The Stark Truth: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players in Baseball History (Hardcover)

by Jayson Stark (Author)
Key Phrases: overrated list, career slugging percentage, more underrated, Hall of Fame, Slug Pct, On-Base Pct (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product 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.

From the Publisher
"When I first knew Jayson Stark, he was often mistaken for Bernie Carbo, the erstwhile Red Sox outfielder. In a very short time, Jayson was himself unmistakable for his creative, thoughtful, human, humorous, and passionate writing that has made him one of the greatest of all baseball journalists. Everything he has done has been thoroughly researched and thought out, which is what makes his study of the most underrated and overrated players so fascinating. You know one thing as you open the book--that Stark will touch on things you never even thought about." --Peter Gammons, Hall of Fame baseball writer and ESPN baseball analyst

"Jayson Stark has always, in my opinion, been the most underrated baseball writer since man started writing about the game. Of course, I may have been influenced a little by the fact that I'm in his book. Nevertheless, if this book doesn't end up in Oprah's Book Club, then Oprah's list is overrated."--Andy Van Slyke, underrated centerfielder, underrated back-jacket blurb writer, and current Tigers first-base coach

"There is no one with more passion for baseball than Jayson Stark... Once you've read this book, you'll know why..." --Mike Greenberg, undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, and co-host of ESPN's Mike and Mike in the Morning

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 206 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books (IL) (May 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572439599
• ISBN-13: 978-1572439597
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #138,863 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great debate material for baseball fans, December 2, 2007

By	Barry Sparks "freelance writer" (York, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read, but you really have to like Jayson Stark, June 10, 2007

By	Hal Jordan "A reader" (USA) - See all my reviews

This is a quick and entertaining read, but be cautioned that you really have to like Jayson Stark's writing. I read his (...) work regularly and I like his mix of oddball facts and humor. But he is a bit easier to take in short pieces than at book length. The book consists of lists of the five most underrated and five most overrated players at each position. In some of the longer entries he spends too much time straining to be funny. We are a couple pages into the entry on Duke Snider as the most underrated center fielder before we get to the first substantive comment. He's also a bit inclined to stack the deck. For instance, he exaggerates how poorly Sandy Koufax pitched early in his career. In short, this is not the book that Bill James or Rob Neyer would have written, but most baseball fans should enjoy it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, but nothing groundbreaking, July 11, 2007

By	Craig (Ohio) - See all my reviews

If you're a serious fan of the game, then you're unlikely to learn much new from this book. Stark does, however, manage to provoke thought, which should really be the point of a book like this.

Most of his lists are pretty predictable - I wasn't at all surprised to see Nolan Ryan as the most overrated righthander and Steve Garvey at first base. I've spent more than enough hours arguing against others putting those guys on pedestals, so it was nice to hear someone agree with me. A few of the choices might shock people - Sandy Koufax as the most overrated lefty is an example - but Stark backs up his choices with stats and clear arguments. In the case of someone like Koufax, Stark isn't trying to discount his greatness, only to show that he had a mediocre start to his career and didn't have sustained greatness like some others.

This is a good, quick read, but nobody should have their hopes high that they're going to be reading a James/Neyer-type analysis of players. The book is a good debate starter, and there's nothing wrong with that.