They're Not That Good:
The All-Overrated Team

Jason Michael Barker

Some players are very good, and most fans regard them as such. Other players are so bad that their horrendous exploits are common knowledge throughout baseball. Then there are those who have big reputations and are considered great players, even though a closer look tells you they're not. Who are these impostors, and how can you tell if you've got one on your favorite team? There isn't time to examine every overrated player in baseball, but here are eight players special enough to be named to the "All-Overrated Team."

C - Sandy Alomar, Jr.

Perception: A five-time All-Star, Gold Glove winner and 1990 American League Rookie of the Year, Alomar is the starting backstop for the Cleveland Indians, one of the best teams in baseball over the past several seasons. Last season he was MVP of the All-Star Game, and set career highs in most offensive categories. He boasts a solid .280 career batting average, and averaging one K every 9.1 at-bats, Alomar is one of the tougher hitters in baseball to strike out.

Reality: Alomar's "career year" wasn't anything special, although it did mark the first time in his career that his slugging percentage was over .500 and his on-base percentage topped .350. Yippee. A player who puts up those numbers at age 24 is in for a good career, but Alomar did it at 31, not a good sign for continued improvement. Sure enough, he's reverted to his old ways in 1998, ranking 11th in the league for OPS among catchers with at least 50 games played.  His career .742 OPS is decent for a catcher, but nowhere near deserving of his reputation. Riddled by injury much of his career, Alomar has only played in more than 90 games three times in his career, and he strikes out more than twice as much as he walks.

1B - Eric Karros

Perception: Karros has averaged 32 home runs and 107 runs batted in over the past three seasons, powering the Dodgers offensive attack. The 1992 NL Rookie of the Year has a good defensive rep, and has missed little time to injury during his career.

Reality: Despite the home runs, Karros doesn't provide the power you're used to seeing at his position. His best season was 1995 (.904 OPS), but he's never topped a .350 OBP or .500 SLG since. Sporting a career .774 OPS, Karros also has a 2:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a number he's never really improved on with big league experience. He's also prone to slump after the All-Star break, and his defensive reputation is just that - a reputation. His defense at first is average. The Dodgers unwisely locked him up to a long-term deal, then traded their best 1B option, Paul Konerko, to the Reds.

2B - Chuck Knoblauch

Perception: The best 2B in baseball on the best team in baseball, Knoblauch is a great base stealer with a .300 career batting average. In addition to five All-Star selections he was voted the 1991 AL ROY while playing for the Minnesota Twins.

Reality: Don't get me wrong, Knoblauch is a good player. A great player even. He's still overrated, however, because of his larger-than-life reputation. He was awesome in 1995 and even better in 1996, but those are the only two seasons in which he's posted over a .400 OBP. And other than those two seasons, he's never hit for any power at all. He's really struggled this season with the Yankees, to the tune of a .370 OBP and .379 SLG. The power isn't really a big deal for a leadoff man, but right now he isn't even getting on base at a great clip. I'd still take Craig Biggio over Knoblauch as my 2B, with Biggio getting the edge in power as well as with the glove.

3B - Travis Fryman

Perception: A five-time All-Star selection, you can pencil Fryman in for around 20 homers and 90 RBI a season. The starting 3B for the defending AL champ Cleveland Indians boasts a .275 career batting average and an above-average glove.

Reality: Fryman's career OPS is just .783, a pretty average number for an AL hitter. He's never slugged over .500, and he still hasn't learned to take a walk. His OBP for the last five seasons, including this year: .326, .347, .329, .326, .326 (1998). Starting to get the idea? Sure, 3B is a weak position in the AL, but how he's a five-time All-Star is beyond me. He did have a good year in 1993 (.379 OBP, .865 OPS), but has never reached that level of production since.

