40 Most Overrated Hitters in MLB History

The word “overrated” is generally an overused word. Oftentimes, especially in Major League Baseball, if a player has one bad year and is being paid a lot of money, he is then labeled as overrated.

Definitions of overrated are often quite varied. It’s certainly a subjective description when debating the merits of a particular player.

For the purposes of this article, we will keep the definition of overrated very simple—a player who didn’t perform to the level that was expected of them over their career. For instance, a player who showed tremendous potential within their first two or three years in the majors, but their following seasons never matched up; or a player who signed a lucrative long-term contract after one big season, and then never matched the expectations set for him after that particular season.

This will be the definition I will attempt to follow when listing the players who I believe are the 40 most overrated hitters in MLB history.

40. Pat Listach: 1992-1997

When shortstop Pat Listach broke through with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1992, he took the American League by storm, hitting .290 in his rookie season with 54 stolen bases. Listach won the AL Rookie of the Year Award, beating out Cleveland Indians center fielder Kenny Lofton.

However, injuries became a part of Listach’s life for the remainder of his career, and he never regained the hitting and running prowess of that fabulous rookie season.

Just five years later, after being sent down to the minors by the Houston Astros, Listach would never play in another major league game.

39. Kelly Gruber: 1984-1993

Third baseman Kelly Gruber was selected by the Cleveland Indians with the 10^th overall pick in the 1980 MLB Draft, and was picked up the Toronto Blue Jays just three years later in the Rule 5 Draft.

Gruber languished on the bench for a couple of seasons before showing his potential in the late 1980s, and was selected as an All-Star in 1989 and 1990. He hit 31 HR and 118 RBI in 1990 and placed fourth in the voting for the AL MVP Award.

Gruber never again approached those numbers, and after being traded to the California Angels for Luis Sojo, Gruber was diagnosed with bone spurs on his spine. After consulting physicians, who warned Gruber that paralysis could occur if he didn’t have surgery, he retired from the game in 1993.

Gruber would later attempt a comeback with the Baltimore Orioles, but at 35 years of age, Gruber was fearful of further injury and retired for good.

38. Ron Swoboda: 1965-1973

Right fielder Ron Swoboda will forever be remembered for knocking in the game-winning run in Game 5 of the 1969 World Series and for his spectacular catch on a fly ball hit by Brooks Robinson to end an Orioles rally in the ninth inning of Game 4.

In actuality, Swoboda never lived up to the hype that surrounded him during his rookie season in 1965. Hitting 19 home runs that year, Swoboda would never again reach that mark, and never hit higher than .261 in any season. Swoboda ended his career at the age of 29 after three unproductive seasons with the Montreal Expos and New York Yankees.

Photo courtesy xmfan.com

37. Cory Snyder: 1986-1994

When right fielder Cory Snyder was selected as the fourth overall pick in the 1984 MLB Draft by the Cleveland Indians, he was highly regarded for his power and his cannon for a throwing arm.

Snyder quickly rose through the ranks and debuted with the Indians in 1986, finishing fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting with 24 HR and 69 RBI.

Snyder would better those numbers the following season, with 33 HR and 82 RBI.

However, he would never again approach those numbers, slowed by a spate of injuries and a propensity to strike out. Snyder was finished in 1994 at the age of 31.

36. Bucky Dent: 1973-1984

Bucky Dent is essentially known for one thing and one thing only—a three-run home run that somehow found the net atop the Green Monster at Fenway Park on October 2, 1978.

Dent became forever known as Bucky “Bleeping” Dent from that day forward in Boston, and it would take another 26 years for Red Sox fans to finally have something better to think about.

Other than that moment, Dent was fairly forgettable as a hitter. Although he finished second in Rookie of the Year Award voting in 1974, Dent’s .274 batting average that season would be the highest he would ever attain, and he was done as a player in 1984, accumulating a lifetime .247 average and .297 on-base percentage.

Photo courtesy businessinsider.com

35. Travis Lee: 1998-2006

First baseman/right fielder Travis Lee was the starting first baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks in their inaugural season of 1998, and collected the first hit and first home run in D-Backs history. Lee would finish third in the NL Rookie of the Year voting that year, with 22 HR and 72 RBI.

