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ESPN's list of overrated athletes

From ESPN's Page 2, there are some other interesting lists in the right column. Do you agree w/ this list?? Who's on yours??

The List: Most overrated athletes
By Jeff Merron
Page 2 staff


As those MLB All-Star ballots roll in, we couldn't help but ponder the mystery: Why do so many fans think Ivan Rodriguez is the best catcher in the NL? Why is Paul Lo Duca not even among the top five vote getters? Obviously, Lo Duca is underrated. And I-Rod is overrated.

But there are a lot of athletes in sports today who are much more overrated than I-Rod. Here are the Top 10 whose reputations most exceed them.


1. Vince Carter
The second coming of Michael Jordan? Not quite. To quote one ESPN editor who's seen this country through a bagful of undeclared wars, "Vince Carter is the most overrated athlete of my lifetime."

2. Mike Tyson
Ten heavyweights we'd take over Tyson:

Muhammad Ali
Joe Frazier
George Foreman
Larry Holmes
Joe Louis
Rocky Marciano
Sonny Liston
Jack Johnson
Gene Tunney
Jack Dempsey

3. Derek Jeter
What's the deal with Steinbrenner asking Jeter, in that Visa commercial, how he can afford his nights on the town? George, you pay the man. Or, we should say, overpay ($19 million a year through 2010). Jeter's good. Very good. Probable Hall of Famer. But his performance has declined every year since 1999, and he's only the fourth-best shortstop in the AL. Defensively? Adequate, at best, as Rob Neyer explains here.

4. All closers
What does it take to make an "excellent" closer? Give a half-decent pitcher the ball, a lead of up to three runs, nobody on base, and only one inning to pitch every two or three days. He'll rack up dozens of "saves" and be called "one of the best closers" and reap millions in rewards.

As one GM told Peter Gammons, "There are about three closers who really make a difference in the game. Otherwise, the notion of paying an Armando Benitez or Robb Nen $6.7 million to $8.8 million is outdated and silly."


5. Darin Erstad
Erstad had one great season in his career, and many poor-to-fair seasons. He may contribute the "intangibles," but the Angels center fielder is the worst-hitting regular center fielder in the AL, and near the bottom among all outfielders. During the 2002 World Series, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said, "We have some guys who can hit the ball out of the park, but predominantly we're a club that does battle at the plate and moves runners along, and it's been successful for us this year." Erstad wasn't one of the guys who could hit the ball out of the park (19 homers total in 2001 and 2002), and he wasn't one of the runners who got moved along (terrible .313 on-base percentage in 2002). One great season does not a great (or even good) player make.

6. David Duval and Phil Mickelson
How many majors have the two won between them? Mickelson: 0 (in 44 tries). Duval: 1 (in nine years on the PGA). One reason Tiger's been so incredibly dominant: Duval and Mickelson can't touch him. If we're looking for someone to challenge Woods, it's way past the time to start looking elsewhere.

7. Antoine Walker
A friend's e-mail said, simply, "Check out that shooting percentage!" So we did. And, wow. He's the worst shooter in the NBA among players who averaged at least 8 points per game. Lowest field-goal percentage (.388). Unfortunately, only five players in the league put the ball up more. Walker was also among the worst 3-point shooters, which begs the question of why he attempted a whopping 582 3-pointers last season. And here's the topper: Shaq shot better from the charity stripe than Walker.

8. Jake Plummer
Career passer rating: 69.0. Career TD passes: 90. Career INTs: 112. Sure, he played in the football wasteland that is Arizona, but that's no excuse: Plummer did nothing to elevate the Cardinals. That's what a good QB is supposed to do. But Plummer's not good. There's no evidence to suggest he is. So, the question remains: Why did the Broncos give Plummer a $7 million bonus to sign with them as a free agent?

9. Pavel Bure
The Russian Rocket? For years he's been struggling even more than the Russian space program. And he comes at a higher price.

10. Chris Webber
Doesn't battle it out under the basket. Averages 60 games per season. Hasn't done what it takes to move from "very good" to "great." It's all been said before, and it's all true. Page 2's Charley Rosen, who's forgotten more about basketball than we'll ever know, once ran through a list of the league's clutch players. Was C-Webb in there? You bet. As a "decoy." Ouch.