SS - Rey Ordonez

Perception: Ordonez isn't a great hitter by any stretch, but he makes up for it in the field. You've probably seen him on SportsCenter, making incredible play after incredible play. Winner of the 1997 Gold Glove at SS, Ordonez is proof that if you've got a good glove, you don't really need a bat. He's been compared to a young Ozzie Smith, who didn't hit well his first few years in the majors.

Reality: First off, the comparisons to Ozzie are a joke. Even at his very worst, Ozzie Smith was never as bad at the plate as Ordonez is now, and it's already his third season in the bigs! His career .555 OPS is nothing short of laughable, even to Ozzie Guillen, who knows first-hand a thing or two about pathetic hitting. Quite possibly the worst hitting regular in all of baseball, Ordonez cannot begin to make up for the runs he costs his team at the plate with the runs he saves in the field.

OF - Garret Anderson

Perception: A career .303 hitter, the left-handed Anderson was named 1995 AL ROY and has never looked back. He's averaged 82 RBI over the past two seasons, and has knocked in 48 thus far in 1998. He's an important part of the Angels attack.

Reality: Despite playing in only 106 games, he was well-deserving of his ROY award in 1995. After a .857 OPS that season, his career looked very promising. He had hit for power (.505 SLG) and showed decent plate discipline (.352 OBP). It was all downhill from there, however. After .405 and .409 SLG in 1996 and 1997, it appears that Anderson is nothing more than a singles hitter whose RBI are a direct result of the lineup in which he plays. He also doesn't walk (career high: 30), leading to a career OBP (.333) just 30 points higher than his career batting average. Coupled with the lack of power, his career OPS is just .775, and even that number is inflated by an unusual power outburst (.497 SLG) this season. Despite his relatively weak bat, he continues to be highly regarded throughout baseball. The Angels should trade him for pitching while he still has some value.

OF - Joe Carter

Perception: From 1986 to 1997, Carter averaged 30 home runs and 107 RBI a season. He led the Blue Jays to two World Series titles (1992, '93), and hit the series winning home run off Phillies closer Mitch Williams in 1993. With over 2000 hits and 1400 RBI for his career, Carter is considered by some to be a Hall of Fame player.

Reality: Hall of Fame? Don't make me laugh. Joe Carter is quite possibly the most overrated player in the history of Major League Baseball. Home runs and RBI, you say? Try these stats on for size. Career OBP? .306, and he's only topped .330 once. Career OPS? A mediocre .769. Yawn. And despite all the home runs, he's only ever slugged over .500 three times in his 15-year career. He's also never walked more than 50 times in a season, despite his reputation as a great "clutch" hitter. Did I mention his nearly 3:1 career strikeout-to-walk ratio? Nah, didn't need to.

OF - Dante Bichette

Perception: A four-time All-Star selection, Bichette averaged 32 home runs and 129 RBI from 1995-97, with a robust .320 batting average to boot. In 1996 he became just the 13th National League player to have both 30 homers and 30 stolen bases in a single season.

Reality: Two words - "park effects." Bichette's big numbers are the sole result of playing in the light air of Colorado the past five seasons, nothing more, nothing less. Before joining the Rockies in 1993, he had never hit .300, slugged .450 or had even a .325 OBP. And suddenly he's a great hitter? Nope. Need more proof? From 1995 through 1997, Bichette's OPS on the road was .717, a horrible number. At home, he put up a 1.079 OPS. Coincidence? Methinks not. What's amusing is that if he ever learned to take a walk, he could put up even better numbers than he does already. This season he's hitting .342, but thanks to just nine(!) walks, his OBP is .356, just 14 points higher. For his career, he has a 4:1 K:BB ratio, not the sign of a good hitter. The Rockies would be smart to trade Bichette...if they can find a GM dumb enough to believe that his production isn't due to Coors Field.

Jason Michael Barker is currently putting together a rotisserie league based on local beer league stats. Let him know how easily a couple of kegs of Red Hook would influence pitchers' WHIPs at jmb@strikethree.com.