Yankee Trio Makes Sports Illustrated Most Overrated List

Sports Illustrated just posted their annual most overrated baseball player poll.  The magazine questioned 185 anonymous players most of whom must not be too fond of the Yankees as 3 of the top 5 were Bronx Bombers.

Here were the results:

1. A-Rod- 18%

2. Joba Chamberlain- 12%

3. Derek Jeter- 7%

4. Jason Werth- 4%

5. Jonathan Papelbon- 4%

I did not know Joba was good enough to be considered overrated. That might have been the case when he first came up from the minors and people made him into the next Mariano Rivera, but that talk has died down the past two seasons.

Joba and Jeter are familiar with the list as both have landed in the top spot in previous years.  Most recently, Joba was ranked number 1 on last year’s list.

Personally, I think anonymous polls are worthless. It is very easy to say something negative when your name is not attached to it.  Be a man.  If any of the 185 players had guts, they would attach their name to it.  I guarantee no one would ever come out publicly and say Jeter is overrated, except A-Rod who did just that in 2000 in GQ magazine.

I think Yankee players are put on the list because of jealousy. Other players are jealous of how much money and attention Yankee players get.  A-Rod is the highest paid player in the league, making $31 million, and is no longer the best player in the game and Jeter just got a new contract worth $15 million which he is clearly not worth.

I would say Jeter and A-Rod are overpaid, not overrated, considering both are future Hall of Famers.  One has over 600 home runs and the other has 5 rings and is closing in on 3,000 hits.  How is that overrated?  I think most sensible people understand they are aging and not the players they once were, and are being paid on past performance.