I stumbled upon a link in my e-mail that invited me to go to a website called bleacherreport.com. I've been there and it can be an entertaining if not always illuminating website.
What caught my attention was a list of the 50 most overrated baseball players of all time, compiled by someone named Shaun McPartlin.
I clicked on number 50 and the recently retired Jorge Posada made the list. Overrated? I don't think so but I read what McPartlin had to say. I have an open mind and he might have some valid points.
He says that Posada was known more for his hitting than catching skills. True. But I would argue he was an underrated defensive catcher. The writer goes on to say that he only threw out 27% of runners attempting to steal. I would counter, other than Andy Pettitte, which Yankee pitcher was good at holding runners on? I would say not many. Mike Mussina maybe?
But here is where I have a beef. He said Posada averaged 15 homers and 60 RBI's per season which he says is "middle of the road."
Those totals seemed very low to me so I went to my favorite website www.baseballreference.com to do some investigating.
In 1995, Posada made his Major League debut. He caught the last inning of one game and didn't make a plate appearance.
The next season, he played a total of 8 games with a whopping total of 14 at-bats. Since baseball-reference includes those seasons as years played, McPartlin included those years in his yearly averages!
In 1997, as a part-time player, splitting his true rookie season with Joe Girardi, Posada played in a mere 60-games.
Since McPartlin counted those three seasons in his "yearly averages" total, of course his numbers will look smaller. His deceptive practice was made to enhance his weak "overrated" argument.
If you take Posada's 8 seasons from 2000-2007, he averaged 20 home runs per season and 89 RBI's per season. That is not a one or two year sample. That is a large sample for a player manning the most physically demanding position on the diamond. Plus, the writer conveniently didn't mention Posada's post-season contributions and playing on four World Series championship teams.
This compilation of the 50 most overrated players was compiled last April. It should have met the delete button immediately.
I didn't look at who the other 49 most overrated players were. I had enough time wasted by reading the inaccurate and misleading garbage McParlin posted on Posada.
Overrated? No. Not at all. He might even end up in the Hall of Fame and deservedly so.
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