Who do YOU underrate?

[bigpern23]

I was thinking about this yesterday after seeing 60 Minutes' segment on Albert Pujols and even more today after Jim Thome launched his 600th homer that I've perhaps never thought highly enough about either player.

Peter Gammons called Pujols "unquestionably one of the 10 greatest players in the history of the game." I was a bit taken aback. I respect the hell out of Gammons and his opinion.

Pujols plays in the NL Central, a division I don't pay much attention to and, being in the Northeast, I see the Cardinals on TV but two or three times a year until the playoffs. Frankly, I've just never seen enough of Albert or really thought that much of his prowess. I definitely have underrated him as a player.

Thome, meanwhile, outside of a few of his Cleveland years, I never thought of as a FEARSOME hitter. But you don't get to 600 home runs with a ton of talent or a ton of, ahem, help, and I don't think there's ever been much thought of Thome as a PED guy. So he's another guy I've severely underrated in his career.

Who do YOU underrate?

 

[bigpern23]

Really? Sixty people have looked at this and none of you have somebody that you didn't give enough credit to?

OK, I've got a couple of NBA guys, who I always underrated due to irrational sportsfan hatred: Shaq and Reggie Miller.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Derek Jeter needs more love.

 

[Mystery Meat II]

You can make a case that Tim Duncan will be the most underrated player with multiple championships, multiple MVP awards and double-digit All-Star appearances ever.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

You can make a case that Tim Duncan will be the most underrated player with multiple championships, multiple MVP awards and double-digit All-Star appearances ever.

Yeah, I don't think Duncan is underrated. People know how great he is, but because he's a quiet and private person, we just know very little about the guy.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Thome is a really good example of this. The guy has 600 HR and he's been off the radar for the bulk of his career.

Pujols isn't underrated. That's just stupid.

 

[imjustagirl]

I underrate everyone because I don't care.

 

[Mystery Meat II]

You can make a case that Tim Duncan will be the most underrated player with multiple championships, multiple MVP awards and double-digit All-Star appearances ever.

Yeah, I don't think Duncan is underrated. People know how great he is, but because he's a quiet and private person, we just know very little about the guy.

Except that Duncan by the numbers is probably one of the greatest players of all time, yet very few people make that case. And I'm not sure that he's ever been considered the best player in the league by fans even in his two MVP seasons. He's always overshadowed by someone, from Shaq and Allen Iverson to Wade and LeBronze. He's woodwork; that's how he's perceived, I think.

 

[Seahawk]

I know he's a HOF candidate, but I always thought Curtis Martin was underrated in the NFL. Derrick Mason would be another for me. He wasn't a starter until his fourth season, but still has eight 1,000-yard receiving seasons and has had at least 61 catches every season since 2000.

In baseball, Adrian Beltre. He is just shy of 2000 hits at age 32, so it's conceivable he approaches 3,000 hits when all is said and done. Until watching him daily with the Sox last season, I'd never really thought of him as more than a decent player. No way would I have thought he had a shot at 3,000.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Martin was definitely underrated.

It's pretty hard to be a good NFL QB and be underrated.

In the NBA? I would put Chauncey Billups in that class.

 

[bigpern23]

Thome is a really good example of this. The guy has 600 HR and he's been off the radar for the bulk of his career.

Pujols isn't underrated. That's just stupid.

The point of the thread isn't that Player X is underrated by the media or fans, but rather, who do YOU personally underrate?

I underrate Pujols because I've never really seen him play on a consistent basis, haven't followed his stats much because I don't care about the Cardinals or the NL Central and just haven't given him much thought.

I understand that he's one of the best in the game, but at this moment, if I never see him play in person, I won't feel like I missed out on something special the way I feel about never seeing Jordan play in person. And the more I think about Pujols, the more I realize how wrong that is.

 

[John]

For decades I've underrated Led Zeppelin. I bought my first LZ songs ever on iTunes a few months ago. I don't celebrate their entire catalog now, or even a third of it, but they're better than I ever gave them credit for being.

 

[Care Bear]

I think 93Devil underrates John Elway.

 

[BB Bobcat]

Not to turn this into another HOF thread, but...

Jeff Bagwell and Barry Larkin.

Both are guys who I didn't think were HOF worthy by my knee-jerk reaction, but as I looked closely at both their careers, I decided both were.

 

[RickStain]

Ozzie Smith

 

[Care Bear]

Ozzie Smith

Welcome back.

 

[LongTimeListener]

I hated Larry Bird so much while he was playing that I don't think I fully appreciated how great he was.

 

[Brooklyn Bridge]

I hated Larry Bird so much while he was playing that I don't think I fully appreciated how great he was.

I hated the entire 49ers SB teams growing up, but what a collection of talent--Montana, Rice, Lott, even John Taylor to an extent. Definitley give those guys props.

 

[93Devil]

I think 93Devil underrates John Elway.

Well played, and I probably do.

The current state of ESPN makes it easy to not pay attention to athletes outside of Boston and New York or that are not doing something silly and foolish in public.

 

[Spartan Squad]

I underrate Chuck Norris because attempting to rate him is an exercise in futility.