However, Lee’s power never fully emerged, and the 22 homers hit in his rookie season represented the highest single-season mark of his career.

Lee was traded to the Phillies in exchange for Curt Schilling to the Diamondbacks just two years later, and while Lee would enjoy one decent season with the Phillies in 2001 (20 HR, 90 RBI, .258 avg.), he would be out of baseball just five years later, when in an attempt to make the Washington Nationals in spring training of 2007, he retired, saying he no longer had the desire to play.

34. Ben Grieve: 1997-2005

In 1998, Ben Grieve, son of former major leaguer Tom Grieve, showed everyone in MLB that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, winning Rookie of the Year honors in his first full season with the Oakland Athletics, hitting 18 HR, 89 RBI and a .288 batting average.

Grieve would increase his power numbers over the next two seasons in Oakland before being traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as part of a three-team trade.

However, injuries and a major drop-off in production doomed Grieve, and he signed as a free agent with the Milwaukee Brewers for the 2004 season. Grieve never regained his power or his stroke, and would not play another game in the majors after the 2005 season.

At 29, Grieve was finished, and his promising start came to a crashing end.

33. Adam Kennedy: 1999-Present

It’s pretty amazing that second baseman Adam Kennedy is still toiling in the majors after 13 seasons.

After a rookie season with the Anaheim Angels that garnered him a sixth-place finish in the Rookie of the Year Award voting, Kennedy hung around with the Angels for another five seasons before signing a free agent contract with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Kennedy battled injuries and personal problems and is now on his fifth team in the past six seasons, finishing up the 2011 season with the Seattle Mariners. Kennedy has yet to produce as many RBIs as he did during his rookie season (72), and has never been selected to an All-Star team.

32. Graig Nettles: 1967-1988

Third baseman Graig Nettles hung around for 22 seasons in the majors before finally retiring at the age of 43 in 1988. While Nettles enjoyed a couple of fine seasons with the New York Yankees in the mid-1970s, he ended up his career as a .248 hitter.

Nettles was even worse at the plate during the postseason, with a career .225 average.

Photo courtesy baseball.wikia.com

31. Bo Jackson: 1986-1994

When Bo Jackson came out of Auburn University following the 1985 season—during which he won the Heisman Award trophy in football—he opted to play baseball after being drafted by the Kansas City Royals.

Jackson’s breakout season was in 1989, hitting 32 HR with 105 RBI, including a home run to lead off the All-Star game and an uncanny ability to climb walls to rob opposing hitters of home runs.

However, a hip injury suffered in a football game seriously curtailed Jackson’s baseball career, and he was out of the game in 1994 at the age of 31.

Aside from Jackson’s prodigious home run blasts, he was just a .250 hitter who struck out over four times more than he walked.

30. Jim Presley: 1984-1991

Third baseman Jim Presley was one of several young players who debuted with the Seattle Mariners in the early 1980s, along with Harold Reynolds and Phil Bradley.

Presley certainly impressed in his first few seasons with the Mariners, hitting 27 HR with 107 RBI in 1986 and making the All-Star team for the first time. Presley enjoyed another productive season the following year, however the power numbers dropped dramatically in 1988, hitting just 14 HR and 62 RBI in 150 games.

Presley never again approached the power numbers seen in his earlier years. While he enjoyed somewhat of a resurgence in 1990 with the Atlanta Braves (19 HR, 72 RBI), Presley was out of baseball at the age of 29 the following after playing just 20 games for the San Diego Padres.

Photo courtesy allsportspeople.com

29. Glenn Davis: 1984-1993

In the mid-to-late 1980s, first baseman Glenn Davis was enjoying a fairly good career with the Houston Astros, averaging over 30 HR and 90 RBI in his first six full seasons.

However, Davis was traded by the Astros to the Baltimore Orioles in January 1991 for Steve Finley, Pete Harnisch and Curt Schilling. The trade is considered to be one of the worst trades in the history of the Orioles’ franchise.

For the next three seasons, Davis was never fully healthy, barely playing in one full season in the three years combined. A nerve injury in his neck depleted Davis of his power, and a bar fight the following season—during which he broke his jaw—certainly didn’t help either.

