Sports Specialists: Athletes Who Are Great at 1 Thing
Although every professional hopes to be the best, there are a few guys out there who have proven to put together great careers for focusing on one specific thing.
Hell, some of these players have even been so good at that specific skill that they've found themselves in the Hall of Fame.
Who are some of these one-dimensional specialists, though? Keep reading and find out.
Darren Sproles
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Specialty: Change-of-pace running back
This might be a slight contradiction to the whole "being good at one thing" theme, but Philadelphia Eagles backup running back Darren Sproles is, in fact, a specialist at what he does.
That's because, well, to be honest, he does it all!
Whether it's returning punts on special teams, getting a few touches as a running back or catching the ball out of the backfield and making people miss, Sproles is just about the prototypical change-of-pace player who complements a team's starter just perfectly.
He's not big enough to ever carry the load himself but in the role he has excelled in his entire career? Yeah, he's perfect.
Ben Wallace
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Specialty: Defense (and/or Rebounds)
He may have retired a few years back, but former NBA big man Ben Wallace proved that he was worth diddly poo when his team was controlling the ball on the offensive end, showing an inability to do anything but throw down an occasional dunk.
On the defensive end, though? Well, that was a completely different story.
Winning the league's Defensive Player of the Year Award four times in his 16-year career, Big Ben was a master at rebounding and protecting the rim, which helped the teams he played on prevent buckets—since he wasn't contributing any on the other end.
Who am I to hate, though? The guy owned Shaquille O'Neal in the 2004 NBA Finals, and he has a ring because of it.
Chris Carter
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Specialty: Hitting Home Runs
As bad as the Houston Astros were this past season, I wouldn't be surprised if most fans weren't even aware of Chris Carter and who he is.
Here's a clue: He hits the ball really, really hard—when he makes contact, anyway.
While Carter did finish second in the American League in homers with 37 in 2014, he also finished runner-up in strikeouts with 182, trailing, ironically enough, likely AL MVP Mike Trout.
Just like the old story of mighty Casey at the Bat, when Mighty Carter is at the plate, he either hits it a mile or he strikes out.
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Kyle Korver
4 of 12Specialty: Three-Point Shooting
Kyle Korver is a pretty good basketball player, but no one would call him a star by any stretch of the imagination.
But you know what he does do very well? Shoot the basketball—specifically the three ball.
No joke, like, Korver is one of the best three-point shooters the league has seen in the past few decades.
Need proof? The guy holds the record for the most games hitting at least one triple, with a stretch of 127 straight games that ended late last season.
He'll never go out and lead the league in scoring, but when spotting up in the corner or on the wing, Korver can be an opposing team's worst nightmare.
Julius Thomas
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Specialty: Catching Touchdowns
Don't get me wrong, Denver Broncos tight end Julius Thomas is a matchup nightmare no matter where the team lines up on the field, but with a 6'5", 250-pound frame, he's even tougher when Denver is inside the red zone.
To put it bluntly, that's where Thomas makes his living, catching touchdowns from Peyton Manning.
Over the past two seasons, the big tight end has hauled in 21 receiving touchdowns, and he is on pace this year to shatter the record for most TD catches by a tight end.
With nine of his 28 catches going for scores so far this season, it's clear that Thomas has one thing on his mind—six. As in the number of points the Broncos get when he usually touches the football.
Randy Choate
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Specialty: Left-Handed Specialist
There are very few casual baseball fans—or even diehards—who know who Randy Choate is.
After all, he's just a left-handed specialist who happens to pitch for the St Louis Cardinals, and he has been doing the exact same job for the past 14 years.
Averaging just 27 innings per season in those 14 years, it's not like he's lacking opportunities, actually earning about 42 games in that same time period—even leading the league twice in appearances in his career.
But that's the life of a setup man who happens to be utilized for left-handed batters—which is Choate's calling card.
Rajon Rondo
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Specialty: Defense
Don't be fooled by the double-digit scoring average in Rajon Rondo's eight-year career, thus far—because the guy is anything but a scorer.
More so, Rondo is anything but a shooter, never developing that part of his superb game.
Although he's a triple-double threat anytime he steps on the court, Rondo makes his living dishing the ball to teammates and, more importantly, shutting down the opposing team's point guard.
That's because he's as lanky, crafty and as physical a defender as one can find in the NBA, manning up like they did in the old days with a tough-minded attitude.
Tie Domi
8 of 12Specialty: Enforcer
No matter what it is you want to call former NHL player Tie Domi, one of the adjectives has to be nasty.
While he never, knowingly, wanted to inflict pain on an opposing player, he was one of the most notorious enforcers in NHL history, never backing down from a challenge.
It's no wonder the guy retired with the third-most penalty minutes in league history.
Recording just 196 points in his 18 years, he may not have scored or assisted his mates, but he stood up for them when they needed him to—and that's what he made a good career doing.
Dennis Rodman
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Specialty: Rebounding (and/or Defense)
On a bad team, basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman is a headache, a distraction and a pain for the head coach.
On a good team, though, he's an intimidator, an instigator and, quite arguably, the difference maker in ending a season with either a deep playoff run or a championship.
So it's no surprise that Rodman ended his 14-year career with five NBA title rings on his fingers, showing an uncanny ability to help shut down an opposing team's best big man and rebounding the ball at an insane clip.
Yeah, he may look rather strange with the dyed hair and tats, but the dude was one hell of a basketball player.
Devin Hester
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Specialty: Return Man
While Atlanta Falcons wideout/kick returner Devin Hester might be on this list, that's not downplaying his—or anyone else's included—ability.
It's hard to do so after Hester just recently overtook Deion Sanders for first all time in return touchdowns in NFL history.
But, regardless of what anyone tries to tell me, Hester will never be a productive receiver, with his most deadly skill being returning a football following either a kickoff or punt—because he can take it to the house anytime it's in his hands.
Mark Eaton
11 of 12Specialty: Blocks
Standing at 7'4", former basketball player Mark Eaton was always a massive force no matter where he was.
When that happened to be on a basketball court—specifically when defending beneath a rim—he was just about as good as the league has seen.
Never averaging double digits in points during his entire 11-year career, Eaton was, surprisingly, never even that great at rebounding the ball, either.
But he led the league in blocked shots four times in his 11 seasons, and he ranks fifth all time in the category.
Adam Dunn
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Specialty: Hitting Home Runs
Recently announcing his retirement, Adam Dunn was the epitome of what a slugger should be in baseball—grip it and rip it.
Jacking 462 career homers in his 14 seasons, Dunn was about as strong as a donkey—which, not ironically, was his nickname—yet he failed to ever hit over .267 in a season.
The guy averaged 37 homers and 95 RBI while batting just .237, and he led the league in strikeouts four times.
Like I said, he crushed the ball like a donkey would—whenever he actually made contact.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
