In baseball lore, there are legends and gods: Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Cy Young. The legacies of these men are passed down from generation to generation. But outside of the Mt. Olympus of baseballs, there are other great ones, great ones that have been or will be forgotten by history. These are some of these players, disrespected and underestimated.
Bill Dickey, C- Bill Dickey was born on June 5, 1907 in Bastrop, Louisiana. He played his entire career for the Yankees, from 1928 to 1946. Dickey won seven World Series of the eight in which he played. After his career, he managed the Yankees for a short stint and became a coach, helping Yogi Berra achieve the status of one of the greatest catchers of all time.
Dickey might be the most recognizable name on the list, as his number is retired and he’s in baseball’s Hall of Fame. But people underestimate how good he really was as a hitter and catcher, and often look to Cochrane and his successor Yogi Berra.
Dickey’s career line was .313/.382/.486/.868/127+ with 678 BB to 289 K. His best season was in 1936, when he hit .362/.428/.617/1.045/158+ with 22 Clock. Those totals are staggering, and the fact that a receiver has put up those numbers is mind blowing.
However, Dickey was also a great receiver. Although CS and SB against a receiver did not register, many reports say that Dickey had a very strong arm. In 1,720 games, he only had 76 passes. By comparison, the greatest defensive receiver of all time, Johnny Bench, had 94 passes in 1,742 games.
Johnny Mize, 1b- Mize was born on January 7, 1913 in Demorest, Georgia. The Big Cat was a slugger for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1930 to 1950. He finished with a line of .312/.397/.562/.959/158+ and a final EqA of .330. His best seasons were 1937-1940. During that stretch in his early career, Mize received MVP votes every season.
1937: .364/.427/.595/1.022/172+ with 25 HR
1938: .337/.422/.614/1.036/175+ with 27 HR
1939: .349/.444/.628/1.070/178+ with 28 HR
1940: .314/.404/.636/1.040/176+ with 43 HR
That works out to a .341/.424/.618/1.042/175+ batting line with 31 HR.
After that “peak,” Mize still had five seasons with an OPS+ over 150. Mize served in the US Army from ’43 to ’45, missing what might have been the prime of his career. Is that the reason why he often forgets? Maybe. But Mize was a player for all time.
Career totals: .312/.397/.562/.959/158+ and 359 HR over 6,443 AB.
Roberto Alomar, 2b- Born in Puerto Rico on February 5, 1968, Alomar is a fun guy, since he had several good years spread out, without a defined peak. I will do my best to select one and show the other good seasons/career of him.
His 1992 and 1993 seasons with Toronto were pretty good.
1992: .310/.405/.427/.832/129+ with 49 SBs at 84% clip
1993: .326/.408/.492/.900/141+ with 55 SBs at 78% clip
His next pit stop in the city was Baltimore, where he had two more good seasons.
1996: .328/.411/.527/.938/136+ with 17 SBs
1997: .333/.390/.500/.890/134+ with 9 SBs
But his “peak” was his three years in Cleveland.
1999: .323/.422/.533/.955/139+ with 24 HR, 37 SB at 86%
2000: .310/.378/.475/.853/114+ with 19 HR, 39 SB at 90% clip
2001: .336/.415/.541/.956/150+ with 20 HR, 30 SB at 83% clip
Average line: .323/.405/.921/134+ with 21 HR, 35 SB
Final career stats were: .300/.371/.443/.814/116+ with 210 HR, 504 2B, 474 SB at 80% and 132.6 WARP3
Very good for a 2b, right? Well, not only did he hit and run, but Alomar was a top-notch defender. He has won 10 GG Awards, and won a GG in every noted season except 1997.
Alomar cleared 30 Win Shares in a season 5 times and led the league 3 times. He hit .313 in the postseason (230 AB). As of the start of 2004, he had 373 Win Shares in his career, an outstanding total.
Why hasn’t it stood out more? Well, one reason people haven’t had time to dive into greatness, since he retired this decade. Furthermore, Alomar quickly faded, finishing five seasons below average, a fresher image in fans’ minds than his MVP-caliber seasons. Roberto was also good at everything: stealing, hitting and defending, but he never stood out. Many people may now remember his name, but not recognize him as an all-time great.
Barry Larkin, SS- Barry Larkin was born on April 28, 1964 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the city where he would succeed as a professional baseball player. Larkin is the third-greatest shortstop of all time, second-greatest if you count out A-Rod. However, Larkin is often forgotten and, if remembered, pushed aside when discussing all-time greats. Barry was another middle infielder who could hit, field, and baserun, all impressive for an SS.
For his career, Larkin finished with a line of: .295/.371/.444/.815/116+ with 379 SBs at an 83% success rate, .291 EqA and 939 BBs at 817 K’s. 121.8 WARP3 run
Those numbers are good, but when you consider that it was made from shortstop, it really stands out. Here is a chart showing how the short stop position exploded, once Larkin was on the decline:
Over his entire career, the average shortstop hit just .256/.317/.361, while Larkin hit .295/.371/.444, a 20.2% OPS difference. Very few players dominate a position like that for that long, and only two big-name shortstops from the past 30 years have outscored the rest of the position more offensively than Larkin.
Not only was his bat a bonus from an SS, but he was also a quality defender, taking home three Gold Glove awards. His best seasons were 1995-1998, and 1997 he was sidelined due to injury.
1995: .319/.394/.492/.886/133+ with 15 HR and 51 SB against 5 CS. He won the Gold Glove.