Davis finally ended his career after three miserable seasons in Baltimore at the age of 32. A promising career, and the hopes of Orioles fans, were shattered.

28. Steve Balboni: 1981-1990, 1993

After going nowhere with his major league career in three years with the New York Yankees, first baseman/designated hitter Steve Balboni was traded to the Kansas City Royals in December 1983.

Balboni had some decent power numbers over the course of five years in Kansas City, hitting 36 home runs in 1985. However, Balboni never hit above .244, and while he ate up fastballs, Balboni flailed uselessly at just about every curveball thrown his way.

Balboni ended his career with a .229 career batting average and a lifetime WAR (Wins Above Replacement) of -0.8.

27. Josh Booty: 1996-1998

Ultra-talented high school third baseman Josh Booty was taken with the fifth overall pick in the 1994 MLB Draft by the Florida Marlins. A two-sport star, Booty spurned offers from major college football programs to sign for $1.6 million to play for the Marlins, a record signing bonus at that time.

However, after toiling for a few years in the minors, Booty was no doubt ruing his decision. Booty set an all-time single-season strikeout record in 1996 in the Single-A Midwest, whiffing a whopping 195 times and hitting just .206 on the season.

In five minor league seasons, Booty hit a combined .198, and while he hit .269 in 26 career major league at-bats, Booty gave up on his dream to play in the majors by making the decision to attend LSU on a football scholarship.

That decision didn’t turn out too well, either. Booty was a backup quarterback for the Cleveland Browns for three seasons, throwing for a grand total of 13 yards.

26. Dal Maxvill: 1962-1975

Second baseman/shortstop Dal Maxvill enjoyed perhaps his finest season in 1968 with the pennant-winning St. Louis Cardinals, winning his only Gold Glove award and hitting .253. However, that was the high-water mark of Maxvill’s career.

In 14 seasons, Maxvill averaged 1 HR and 29 RBI with a .217 average for his career.

Amazing that he lasted 14 years.

Photo courtesy 101espn.com

25. Ron Blomberg: 1969-1978

The biggest distinction of Ron Blomberg’s career was the fact that he became the first designated hitter in the history of baseball, walking on four pitches at Fenway Park on April 6, 1973 by famed pitcher Luis Tiant.

Other than that, Blomberg’s entire career was a massive disappointment. The problem wasn’t that he couldn’t hit—he ended his career with a lifetime .293 batting average, hitting .329 in 1973. The problem was that he couldn’t stay healthy. Knee and shoulder injuries completely curtailed Blomberg’s promising career, finally ending in 1978 at the age of 29.

Photo courtesy jewsandbaseball.com

24. Aaron Rowand: 2001-Present

After a career year during which center fielder Aaron Rowand hit 27 HR and 89 RBI while hitting .309 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Rowand signed a five-year, $60 million free-agent contract with the San Francisco Giants.

The Giants should be demanding their money back.

After putting together two okay seasons for the Giants, but not approaching his 2007 numbers, Rowand spent a ton of time on the disabled list, and during last year’s postseason run in which the Giants won the World Series for the first time in 56 years, Rowand was basically relegated to backup status.

This season, after another disappointing year, the Giants designated Rowand for assignment on Sept. 8, eating the rest of this year’s salary along with an additional $12 million for the 2012 season.

23. Danny Goodwin: 1975-1982

He was the only man in the major league ever to be drafted first overall on two separate occasions, yet for first baseman/designated hitter Danny Goodwin, his career never amounted to a hill of beans.

Originally selected first overall by the Chicago White Sox, Goodwin chose to attend Southern University and A&M college, and after a stellar four-year college baseball career, Goodwin was again chosen first overall in 1975, this time by the California Angels.

Goodwin’s career never took off however, and after the Angels gave up on Goodwin, trading him to the Minnesota Twins in December 1978, Goodwin served as a utility player over the next three years, eventually ending his career in 1982 with the Oakland Athletics.

For his career, Goodwin hit just .236, and to this day is considered one of the biggest first-round draft busts in MLB history.

Photo courtesy cox.net

22. Al Chambers: 1983-1985

Another first overall draft pick, this time by the Seattle Mariners in 1979. Left fielder Al Chambers was another of the promising players that debuted for the Mariners in 1983, along with Harold Reynolds, Jim Presley and Phil Bradley.

