuss That. Pt. 1/3

All 3 are overrated according to a recent list on bleacher-report

Writers have to write. Even unpaid, unobligated folks like myself often feel the need to just write something and put it out. The burden for paid sportswriters in this digital age is far more present. This leads to a lot of news when there is no news. It also leads to terrible lists. Lists can be fun. I generally don’t grade them too hard. But sometimes one jumps out at you and it’s just so obvious that all the writer was doing was putting something… anything… out on deadline. A piece of work like that I have to address.

Shaun McPartlin, a featured columnist for bleacher report wrote an article in April called “Nolan Ryan and the 50 Most Overrated Players in MLB History“. Ok, I have problems with that from the start. You can see that his #1 is probably going to be Nolan Ryan, which I take issue with. Then the simple fact that someone would have the gumption to try to make such a list is a little bogus to me. I think baseball fans are some of the smartest fans in the world and players generally get the credit they are due. I wouldn’t ever want to try to make a 50 most overrated list. It’s just not a realistic project. Well, I figured I’d look his list over. It quickly became clear that “MLB History” to this guy is basically the Steroid Era. Throw in a couple old timers and he figured he had himself a solid article. Well let’s see about that. (I’ll release this in 3 parts, so stay tuned!)

On to #50! (PART 2) – (PART 3)

2010 Consolidated List of Non-roster Invitees

Below you’ll find a comprehensive list of the 2010 MLB Spring Training Non-roster invitees for all Major League teams, as of February 8, 2010. This information is easy to obtain, but not as easy to compile and format, into one master list so I ask that if you want to take the entire list for whatever purpose you at least cite your source. I’ll cite mine. MLB.com To make things more interesting I also add links to unofficial team blogs for each of the Major League baseball teams and on some players I added links to random blogs pertaining to the player.

The Rookie Cards

My baseball card collection centers around two things. Cards of anyone who have EVER played for the Cincinnati Reds and autographs. However, any good baseball card collector knows and appreciates the significance of rookie cards. They are usually the most highly sought base card of a given player and that is often reflected by their “book value”. “Book values” mean nothing to me as I rarely sell cards and because nothing sells at book, but the pull of the RC still inspires me to acquire cards of guys I wouldn’t otherwise collect. Here are some rookie cards I have, I want, and I’m never going to get.

Why We TTM

TTM means through the mail. I along with thousands of other collectors write athletes in an attempt to acquire their autograph. It’s an inconsistent hobby, but I find it to be very rewarding. The autograph aside, sometimes there are things that come from these requests that make the experience extra rewarding. Maybe it’s a handwritten letter from the player or a special inscription or something else entirely. Gregg Zaun provided me with one of those moments Saturday.