1996: .298/.410/.567/.977/154+ with 33 HR and 36 SB against 10 CS. He won the Gold Glove.
1998: .309/.397/.504/.901/134+ with 17 HR and 26 SB against 3 CS.
Larkin should be a HOF’er. And yes, he was better than Mr. Cal Ripken Jr. Despite having much more HR and 2b, Ripken’s slugging percentage is only .03 higher, while trailing Larkin in OBP, OPS, OPS+, SB , EqA, RC/G and that’s not to mention that Larkin was the better fielder.
Like Alomar, Larkin is a recent player, so his name is familiar. But it should be more than a household name. Larkin was a fantastic short stop who should eventually get a plaque in Cooperstown.
Frank Baker, 3b- Frank “Home Run” Baker was born on March 13, 1886 and would go on to become a well-known baseball player for the Philadelphia Athletics. He’s not in the same class as Schmidt, Matthews and Brett, but Baker is often a 3b that people forget about because he played in the dead-ball era. In fact, he was arguably the best 3b of the pre-war era.
Despite playing in an age of big stadiums and pitcher dominance due to rules and regulations, Baker managed to hit .307/.363/.442/.805/135+. At the height of his career in 1912, Baker hit .347/.404/.541/.945/173+. That same year the AL’s ERA was 3.34 and there were less than 9 hits per game. For context, Baker was terrific and would have had better slugging stats if he had played in a different era.
Ralph Kiner, OF- Ralph was born in October 1922 and was a baseball legend for the Pittsburgh Pirates before retiring due to injuries. He is currently a broadcaster, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975.
Kiner is forgotten because he only played ten seasons, nine with 500+ AB’s. However, he was one of the best dunkers of his generation, and surely would have made it to 500-600 HR if he could have played into his thirties.
Kiner finished hitting .279/.398/.548/.946/149+ with 369 HRs. But he takes a look at the three best seasons of him.
1947: 51 HR, .313/.417/.639/1.056/171+, 9.9 RC/G, .343 EqA
1949: 54 HR, .310/.432/.658/1.090/186+, 10.7 RC/G, .351 EqA
1951: 42 HR, .309/.452/.627/1.079/184+, 10.7 RC/G, .355 EqA
Average line: 49 HR, .311/.434/.641/.1075/181+, 10.4 RC/G, .350 EqA
Simply amazing. Ted Williams created a list using his secret formula and concluded that Ralph Kiner was the 20th best hitter of all time. It’s a shame he doesn’t get those kinds of braces.
Harry Heilman, OF- Born in 1894 in the city of San Francisco, the man known as ‘Slug’ was one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, yet many people don’t even recognize his name. He played for Detroit during the live and dead ball eras.
His final career stats are just unbelievable. He hit .342/.410/.520/.930/148+ with 856 BBs at 550 K. Heilman’s best season came in 1923, at the age of 28. Heilman hit .403/.481/.632/1.113/194+ with 44 2b, 18 HR, and nearly twice as many BBs as K’s.
Why was it not known? Maybe it was because he played so long ago, but Heilman is someone who should be revered as one of the all-time greats.
Al Simmons, OF- On May 22, 1902, Simmons was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Sporting News once ranked him the 43rd greatest player of all time.
He wasn’t much of a baserunner or fielder, but Simmons is a name that never comes up when talking about all-time greats. Simmons shone for Oakland in his hey, hitting .376/.419/.639/1.058/165+ with 25 HRs and .322 from 1927 to 1931. In that span, he slugged over .600 three times, including .708 in 1930.
Simmons sizzled up to a career line of .334/.380/.535/.915/132+ with 539 2b and 307 HR.
Nasty.
Addie Joss, SP-Joss was born in 1880. The reason Joss is forgotten is because he played dead ball and died early, at the age of 31. But if it weren’t for the tragic death, he could be considered as good as Christy Mathewson.
In 2,327 innings, Joss allowed 1,888 hits, 19 HRs, 364 BBs, had a 1.89 ERA, 142 ERA+ and a 0.968 WHIP.
He posted an ERA below 2.00 in five of his eight full seasons. He was the all-time career leader in WHIP at .9678. He had the second best ERA of all time at 1.89. Joss pitched a perfect game in 1908 and another no-hitter in 1910. He won 160 games in fewer than 9 full seasons. He would have had a longer career, but illness cut short his life at age 31. He thinks again. He finished his career with a 1.89 ERA and a 0.9678 WHIP! That comes over 2300 career entries. And in an age of spit balls, Joss achieved his success without altering baseball in any way.
Take a look at his best years-
1906: 282 IP, 1.72 ERA, 220 H, 43 BB, 151 ERA+, 0.93 WHIP
1907: 338 IP, 279 H, 54 BB, 1.83 ERA, 137 ERA+, 0.98 WHIP
1908: 325 IP, 232 H, 30 BB, 1.16 ERA, 205 ERA+, 0.80 WHIP
1909: 242 IP, 198 H, 31 BB, 1.71 ERA, 149 ERA+, 0.94 WHIP
And oh yes, in 1904 he also had a great season:
192 IP, 160 H, 30 BB, 1.59 ERA, 160 ERA+, 0.98 WHIP
Watch his 1908 season again. Over 300 IP but only 30 BB and he maintained a 1.16 ERA! He was so good that he posted a 205+ ERA when the league’s ERA was 2.39, the best ERA in the league during his career.
These men were all giants of the game and should be recognized as giants of the game.