However, Chambers was a major disappointment, hitting just .208 in parts of three seasons with the Mariners. Chambers was out of baseball by the end of 1985 at the age of 24.

Photo courtesy baseball-reference.com

21. Kosuke Fukudome: 2008-Present

It's hard to look at the career of Cleveland Indians right fielder Kosuke Fukudome and say it hasn't been a disappointment.

Signed to a four-year, $48 million contract by the Chicago Cubs to start the 2008 season, Fukudome never came close to the numbers he produced while with the Chunichi Dragons of Japan's Central League, where he hit .305 with 192 home runs in nine seasons.

Instead, Cubs fans saw Fukudome hit to a .262, never managing more than 58 RBIs in any one season before the Cubs shipped Fukudome off to the Indians at this year's trade deadline for two mid-level minor leaguers.

20. Joe Charboneau: 1980-1982

Flash in the pan is the term most often used when referring to former Cleveland Indians star Joe Charboneau. In 1980, Charboneau took the American League by storm, hitting .289 with 23 home runs and 87 runs batted in, easily walking away with Rookie of the Year honors that year.

However, the following spring, Charboneau injured his back attempting a head-first slide in a game, and he was never the same player again. Unable to hit above .214, Charboneau underwent two separate back surgeries before the Indians finally gave up and released him in 1982.

19. B.J. Upton: 2004-Present

Seven years after his debut in 2004, fans and baseball experts alike are still waiting for a breakout season from Tampa Bay Rays center fielder B.J. Upton.

While Upton has capably manned center field for the Rays, the talent that so many expected from Upton's bat still hasn't fully emerged. While Upton looked like he would break out following the 2007 season, during which he hit .300 with 24 HR and 82 RBI, that didn't happen.

Upton, currently hitting .234 with 20 HR and 71 RBI, was the subject of much talk at the deadline, with the Washington Nationals saying they would "overpay" to acquire Upton.

Maybe a change of scenery is exactly what the 27-year-old needs.

18. Phil Bradley: 1983-1990

Phil Bradley is the third member of the Seattle Mariners class of 1983 to make this list. Bradley showed great promise during his second full season with the Mariners in 1985, hitting .300 with 26 HR and 88 RBI.

However, like Jim Presley and Al Chambers before him on this list, Bradley would eventually disappoint.

While he would hit .286 during his eight-year career, Bradley's power just never developed beyond that 1985 season, and he was out of baseball by the end of the 1991 season at the age of 31.

17. Clint Hurdle: 1977-1987

Current Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle may have turned out pretty well as a manager, leading the Colorado Rockies to the National League pennant in 2007, but as a player, Hurdle's skills and talent never fully came to fruition.

Selected with the ninth overall pick by the Kansas City Royals in the 1975 MLB Draft, Hurdle started off his career okay, hitting .264 with 7 HR in his rookie season in 1978. However, Hurdle just never got off the ground offensively during his career, playing utility roles for the rest of his career with three other teams after leaving the Royals in 1981.

16. Jim Ray Hart: 1963-1974

Jim Ray Hart was a highly-touted third baseman when he was signed as an amateur free agent by the San Francisco Giants in 1960. Indeed, Hart showed that great potential in 1964, when he hit .286 with 31 HR and 81 RBI, finishing runner-up in the voting for the National League Rookie of the Year Award.

However, the greatness that was expected never fully came to fruition. Hart would match his rookie season numbers only once (1966, 33 HR, 93 RBI), and the Giants would finally give up in 1973, allowing the New York Yankees to purchase his contract.

Hart never got it going in New York either, and was released by the Yankees in June 1974 at the age of 32.

Photo: baseball-reference.com

15. Andruw Jones: 1996-Present

When Andruw Jones finished his first full season with the Atlanta Braves in 1997, there weren't enough superlatives to rain down on the 20-year-old center fielder from Curacao.

Jones went on to win 10 straight Gold Glove awards in center for the Braves, and he continued to develop as a hitter, hitting a whopping 51 home runs with 128 runs batted in for the Braves in 2005.