Also receiving votes: Jerry Stackhouse
Oscar de la Hoya
Andy Roddick
Tony Stewart
Ben Wallace
David Beckham
Alfonso Soriano
Johnny Damon
Eric Lindros

I'd challenge you to a battle of wits...... but you appear unarmed

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Your feeble attempts at world peace
Give me a %#@*ing break
Need worldwide genocide, planetary suicide
And when the whole damn world is dead
there's your %#@*ing peace"

Comments

  • AiRjOrDaN22AiRjOrDaN22 Posts: 2,038 ✭✭
    8. Jake Plummer
    Career passer rating: 69.0. Career TD passes: 90. Career INTs: 112. Sure, he played in the football wasteland that is Arizona, but that's no excuse: Plummer did nothing to elevate the Cardinals. That's what a good QB is supposed to do. But Plummer's not good. There's no evidence to suggest he is. So, the question remains: Why did the Broncos give Plummer a $7 million bonus to sign with them as a free agent?

    HES KNOWN AS THE COMBACK KING! dont agree with that one image
    Tradelist
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    ] EAGLES 2005 SUPERBOWL CHAMPIONS!!
  • Stats prove he isn't worth what the Broncos gave him. So what if he's good in the 4th quarter if he sucks in the first 3

    Erik
    I'd challenge you to a battle of wits...... but you appear unarmed

    "Stop talking, negotiating,
    Your feeble attempts at world peace
    Give me a %#@*ing break
    Need worldwide genocide, planetary suicide
    And when the whole damn world is dead
    there's your %#@*ing peace"
  • These two are bull
    Ben Wallace
    Alfonso Soriano

    Sure ben cant score great but he is the best defender in the nba
    and soriano is a 40 40 guy in the makeing how is he over rated?
    My E-Bay Auctions

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  • Here's some candidates:

    Ken Griffey, Jr.
    Jason Giambi
    Luis Gonzalez
    Leyton Hewitt (sp?)
    Venus Williams
    Ty Tryon
    Se Ri Pak
    Kurt Warner (sorry image )
    Tom Brady
    Kobe Bryant (and I collect him! shame on me image )
    Jeff Gordon (at least in the past couple of years)
    Patrick Roy (at least recently)
    Jaromir Jagr
    Kobe Who? image At least Dwyane pays proper respect to Da Big Aristotle image

    Yes, I collect shiny modern crap image

    All your Shaq are belong to me image
  • dirtmonkeydirtmonkey Posts: 3,048 ✭✭
    Stats can be misleading though. Plummer played with the Cards and even Montana or Marino couldn't make the HOF with that team. No excuses if he continues to struggle with the Broncs though
    image
  • AiRjOrDaN22AiRjOrDaN22 Posts: 2,038 ✭✭
    kobe BRYANT?!?!
    Tradelist
    image
    ] EAGLES 2005 SUPERBOWL CHAMPIONS!!
  • dirtmonkeydirtmonkey Posts: 3,048 ✭✭
    Jeff Gordon

    bjork, don't make me kick your a$$...lol. In the last 2 years, he's won a championship and came in 4th in points last year. 4 Championships in 10 years of racing... Took Earnhardt and the Petty approx. 30 years to get their 7 and nobody calls them overrated. Gordon has more wins that any other driver over the past 10 years and more championships as well. Heck, he's in second again this year. WTF you been watchin'? image
    image
  • Ooh, I rattled a couple fans image

    I think similar cases can be made with both Kobe and Gordon: they either are or were treated like the gods of their respective sports and they have both proved to be remarkably human. And I guess for dirtmonkey I can say that Gordon has been overrated just for the past year... sorry my bad image
    Kobe Who? image At least Dwyane pays proper respect to Da Big Aristotle image

    Yes, I collect shiny modern crap image

    All your Shaq are belong to me image
  • kr580kr580 Posts: 4,420 ✭✭


    << <i>kobe BRYANT?!?! >>



    yea... he's good, but not as good as people hype him up to be...
  • kr580kr580 Posts: 4,420 ✭✭


    << <i>even Montana or Marino couldn't make the HOF with that team >>



    how do you know? you seen Montana or Marino play 6 years w/ the 1997 - 2002 Cardianls? imageimage


  • << <i>

    << <i>kobe BRYANT?!?! >>



    yea... he's good, but not as good as people hype him up to be... >>




    add lebron james in that list at #1 right now
  • darko and lebron
  • lol!

    lebron ...darko???

    not fair to say, a little premature, they havent even got a chance yet...

    ming is far more overrated than they are, i was impressed with ming ONCE, when they played Lakers and he had like 6 blocks

    Thus Shaq, still had like 34 lol...In that game though, Francis was the BEST player on the court, hands down..

