I haven’t seen the book yet so I don’t know the basis of Stark’s opinions. However, since five of the players in his line-up (Nettles, Rizzuto, Winfield, Sax, and Blomberg) spent all or a good part of their careers in the Yankee organization, one might suspect him of anti-Yankee bias. But that could just be a coincidence.
That being said, I can certainly see how all of these players would be considered overrated.
C: Benito Santiago - Had a few good years but injuries prevented him from joining the likes of Bench and Berra on the list of all-time great catchers. Despite his early potential, he probably ranks somewhere below (the underrated) Manny Sanguillen.
1B: Steve Garvey - Seemed to have Hall of Fame written all over him during his peak years with Dodgers in the 70’s. However, his productivity faded quickly and that prevented him from building up the lifetime career numbers that would’ve made him a shoo-in. Also, an ugly divorce and an embarrassing series of paternity suits occurring shortly after his career ended didn’t help.
2B: Steve Sax - Like a number of posters have said, he’s overrated? Before his mental block, I considered him to be a solid defensive player and above-average hitter but nothing spectacular. I don’t think anybody else ever put him in the same category as Joe Morgan or Ryne Sandberg.
SS: Phil Rizzuto - He had very good offensive and defensive numbers for a shortstop during the 1940’s but I think his fame and selection into the HOF are almost entirely due to Yankee-mystique. This has been said many times before but if Rizzuto had the same career with … say … the Philadelphia A’s, I don’t think he’d be in the HOF or remembered today (unlike, for example, Joe DiMaggio who would’ve found his way in no matter what team he played for).
3B: Graig Nettles - Unparalleled glove man who could hit with power but his lifetime .248 batting average is what’s keeping him out of Cooperstown. Had he been elected to the HOF, I could maybe agree with Stark that he’s overrated. But since he’s not, I think he’s rated about right.
LF: Lou Brock - Hall-of-famer who’s one of the greatest base-stealers of all time, has over 3000 hits, and remained a solid hitter until the end of his career. That being said, I remember there were some gripes about Brock striking out too much and being somewhat erratic defensively so I’m guessing that’s where Stark’s criticisms lie.
CF: Andruw Jones - He just turned 30 and currently has 349 home runs. Unfortunately, his lifetime batting average is currently only .265. Still, it might be a little early to put him on the all-time overrated team.
RF: Dave Winfield - Until some late-career offensive heroics in the 1992 World Series, was criticized for not having any “important” hits. Steinbrenner’s claim that he was “Mr. May” didn’t help either.
DH: Ron Blomberg - I don’t why Stark would claim he’s overrated since everybody considers his career as little more than a footnote (unless Stark thinks even that distinction isn’t obscure enough).
RHP: Nolan Ryan - Rap against him is that he was a .500 pitcher who walked too many batters (especially in the earlier part of his career). Was actually much better when he got older but I think his enshrinement in Cooperstown has a lot to do with his longevity (see also Phil Niekro). If he hadn’t remained an effective pitcher after turning 40, I think he would not have made the HOF and would be regarded as only a bit better than Sam McDowell.
LHP: Sandy Koufax - Probably had the most amazing four consecutive seasons (1963 to 1966) of any pitcher since the beginning of the “lively ball” era before being forced to retire at age 30. I think that certainly qualified him for selection into the HOF. Beyond that, I think Koufax is highly rated because outside circumstances prematurely ended his career when he was near or at his peak. The aura of lost potential greatness surrounds him.
RP: Lee Smith - Is he that highly rated by anyone? Even when he set the mark for most saves (which has since been broken), I don’t think anybody put him in the same category as Rollie Fingers or Bruce Sutter (and they had far fewer saves). If his reputation is inflated, I think a lot of it is due to confusion over what makes a great HOF-caliber relief pitcher. For awhile, the biggest statistical factor was the number of saves but I think the careers of people like Smith and Jeff Reardon proved that was unreliable.
I’m a little surprised Stark didn’t pick Reggie Jackson or Kirk Gibson (not that I would’ve necessarily agreed with him) for his overrated team. Those names usually get mentioned when people are discussing overrated baseball players.
