Boston Red Sox: Most overrated players in franchise history (part 2)
By Drew Athans
Many Red Sox players had very good careers but have been overrated by fans. Here are five more whose stature is a bit larger than their careers may warrant.
Just as with the two parts listing some of the most underrated players in Red Sox history, we now turn our attention to part two of the most overrated. I went to great pains to explain in the first part of this article that “overrated” does not mean the same thing as bad but to no avail. As I expected, the majority of people missed that point entirely and reacted emotionally and hostilely while completely missing the points I was trying to make.
That’s fine and I have no problem with lively disagreement and debate, as long as it’s done in a civil manner (and for the most part, it wasn’t…such is the world we live in these days). I understand that so many fans have such an emotional attachment to some players that any criticism is seen as almost a direct attack on the fans themselves. As a lifelong, diehard Red Sox fan, I assure you that wasn’t my attention when deciding to write these articles.
Instead, my goal was to go against the conventional wisdom, go beyond the warm memories, and dig into the numbers a bit deeper to look at how and why some of these players, while still good (again, for emphasis), were, in my opinion, valued perhaps more than was warranted. All I ask is for you to actually read what is written and think about it a little before agreeing or disagreeing.
Disagreements are fine and spirited debate is welcomed. The following is a list of five more players who were well-loved and (mostly) remembered fondly by a majority of Red Sox fans, but who may be a bit overrated given their actual accomplishments and play on the field.
As always, in no particular order, let’s begin.