1. ozzie smith
2. dave concepcion
3. barry larkin
these are my opinions: what are yours?
2007-06-09 06:37:15 · 13 answers · asked by Schubert 3 in Sports ➔ Baseball
yes i have heard of Dick Groat and that's is a good guess, but now we all have our own opinions. as for the 3 listed here i would have to say Barry Larkin is the most underrated of these 3, with Smith already in the Hall and Concepcion very much already considered a Hall of Famer. Larkin was a perennial all star, an NL MVP, won 3 Gold Gloves, and 9 silver slugger awards for the best Short Stop in the NL.
But,
as for my all time Favorite and who i believe to be the most underrated Short Stop of all time. The Blade, Mark Belanger.
he was never well known for his hitting, where he was a life time .228 batter with no pop (only 20 homers over 18 years) but, the Blade new how to field and has 8 Gold Gloves to show for it, i have always felt that defense is just as important as offense and goes over looked for the more sexier Home Run totals and 400 batting averages. Mark's lifetime fielding percentage is .977 as compared to Ozzie smith's mark of .978, Barry larkin .975 and Concepcion .971
Get this Ozzie Smith only batted about 25 points higher then the blade and hit 8 more homers over 19 seasons, and was a first ballot hall of famer.
i am not saying Mark belongs in the Hall of Fame, he already is in the Orioles HOF and in my own personal HOF
So yes i vote Mark Henry Belanger is the most underrated short stop. R. I . P. Mark
Nomar .968 fielding percentage
Groat .961 fielding percentage
Jeter .974 fielding percentage (pretty nice)
Vizquel .984 fielding percentage (very very nice)
Blauser .964 fielding percentage
Jason Bay and Adam Everet have some nice FP% but also have only been playing a few years, lets see where they are in 10 - 15 years ??
2007-06-09 07:06:28 · answer #1 · answered by johnny z 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How is the greatest defensive shortstop to ever play the game, who is a hall of famer underrated? That's insane.
My vote is Omar. Playing in small markets his whole career no one really is aware that he is a borderline hall of famer, with nearly as many gold gloves as Ozzie and a pretty underrated hitter that was overshadowed by the big three. One of the catalysts of the Indians division championship teams.
2007-06-09 09:38:03 · answer #2 · answered by Nick S 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Of those 3, Larkin had the best offensive potential, and he was close enough to the rest on defense that he edges them out. He is in the top 2-5 of a lot of Reds team records.
But you've really got to give props to Hanley Ramirez of the Marlins. This guy had a good 2006, but tell me you weren't yelling "Sophmore SLump!!!" at the computer screen during your fantasy baseball draft this spring. This year, he's hitting over .300 again, has 18 SB's, and even 8 HR's, not to mention all the runs he's scored.
2007-06-09 13:58:19 · answer #3 · answered by hmn186282 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Larkin is Hall-worthy.
However, he had the bad timing to fall between two groups of equally Hall-worthy, but different types of, players. Ripken and Smith preceded him, and just when the shortstop spotlight should have been his (Ozzie retired, Cal beyond Lou, and the 1995 NL MVP in his pocket), the Trinity (ARod, Nomar, Jeter) came along and stole it from him.
Larkin may not be underrated, but he certainly is underappreciated. I hope the Hall voters see him clearly when his time comes.
2007-06-09 07:24:16 · answer #4 · answered by Chipmaker Authentic 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Luis Aparicio and Bert Campanaris. Luis was voted into the Hall, but still gets overlooked when the great shortstops are mentioned. He had a great glove and stole plenty of bases. Bert Campanaris was the catalyst and forgotten man of the great-and entertaining A's clubs of the 70s. His 649 steals ranks 14th best on the all-time list.
2007-06-09 10:39:24 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Although I love the old school Pirate reference I think the current Pirate shortstop is one of the most underrated shortstops in todays game
2007-06-09 07:07:27 · answer #6 · answered by Joe M 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ozzie Smith.
But in today's error I'd have to say Alex Gonzalez of the Reds.
He's by far the best defensive SS in the game today.
2007-06-09 08:13:14 · answer #7 · answered by The Bean 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
first of all MLB101 jason bay plays in the out field yea good job and there current sort stop is pretty amazing and is most def the most underrated short stop currently playin (Jack Wilson) yea dick was the man for the old school pirates but look at ozzie smith he is such an amazing athlete its incredible i see him as one of the greatest players ever i mean look at that fielding percentage!
2007-06-09 06:51:22 · answer #8 · answered by all around hockey player 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Omar Visquel
2007-06-09 08:48:48 · answer #9 · answered by ScottBirchfield 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Probably Ozzie Smith, but for right now, i would have to say Adam Everett. He may not have hitting, but he sure can field.
2007-06-09 06:54:15 · answer #10 · answered by Tim Toy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