    Lemme put in my 2 cents on overrated athletes:

    cal ripken (good solid player...once upon a time.....but lets face it, to put him in the same sentence as lou gehrig is soo stupid...ripken is a great guy, great heart, but he is far from one of the best baseball players)

    jason sehorn COME ON..he had like..ONE good season, i think...the guy got burnt time after time last year...then u see a game and the people calling the game are talkin bout him like he isnt human...psssshhh

    jason kidd OK, he IS THE best PG in the league at the moment, but hell...Saying he contends for MVP with TMac, Shaq, KG, Kobe, Duncan is plain STUPID...Kidd has such a good supporting cast, the guy is good, he shouldnt be labeled as great though

    thats some that come to mind, im sure i could think of more if i put my mind to it
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  • beckett says #1 fb overrated player was Joe Namath. He led the jets to the one superbowl and won it, but then did nothing after that. People remember him from his first season and dont remember him doing nothing for the rest of his career.

    Seth
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  • First off, Jeter has been getting some major injuries since 1999 which have held him back from the play we all know hes capable of, NOOOOOOO But we dont seem to mention before 1999 when the Yankees won 2 Championships in 1996 and 98 with Jeter named as the best shortstop in the league.

    AND COME ON?? ALFONSO SORIANO???? BEN WALLACE??? OVERRATTED, please Soriano is on counting to be the best 2nd baseman we'll ever see and Ben Wallace is a defensive machine.

    Thats bull.
  • dirtmonkeydirtmonkey Posts: 3,048 ✭✭
    LOL bjork and Kev...


    As for the Lebron statement, he has to be the most overrated. If he did what is currently expected of him
    (by ESPN standards and ebay sales), he would have to average 50 points a game and the Cavs will sweep through the playoff and be champs... Guess it could be worse. He could have been drafted by the talent cesspool that is the Clippers image
    image
  • 3. Derek Jeter
    What's the deal with Steinbrenner asking Jeter, in that Visa commercial, how he can afford his nights on the town? George, you pay the man. Or, we should say, overpay ($19 million a year through 2010). Jeter's good. Very good. Probable Hall of Famer. But his performance has declined every year since 1999, and he's only the fourth-best shortstop in the AL. Defensively? Adequate, at best, as Rob Neyer explains here.


    i'm not going to even say a word. do y'all by chance know rob neyer's home address, cause someone is gonna get their a$$ kicked image
    jeter auto greensboro minor league baseball on EBAY

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    image

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  • Don't forget about Jason Richardson.
    Always looking for Vladimir Guerrero!!!

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  • << <i>Here's some candidates:

    Ken Griffey, Jr.
    Jason Giambi
    Luis Gonzalez
    Leyton Hewitt (sp?)
    Venus Williams
    Ty Tryon
    Se Ri Pak
    Kurt Warner (sorry image )
    Tom Brady
    Kobe Bryant (and I collect him! shame on me image )
    Jeff Gordon (at least in the past couple of years)
    Patrick Roy (at least recently)
    Jaromir Jagr >>




    Gordon, Kobe, and Gonzo are not overrated. Jeff Gordon is the greatest racer of all time, hands down. Look at his stats, he won 50 races faster than petty and earnhardt combined! Kobe Bryant is the BEST all around player in the NBA, and is in the top 3 in most dominate behind TD and Daddy. Gonzo, if anything if underrated. No one ever talks about him, but when he is healthy he puts up steady numbers.
  • UndertakerUndertaker Posts: 5,200 ✭✭
    Ben Wallace isn't good.. he's just an athletic guy who has the ability to jump real high (thus getting many rebounds & blocks), but he has NO bkb skills whatsoever.. people say Shaq can't shoot a jumper, well this guy is 10 times worse

    and everything written about Antoine Walker is 100% correct image
  • VincecarderVincecarder Posts: 1,852
    Man, these guys suck with their list. These were the same guys drooling over VC when he was jamming on everyone and put together the greatest slam dunk display ever. It's a shame that VC has had injuries or these same losers wouldn't dare insult Carter. I personally think their list is crap and it's just one person's opinon...you can come up with 10 different top 10's with ease....I personally don't think Carter is over rated, just very popular...that's why he get's voted into allstar games. I also think Jeter doesn't belong on that list, the guy is a great baseball player. Bet you if Carter was on an american team he wouldn't be on that list....throw Grant Hill on that list because no guy who plays under 30 games in 3 years on a max contract can be good....
    CB4


  • << <i>LOL bjork and Kev...


    As for the Lebron statement, he has to be the most overrated. If he did what is currently expected of him
    (by ESPN standards and ebay sales), he would have to average 50 points a game and the Cavs will sweep through the playoff and be champs... Guess it could be worse. He could have been drafted by the talent cesspool that is the Clippers image >>



    Ow... so true it hurts imageimage
    Kobe Who? image At least Dwyane pays proper respect to Da Big Aristotle image

    Yes, I collect shiny modern crap image

    All your Shaq are belong to me image
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