However two years later at the age of 30, Jones seemingly lost his stroke, hitting just .222 in his final year in Atlanta.

Since that time, Jones has played with four different teams in four years, and while he has performed okay in a backup utility role this season for the New York Yankees (11 HR, 29 RBI in 69 games), Jones will forever be an enigma for seemingly losing his offensive punch at the age of 30.

14. Steve Sax: 1981-1994

When second baseman Steve Sax started the 1982 season as the regular second baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was considered a can't-miss prospect.

Indeed, Sax delivered, winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award with a .282 batting average, 47 runs batted in and 49 stolen bases.

However, just a year later, Sax seemingly lost the ability to throw the ball to first base, committing 30 errors that season, most of them throwing.

Sax would continue to hit well throughout his career, being selected to the All-Star team five times, but the Dodgers gave up on Sax following the 1988 season, allowing him to become a free agent.

13. Jerome Walton: 1989-1998

Center fielder Jerome Walton debuted for the Chicago Cubs in 1989, and what a debut it was—hitting .293 with five HR, 46 RBI and 27 stolen bases, winning the Rookie of the Year Award and setting up what looked like a promising career.

However, that would turn out to be the best year of Walton's career, as he never built on those numbers and ended up playing with five other teams in a utility role, ending his career with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1998.

12. Benito Santiago: 1986-2005

After a brief September call-up in 1986, catcher Benito Santiago had a breakout season in his 1987 rookie year, hitting .300 with 18 HR and 79 RBI, and adding a 34-game hitting streak that still stands as the record among rookies.

Santiago was the easy choice that year for National League Rookie of the Year honors.

However, Santiago would never again approach that .300 mark, and though he would win Gold Glove Awards and hit 30 HR for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1996, the potential that Santiago showed in his rookie season was never really seen again, as he ended his career with a .262 batting average.

11. Jason Bay: 2003-Present

At the end of the 2009 season, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone to say that left fielder Jason Bay wasn't a star on the rise, especially after hitting 36 HR and 119 RBI for the Boston Red Sox, capably replacing the offense previously supplied by Manny Ramirez.

The New York Mets certainly thought so, signing Bay to a four-year, $66 million contract to start the 2010 season.

However, Bay has been a complete bust in New York.

With a spate of lingering injuries, Bay has yet to even come close to the power numbers seen in Boston, and the Mets would like nothing better than to rid themselves of the monstrosity of Bay's contract at this point.

10. Pat Burrell: 2000-Present

When left fielder Pat Burrell was chosen with the first overall pick in the 1998 MLB Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies, they were thrilled to be expecting a power hitter from the University of Miami who had tremendous potential.

Burrell got off to a decent start, hitting 18 HR in his rookie season and finishing fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year ballot.

However, Burrell quickly fell out of favor in Philly, as his propensity to strike out became a tired act.

While Burrell has managed four 30-plus home run seasons, he has never fully developed into the star that everyone expected him to be. Burrell has never even sniffed All-Star status, and is currently hitting just .230 with just seven home runs for the San Francisco Giants.

9. Nate McLouth: 2005-Present

Is there really any doubt whatsoever that center fielder Nate McClouth's time with the Atlanta Braves is over?

The Braves are certainly bitterly disappointed, expecting McClouth to be their long-term answer in center field after acquiring him from the Pittsburgh Pirates in June 2009.

After winning a Gold Glove Award and hitting .276 with 26 HR, 94 RBI and 46 doubles to lead the National League in 2008, McClouth's star certainly seemed on the rise.

However, the Braves officially gave up on McClouth when they traded for Houston Astros center fielder Michael Bourn in late July this year, leaving McClouth to wonder what his future in baseball will be.

8. Phil Rizzuto: 1941-1956

I know, I'm sure I'll get universally panned for putting a former American League MVP on this list, but shortstop Phil Rizzuto was clearly a beneficiary of some great New York Yankee teams.

I'm actually still stunned that Rizzuto even won the MVP at all. In 1950, he beat out Boston Red Sox infielder Billy Goodman, who led the AL with a .354 batting average; his own teammate Yogi Berra, who hit 28 HR with 124 RBI that year; and Red Sox first baseman Walt Dropo, who hit 34 HR with 144 RBI to lead the AL.

