Jackie Robinson overrated

[ohms_law]

Very true. Also, if he had been able to play his entire careen in MLB, it'd be a completely different story statistically as well.

[RickD]

Very Very True.....Unfortuantley this all boils down to how many Negro League Players could have had stellar, superstar careers if they were allowed in the majors earlier. Can you imagine a Paige or a Gibson spending their whole careers in MLB. An unfortunate injustice.

[ohms_law]

Which is part of the reason that this whole thread kind of bothers me.

[jcbarr]

It is an unfortunate injustice. I totally agree with that, and I'm not sure what his other numbers were like, maybe he was completely dominant elsewhere. Debating Hall Of Fame worthiness is almost impossible as there is no defined requirements to be inducted.

[Llama Josh VII]

As a player only I still think he was the top side of marginal

Top side of marginal? I think Robbie Alomar is considered the best second baseman of the past 20 years (him or Biggio), and a definite HOF inductee. Looking at their stats, what did Alomar do better than Robinson on the playing field? Hitting for average? Batting eye? Hitting for power? Fielding (they're close, Alomar might have a slight edge there)? Baserunning? Better at their best? Durability? Versatility?

[slasher52]

He also served during WWII, and played in the negro leagues. For the relatively short time he played in the "major" leagues, Jackie Robinson dominated. And by 1950, any team, maybe not the Phillies or Red Sox, would have killed to have him on their team.

[jdiggin]

I agree with that Ohms...my biggest beef was with the statement that he was overrated in the history books. That wasn't true. As a player only I still think he was the top side of marginal...he had that intrinsic value like a Derek Jeter.

RIDICULOUS ! ! !

[TacoBoy]

If any player belongs in the hall of fame it's Jackie Robinson. To say he doesn't is blasphemy.

[boomboom]

If any player belongs in the hall of fame it's Jackie Robinson. To say he doesn't is blasphemy.

very well said.

[RickD]

OK this thread will probably go on for eternity. 1st if you have read this entire thread I originally posted in response to a statement that Robinson was overrated in the history books which I argued against stating he deserves his place in history AND in the Hall. I sited his numbers and how they made him a good player as well. My marginal statement was to Ohms post that he was a marginal Hall of Famer.....To which I replied he was the top side of marginal.

I think Robinson deserves to be there. Period.

[jdiggin]

OK this thread will probably go on for eternity. 1st if you have read this entire thread I originally posted in response to a statement that Robinson was overrated in the history books which I argued against stating he deserves his place in history AND in the Hall. I sited his numbers and how they made him a good player as well. My marginal statement was to Ohms post that he was a marginal Hall of Famer.....To which I replied he was the top side of marginal.

I think Robinson deserves to be there. Period.

D@mn straight !

[RickD]

So can we close this thread now?

[jcbarr]

Year Ag Tm  Lg  G   AB    R    H   2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG *OPS+  TB   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP
162 Game Avg        618  103  185  34  5  14   77  32  8  70  78  .300  .371  .443  116  274  10   7   4   3  14
162 Game Avg        572  111  178  32  6  16   86  23  4  87  34  .311  .409  .474  132  271  12   1   1   8  13

Pretty darn close between Robbie and Jackie. I guess that means Alomar was one of the greatest to every play the game?

Keep in mind that is a 162 game average which I think is far better to look at than the career numbers.

Another thing to keep in mind Jackie was far from the best player in the Negro Leagues at the time. He just had the personality that would fit best in the MLB world.

[maxpower]

The problem with saying someone is overrated is that it's totally dependent on the context - to evaluate it, we need to know how highly "rated" Jackie Robinson is. If it's conceded that he's the #9 2B ever, (not sure where that's from), for him to be overrated, someone would have to be saying he's in the top 8 of all time, and I'm not sure who is saying that.

If the general consensus was "Jackie Robinson was far and away the best baseball player ever", then I would agree he would be overrated. I haven't heard anyone say that. The media has gone on and on about him recently, but I think the focus was more on the social significance of his accomplishments, and not just the baseball. I don't think his importance socially has been overrated, at least not by anything I've seen or read.

[HoustonGM]

I will say this. ESPN should not have used the Dodgers-Giants game as a background for their interviews about Jackie Robinson. It's awesome to honor him and all, as they did with the pregame ceremony, but they should've done a SEPERATE show showcasing all the interviews, rather than putting the game on the backburner and focusing on the interviews, ya know?