Best Underrated Yankee?

[DoubleX]

Both historically, and presently, the Yankees have had a ton of players that have received a lot of hype (some deserving, some not so). What past and present Yankee players do you think have actually gone underappreciated and under the radar?

Historically I think a couple of second-basemen are underrated - Joe Gordon and Willie Randolph. Gordon should be in the Hall, and probably would be if his career numbers weren't held back from military service during WWII.

Presently, for years I thought Bernie Williams went under the radar for just how good he was and important to the team he was. For years, opposing managers would say first and foremost, they worried about Bernie Williams (not Derek Jeter, not Paul O'Neill, not Tino Martinez, etc.). However, with the present team, it's really tough to find an underrated player (since if the Yanks have one, they'll trade him off for a overrated player). If I had to pick one, I guess I'd pick Posada. Lots of people, including people on these boards, were complaining about Posada last year being washed up. I don't think people realize what an asset Posada still is. He holds his own defensively, he throws out a decent number of base runners, and he's still one of the 3 or 4 best offensive catchers in the game and is a switch-hitter to boot. I don't know who he'd be replaced with if his critics got their way.

[pacewon]

Gordon was a good pick historically, but another guy that comes to mind is Charlie Keller.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/k/kellech01.shtml

He didn't play a lot, and had some of his prime chopped down by WW2, but his career OPS+ is an amazing 152, which ranks 28th all-time.

I agree about Bernie - his last few years haven't been good, but his 1996-2002 stretch in which he hit over .300 every year, had an OPS over .900, and won a couple gold gloves flies under the radar. I put him in the same class as Mussina. The last two years have been rough, but he had a 12-year stretch from 1992 to 2003 when he was easily one of the most durable and best pitchers in the league (1993 the exception to the rule).

Good call on Posada too. In the 5-year stretch from 2000-2004, he put up OPS+ of 134, 119, 126, 143, and 133. That's outstanding for a catcher.

[Imapotato]

Frank Home Run Baker

One of the greatest 3rd baseman ever to play the game and was going through ALOT during his Yankee tenure

[KCGHOST]

Hands down it has to be Keller. The guy was as productive as Bernie Williams in half the at bats. You never here anything about Keller, not a peep. People are starting Bernie Williams threads everytime you turn around. Bernie williams is plenty appreciated, though not terribly hyped.

[Captain Cold Nose]

Roy White was a star for them during the lean years post-Mantle, pre-Reggie. I remember watching one game where his son was in the dugout and whoever the announcer was (this was a national game, so it very well could have been Tony Kubek) mentioned how he knew who every single player in the league was. My young self didn't think much of the feat at the time.

[RottenGazebo]

Currently, I think that Derek Jeter is underrated.

[DoubleX]

Roy White was a star for them during the lean years post-Mantle, pre-Reggie. I remember watching one game where his son was in the dugout and whoever the announcer was (this was a national game, so it very well could have been Tony Kubek) mentioned how he knew who every single player in the league was. My young self didn't think much of the feat at the time.

Roy White is a good pick. Bobby Murcer is another from that period.

Charlie Keller is a good pick as well. He had the makings of another tremendous Yankee hitter, just didn't get enough of an opportunity.

[pacewon]

Currently, I think that Derek Jeter is underrated.

So do I.

People are so fixated on calling him overrated that they just don't realize how great the guy is.

[johnny]

Hank Bauer

Didn't come in to the league -another one who was 'busy' serving in war- until he was 26. Was a big -albeit unheralded- part of the NY Yankees success. No monster stats. Must have been a pretty damn good student of the game given his post Yankee managerial career with Baltimore (WS/2 time Manager of the Year).

[DoubleX]

So do I.

People are so fixated on calling him overrated that they just don't realize how great the guy is.

I'd have to go with Jeter overrated, but with a caveat. He's not as good as Yankee fans or the media hype him up to be, but he's also much better than everyone else would like to make him about to be. He's well on his way to being a Hall of Fame SS, and one of the 5-10 best SS who have ever played. If it wasn't for a few SS's putting up abnormal offensive numbers in the past decade (A-Rod, Nomar, Tejada, even Rich Aurilia for a year), Jeter's game would be put into better perspective.

That being said, he's not A-Rod, and right now he's not Tejada or even Michael Young. He's still very good and he has a very good chance to pass 3,000 hits by a good margin. So in sum, I'd say Jeter is overrated by Yankee fans and the media, underrated by most other fans.

Along these lines, I'd actually A-Rod is underrated. I think people, even before he was a Yankee, just want to bring him down and criticize him at every turn. I suppose such comes with the territory of that ridiculous contract, but in incessantly trying to bring him down, I think people are missing just how great a ballplayer A-Rod is. If he stayed at SS, we're talking about a guy whose career would duel Honus Wagner's for best all-time. That's saying a lot. We're watching one of the best talents to have ever played, and unlike Bonds, there isn't all that steroids speculation. I don't think people realize that we're watching a present day great, a guy who when his career is over, will be mentioned with the likes of Aaron and Robinson and Mantle and Musial and Foxx and Schmidt and Speaker and Hornsby and Gehrig and perhaps even higher (Ruth, Mays, Cobb, Williams, Wagner). That's indeed very rare air.

As a Yankee fan, I love being able to get to watch everyday, not only A-Rod, but A-Rod and Jeter, who together form the best left-side of the infield ever. Two Hall of Famers in their primes playing next to each other. We're so spoiled as Yankee fans.

[538280]

Seeing this thread title, the first guys that came to my mind were Roy White, Bobby Murcer, Wally Schang, and Charlie Keller. Keller is one of the greatest offensive players ever per PA.

[VIBaseball]

Again just seeing the title of this thread, the first guy who came to mind for me was Chris Chambliss, who was a nice player on well-balanced champions.

But then the clear choice of the fans here came up: Keller. I remember reading that a bad back cut his career short. His son, a prospect who never made it to the majors, had to retire because of the same hereditary condition.

How about the pitchers? I once saw a presentation given on Vic Raschi, who got support from great lineups during the great run in the late '40s and '50s. But he was an above-average pitcher who has largely faded from memory.