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The Stark Truth: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players in Baseball History | 
 enlarge | Author: Jayson Stark
Publisher: Triumph Books (IL)
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 282054
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 206
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6 x 0.9
ISBN: 1572439599
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.35764
EAN: 9781572439597
ASIN: 1572439599
Publication Date: May 30, 2007
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Book Description
Every baseball fan knows New York Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter is a great all-around player. But how about Alex Rodriguez, Jeter's teammate, former American League MVP, and probable future Hall of Famer? Many would argue he's even better than Jeter. And what about Jeter's seemingly unassailable status as one of the greatest Yankees of all time? Such discussions highlight one of the great joys of being a baseball fan: arguing over who's really great and who falls just short, who doesn't get the respect he deserves and who gets too much. In other words, who's overrated and who's underrated.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
 Throwing a Wild Pitch July 26, 2008
The book is part of an ongoing series from ESPN personalities which seemingly has a purpose of further solidifying their on-air characters with sports fans.
Jayson Stark is the no nonsense baseball commentator who comes armed with a fast ball of facts to dazzle viewers in a bevy of segments on TV and radio. His lists of overrated and underrated players simply finds him playing that role.
Basically a means to drum up chat amongst those who have a historical interest in the game - the pre-publication publicity masterfully swirled and twirled a number of Stark's more controversial opinions - it is nothing more than water-cooler fodder on a slow summertime day in the office.
 The Author is OVER RATED July 22, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax and Dizzy Dean overrated? thats just a sample of this guys opinions, in my opinion the Author is vastly overrated. his judgment of Ryan for example is the lack of Wins, Wins are a team stat, if Ryan would have pitched for teams that could score runs he would have won over 400 games and that is a fact.
Ignorant Writer May 31, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
The author is an idiot. Players are not overrated when they are excellent players whose careers are cut short by injury. Koufax and Dean overrated? They did things in their injury shortened careers that others never accomplished playing twice as long. Everyone would be better off reading books by smarter, sensible writers. Stark is just another overrated journalist out of the ESPN Stable. Those interested in really finding out about baseball history should ignore books by those unqualified to write one.
 Don't put my guy on that list! April 19, 2008
Fun ride through baseball stats and history, this book is one of those argument-starters that make baseball such a great game to play, watch, listen to (the only sport that may be better on radio than on TV), and read about.
Stark takes a strictly personal approach to the debate, not laying out any rules for inclusion or exclusion as he goes position by position (and by franchise in a short appendix that would make a great follow-up book all by itself) listing the top five overrated and underrated players. His extensive explanations and defenses of his (sometimes controversial) top choices are the meat of the book, and constitute a primer in how to watch baseball games and accurately value individual players' contributions to team success.
There is something here to delight and offend every fan--I know I was mightily and not happily surprised to see Manny Sanguillen from my beloved 1970s Pittsburgh Pirates listed as one of the top overrated catchers. Sure, he didn't take walks, but he also played second fiddle only to Johnny Bench, the best catcher ever, during his career. Besides his ability to handle the pitching staff, his intangibles as the spirit of the team have to be taken into consideration.
But that's the point of the book, and Stark makes good points to defend his side of the arguments.
Great debate material for baseball fans December 2, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I think any serious baseball fan would find Jayson Stark's book interesting and thought-provoking. The most overrated and underrated players is a great topic that can be endlessly debated. Stark tries to separate the myth from reality. And, there are no sacred cows--witness his selection of Nolan Ryan as the most overrated right-handed pitcher and Sandy Koufax as the most overrated left-handed pitcher.
Stark makes interesting and solid arguments for his No. 1 most overrated and underrated players at each position. He presents a thumbnail argument for Nos. 2 through 5. I would have liked a little more depth for these players.
When selecting underrated players, Stark relies too much on the voting for the 1999 All-Century team. Face it, you didn't have to know anything about baseball history to vote for that team. And, the results prove it. Being underrated by a bunch of baseball know-nothings isn't the same as being underrated by members of the Society for American Baseball Research.
It's easy to argue with some of Stark's selections (that's the point of the book). Stark must have had been suffering from a beaning, however, when he selected Don Zimmer as overrated. Overrated by whom? I've never met a baseball fan who praised Zimmer (a .235 lifetime hitter) as a player. If you think a player is overrated if a fan knows that he was a utility infielder 40 years after he retired, then Zimmer would be overrated. Otherwise, I can't see it.
While Stark can be interesting and enlightening, his style also can be irritating. His sophomoric shtick of flippantly addressing the reader and his numerous quips detract from the book. He also belabors the point of what he means by being overrated and underrated to the point of nausea.
Stark's book, however, is worth reading for the statistical nuggets alone. Here are some examples:
Richie Ashburn's four 500-putout seasons is as many as all other Hall of Famers combined.
Jim Wynn never received a Hall of Fame vote.
Steve Garvey had six 200-hit seasons, but never scored 100 runs in a season.
Frank Robinson is the only player to win the Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, World Series MVP, and All-Star MVP awards.
Ashburn and Rogers Hornsby are the only players to lead the league in average, walks and hits.
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