Baseball Pitchers: The Most Overrated And Underrated In The Last 20 Years (1988-2007)

By KP Wee

KP Wee looks at some of the most overrated and underrated pitchers in major league baseball in the past twenty years.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 30, 2011
• ISBN: 9781257284009

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Author

The Top 5 Overrated Pitchers in the Last 20 Years

Overrated

Some would be outraged at the names in this section. New Yorkers, for sure, would be livid at seeing David Cone at the top of this list. After all, the long-time Yankee was part of a great dynasty for the team, winning a lot of games, right? Well, he is overrated. Does he really deserve all the credit he received for the Yankees’ success? I don’t think so, and I have detailed the facts over the next few pages. As for the other names, most people probably wouldn’t argue about Kevin Brown being on here. I’ve included a closer too—and especially after the San Diego Padres’ meltdown in 2007, Trevor Hoffman had to be listed here along with the other moundsmen that have been truly over-hyped, and overrated.

Still, being overrated shouldn’t be thought of as an insult. It does not mean that these pitchers are a bunch of losers. Actually, they all had, or have had, pretty good careers. Just not as great as many people might think. Besides, you have to be very good for a long time to be considered, as the top five on this list all pitched or have pitched for at least fifteen seasons in the majors. So, no Jack McDowell or Andy Benes in this book. No Tim Hudson, yet, as he’s had under ten big-league seasons under his belt at the time of writing. And no Chan Ho Park, yet, either. (If Park pitches in 2008 for the Dodgers, it would mark his 15th season in the bigs.)

And here are the most overrated pitchers in baseball in the past twenty years:

David Cone

Mike Mussina

Kevin Brown

Jack Morris

Trevor Hoffman

Honorable Mentions

Ramon Martinez

Charles Nagy

1. David Cone

David Cone was a five-time All-Star with all the great credentials:

* AL Cy Young Award winner (1994)

* two 20-win seasons (1988, 1998)

* pitched only the 16th perfect game in big-league history (1999)

* strikeout king in the big leagues for three straight seasons (1990, 1991, 1992)

* 194-126 won-loss record, 3.46 ERA, 2,688 strikeouts

* 8-3 post-season record in 18 starts

Ah... 8-3 in the playoffs. That’s where the debate begins. How can a pitcher with those feats be considered overrated?

Yes, overall, Cone was 8-3 lifetime in the post-season, and was often praised as one of the top playoff pitchers of his era, the so-called hired gun that contending teams wanted to acquire to get them over the top. People often praised Cone for his success. You’ve all heard this (or said this) before. His presence supposedly elevated the others in the rotation to be better. He apparently made contenders into champions. You add a David Cone to your team, and suddenly you had become the favorites to win, because of him.

Yet, people often overlook Cone’s 3.80 ERA—which is rather high for the post-season—because of the eight wins. Also, people didn’t mind that he had only one complete game (which came way back in 1988). People might have a good argument for that. After all, this was the era with set-up men and closers, right?

Okay, true enough.

But how about this one? Despite the fact that Cone had good stuff, he never really pitched more than one game you would call dominant, and we never saw one of his high-strikeout games in the post-season.

But looking past the high ERA and other stuff, taking a peek at the numbers and the patterns a bit further reveals a hidden fact, one that can’t be found just by reading box scores.

Cone could never deliver as a No. 1 starter in post-season play. Never.

While with the Mets and Blue Jays in the 1988 and ’92 playoffs, Cone was the No. 2 man because of Dwight Gooden and Jack Morris. With the Yankees from 1995 to 1997 though, New York made the playoffs each season, and Cone was selected to pitch the post-season opener each time. The numbers were staggering—a 1-1 record and an eye-popping 8.31 ERA in those three starts:

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Now, the choice of a No. 1 starter is huge in a playoff series. The Game One starter would, in theory, set the tone for the series, and could come back for a fifth and deciding game of the first-round series, if necessary. In 1995 against Seattle, Cone lucked out as the Yankees didn’t have to face the intimidating Randy Johnson (18-2, 2.48, 294 strikeouts) and wound up scoring enough runs to put away the Mariners. (Johnson had been forced to pitch in a winner-take-all, one-game playoff to decide the AL West title a day earlier, just to get Seattle into the post-season.)

In 1996 against the Rangers, Cone lost. Badly.

And in 1997, Cone was very lucky; after giving up a three-run dinger to Sandy Alomar in the very first inning, New York was down 5-0. Cone stayed in the game, and was ineffective, not getting any 1-2-3 innings while he was out there on the mound. By the time he was knocked out in the 4th, it was already 6-1 Cleveland. Not exactly the type of performance you would expect out of a Game One starter. But, as it was, the Yankees rallied for an 8-6 victory, when Tim Raines, Derek Jeter, and Paul O’Neill hit back-to-back-to-back homers later in the game.

Though Cone didn’t lose the 1997 opener, the Yankees didn’t win the series either, losing in Game Five. Cone was not used the remainder of the series.

So, New York’s record with Cone as the No. 1 starter: one series win, two losses.

Forget the 1996 and ’97 post-seasons for a minute. Let’s look at 1995. Even though the Yankees lost to the Seattle Mariners in the ’95 ALDS, Cone was generally regarded as a playoff hero, especially for his gutsy performance in Game Five. Manager Buck Showalter seemed to have lost confidence in his bullpen—especially John Wetteland (who blew a lead in Game Two and got shellacked in Game Four) - and stuck with Cone as deep into the game as he could. What was misleading about Cone’s performance in the ’95 series, of course, was that he pitched nothing like an ace. So, it’s hard to justify the hero label that many were so willing to put on Cone.

In the first game against Seattle, Cone:

* had more walks than strikeouts (6-5)

* walked No. 8 hitter Dan Wilson to force home the tying run in the 6th inning (Wilson received only 33 free passes in over 400 plate appearances during the year)

* could not shut down the Mariners in the 7th right after New York had given him a 4-2 lead (walked Joey Cora ahead of Ken Griffey Jr., who then homered to tie the game).

Now, to shut down the opposition is huge, especially after your team has just given you the lead. A legitimate ace would be expected to do that. However, Cone couldn’t do so in the 7th.

Luckily, the Yankees were able to pound Mariners pitching for eight runs, and wound up with a 9-6 decision. Still, Cone’s performance was far from being clutch. Seattle had to start Chris Bosio instead of ace Randy Johnson because The Big Unit had pitched the day before in the one-game playoff against the Angels just to get the M’s into the post-season. If the Yankees had to deal with Johnson in Game One, obviously Cone’s outing wouldn’t have cut it. It might well have been 4-0 or 4-1 Seattle. (Johnson had gone 7-0 with a 1.45 ERA in his final 10 starts in the regular season, including a three-hit shutout against the Yankees on August 26th.)

Cone was much better in the winner-take-all fifth game, walking just three and striking out nine, and pitching into the 8th inning. Yes, he threw 147 pitches, which was a gritty effort. However, what was missed in the outing was the