Over-Under...and Robbie

Over and under rated.... two words that are pitched back n' forth through the air waves like shuttle cocks at a country club.

But when anaylists let these terms drip from their lips, its hard to tell if they've really ever taken into account what these words mean. (Since we find these terms used most often in baseball due to the over emphasis on power numbers, we'll explore)

let us define:

Overrated - The idea that a person or organization has been given undue credit for what they have accomplished

Underrated - When a person or organization has been overlooked in some way and deserves more credit for his / her accomplisments

Now class, since we now know the definitions, lets check out some examples. we'll start with an obvious one.

Overrated - Alex Rodriguez. Dubbed the best player in baseball and predicted to go down as a top 5 all time player. While he is on pace to hit around 800 home runs, A-Rod has some overlooked downsides. His strike out ratio. 1 per every 4.8 ABs. Albert Pujols' ratio is closer to 1 k out of every 10.

One must also consider the era of baseball. Yes, Alex is over 500 HRs already. But so are Jim Thome, Frank Thomas and Manny Ramirez. We've seen Griffey and Sosa go over 600.

In 2001, Alex knocked 52 home runs, the American League alone hit over 2500.
Hank Aaron's career high home runs was 47. In that season, the NL only hit 1379. By the way, Hammerin Hank only struck out 58 times that season. Alex went down swinging 131 times in 01.

Alex's HR Comparision Ratio was about .02 (meaning he accounted for only 2 % of the leagues home runs)
Hank's was .034 (3.4% of the leagues bombs)

Ok so thats obvious enough. Lets try underrated...

Omar Vizquel. A classic shortstop who was constantly passed over by All-Star voters for superstars like Garciaparra and Jeter, but overall, was more solid.

Vizquel as 11 gold gloves (2nd all time). In 2000, he made just 3 errors in 156 games, a feat unheard of at short. His .984 career fielding % is higher than Ozzie Smith's (and anyone elses for that matter)

But his ability with the bat is what is so overlooked. OK he didnt hit 50 or drive in 120, but that isnt what a 2 place hitter is supposed to do. Vizquel has 236 career sacrifice bunts, which leads all active players. He has 382 career stolen bases (4th active). His strike out ratio is just 1 k per 9.94 ABs.

So maybe the dim-witted casual fan, the yankee-rooting, Jeter-loving, Joba jersey wearing imbisole wont care enough about the sport to take a peek into what the statistics reveal. If they'd rather wear their 26 world championship shirts in a mind-numbed bliss....i suppose thats fine.

On a semi-related note, I'd like to take a peek into a comment made Chris Russo aka Mad Dog of the Mike and the Mad Dog show.

Russo commented that Roberto Clemente was overrated because he only hit 240 home runs and only drove in over 100 runs twice.

First, statisitcally speaking, we're talking about a player who hit .317 for a career, had 3000 hits and was known for stretching a double to a triple far more than its done today. Also, 240 home runs is a ton for someone who played in the greatest era of pitching in baseball history (see the already mentioned 1971). And of course, Clemente had the undisputed greatest arm of any Rightfielder to ever play the game.

but statistics are just numbers. Clemente was one of the greatest men to ever play professional sports. He was a man who endured the same racial prejudice as Jackie Robinson, but will never get credit for ignoring it. He dedicated his life to making the lives of his people better and eventually lost it in doing so. Few players today would even be allowed to stand near his shadow.

But i guess he just didnt hit enough home runs.....right chris?