My theory on "under-rated" hall of famers

[skelly423]

We have the same conversation on this board on a monthly basis. Why don't certain players get the hobby love their numbers seem to warrant. The list of names is pretty consistent: Tris Speaker, Eddie Collins, Rogers Hornsby, Stan Musial, Frank Robinson.

I had a rare moment of clarity and realized these players all have something in common. They all had the misfortune of having careers that largely overlapped with all-time greats, which means they seldom, if ever, we considered the best player in the game. Speaker and Collins lived in Ty Cobb's shadow, Hornsby was always chasing Ruth. Musial didn't have the batting clout of Ted Williams (or the championship pedigree of DiMaggio. Frank Robinson shared the diamond with Aaron, and Mays his whole career.

I don't know if this has any value (other than perhaps picking the next generation of under-rated hall of famer), but I think it may be a decent explanation of why some players' card values lag behind what their career numbers would otherwise warrant.