Quote:
Originally Posted by rajah424
I don't think many people would vote for Billy Herman or Mazeroski as the greatest ever at their position. The majority of people that voted in the All Century poll did vote for Robinson as the greatest 2nd basemen ever. You stated I don't think anyone considers him the greatest second basemen of all time and clearly many people do. I cannot think of another player that comes close to Robinson at having his status as the greatest at his position be based more on his reputation than his performance.
All that said, i do think Robinson was a great player, one of the greatest, and probably a even better human being. It's not his fault his ML career started so late but the truth is his numbers just don't add up to being the greatest at his position as many people seem to rank him. This is why i think he is one of the most overrated players.
People seem to think being labeled overrated is a huge putdown but i don't. In Robinson and Clementes' case it is probably a compliment to know that so many people rate you that highly based on what you did off the field as much or more than what you did on the field.
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This. Robinson is, in the public eye, one of the absolute greatest of all time. His measurable, statistical performance simply does not track with this. It is not an insult. I even laid effusive praise upon his person. His fame and precedence in the pantheon are more divorced from performance than probably any other player.
There are a group of players who a large part of the baseball fan world do not want to hear anything about that does not further the legend and myth. Ruth fans don't get upset if someone makes a fat joke. Williams fans don't get upset if someone says he could have played nicer with the press. One doesn't even have to say anything actually negative of Jackie, of Clemente, of Ryan, of Koufax, just not further the legend to rankle some feathers. It's a mark of an overrated player.
Jackie's short career (his Negro League career was 1 season, 1945, which count as the majors now) was because of WWII and college. He spent only one season in the minor leagues, not exactly an unfair amount of time. That he chose to retire instead of play out the rest of his decline with the Giants protects his percentages, which have been the primary basis for ranking him fairly high among 2B as a top ten. Another mark of an overrated player is they are the ones that tend to get people wanting to count fantasy seasons as if they had happened, not as a hypothetical 'what if', but for actual ranking credit.