Sports Illustrated conducted a poll with 185 current major league players and asked who they thought was the most overrated player in the game today. Surprise, surprise, Alex Rodriguez was on the top of the list. In fact, three Yankee players ranked as the top three. Joba Chamberlain was second and Derek Jeter finished third. Now, how as a Red Sox fan and a rabid Yankee hater could I not get great pleasure over this? I guess the players around the league feel the same way I do, or should I say most of us do?
Alex Rodriguez is not only the most overrated but also the most hated player in baseball today. He, of the over blown contract and selfishness like no other. His own teammates hate him so why would anyone expect other teams to like or respect him? I lost total respect when he sold himself out and became the Yankee’s third baseman. He was twice the shortstop Jeter was, yet he allowed the Yankees to push him to third. This aging, broken down third baseman may have been the most feared player in the game but not anymore. He is the biggest waste of $30 million dollars/year I know of.
I will admit the Joba Chamberlain vote was surprising to me. How can he be overrated when all you ever hear from every media outlet is how much he sucks? He has actually been pitching better than anyone expected. Doesn’t that make him underrated? Oh well, doesn’t matter, he is still a Yankee.
Third place in the voting is Derek Jeter. Oh wait, I can’t say anything about him. He has five rings, so according to most Yankee fans he gets a free pass. Who cares if he is one of the weakest leadoff hitters in the game? He is old and slow, and getting older by the day. He is never going to find that fountain of youth that Yankee fans keep hoping he will find. His peers now think he is overrated. What does that really tell you? Yes, he WAS good for the Yankees and a good ambassador for Baseball. That was then and this is now. Jeter’s skills have diminished and his body can’t do the same things it used to do. You want respect from your peers? First, go get your 3,000 hit, then tell Girardi that you should be batting eighth or ninth, and finally, put the team above yourself for a change.
The Yankees are saying publicly that this survery is laughable. You think A-Rod and Jeter really think this is funny? I doubt it, not with those egos. I, on the other hand, find this hilarious and right on target.
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