Certainly Rizzuto was a capable shortstop—but Hall of Fame worthy? Voters didn't think so, keeping Rizzuto out of the Hall of Fame until the Veterans Committee finally selected Rizzuto for induction in 1994.

Photo courtesy USAToday.com

7. Roger Maris: 1957-1968

Here is no doubt another selection I'll get slammed for, but former New York Yankees right fielder Roger Maris is not in the Hall of Fame for a reason—he simply wasn't good enough.

In 1960 and 1961, Maris was certainly a tremendous power hitter—hitting 39 HR with 112 RBI in 1960, and following it up with his record 61 HR performance in 1961.

Maris would hit 33 HR in 1962 as well, but Maris' decline started in 1965, and by the time the 1966 season ended, Maris would be traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for bit player Charley Smith.

Maris played two seasons with the Cardinals before calling it quits in 1968 at the age of 33.

Photo courtesy villagevoice.com

6. Ellis Valentine: 1975-1985

In 1975, right fielder Ellis Valentine debuted with the Montreal Expos. While Montreal fans were treated by a guy who appeared to be a solid hitter, what was most impressive was Valentine's arm. Many experts believe that Valentine had the best throwing arm in the history of baseball.

However, Valentine's offensive skills and power never matched his potential. After three straight 20-plus home runs seasons before the age of 25, Valentine seemed destined for glory.

However that was where the offense stopped. Valentine never again came close to matching those numbers, and was out of baseball in 1985 at the age of 30.

Photo courtesy cardboardgods.net

5. Richard Hidalgo: 1997-2005

After hitting .306 and .303 in his first two seasons in a part-time role with the Houston Astros, outfielder Richard Hidalgo really showed his stuff in 2000, hitting .314 with 44 HR and 122 RBI. At just 25 years of age, Hidalgo seemed destined for greatness.

However that was where Hidalgo's career peaked. While he posted okay power numbers over the next four seasons, Hidalgo never came close to the numbers produced in 2000, and he played his last major league season for the Texas Rangers in 2005.

4. J.D. Drew: 1998-Present

I absolutely love the J.D. Drew apologists out there, who will argue until the cows come home about how Drew lived up to his Red Sox contract (five years, $70 million).

However, the fact remains that Drew never played more than 140 games in any one season, never came close to the production seen during his second season with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2006, 20 HR, 100 RBI, .283 average) and this year the oft-injured Drew has played in a total of 77 games with a .219 average.

Just how exactly is THAT worth $70 million?

3. Brady Anderson: 1988-2002

Save for one huge season in 1996, during which he hit 50 home runs, center fielder Brady Anderson is more well-known for being Cal Ripken's best friend than for anything he did on the baseball field.

Other than that, Anderson was just a career .256 hitter who, other than the 1996 season, never hit more than 24 home runs in any other season, calling his 1996 season into question indeed.

2. Alfonso Soriano: 1999-Present

After signing outfielder Alfonso Soriano to an eight-year, $136 million contract in late 2006, Chicago Cubs fans are still waiting for him to repeat his performance of 2006, when he bashed 46 HR for the Washington Nationals.

Soriano has put up five consecutive 20-plus home run seasons, but certainly nowhere near what he produced in '06. There were grumblings out of Chicago that they were looking to anyone to unload Soriano on before the deadline, and seemed willing to eat a very large portion of the remaining $54 million-plus still owed to Soriano.

1. Will Clark: 1986-2000

When first baseman Will Clark broke into the majors in 1986 with the San Francisco Giants, he was compared favorably to such notable hitters as Mickey Mantle.

Given the gift of a sweet swing, Will the Thrill certainly had some fine years in his early days with the Giants and finished his 15-year career with a .303 average and 284 home runs.

However, for all the hype and accolades thrown Clark's way early on, so much more was expected. Injuries plagued Clark throughout his career, and while he was a six-time All-Star, a feeling of disappointment has come to be expected when thinking about Clark and the career that could have been.

Doug Mead is a featured columnist with Bleacher Report. His work has been featured on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, SF Gate, CBS Sports, the Los Angeles Times and the Houston Chronicle. Follow Doug on Twitter, @Sports_A_Holic.