The Best Ballplayer Few People Talk About?

Last night, Garret Anderson of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim went 4-4, with a home run and 5 RBIs in helping to lead the Angels to an 11-3 win over the Boston Red Sox in what was a definite possibility for an American League Championship Series matchup. The Angels' win, combined with the Chicago Cubs' loss, momentarily catapulted the Angels into the best record in baseball. The game also reflected the ability to hit for someone who might be one of the most under-recognized players of his generation.

Now in his fifteenth season (all with the Angels), Anderson's numbers don't stick out as particularly extravagant. Going into play today, he's hit 266 home runs, driven in 1257 RBIs, and scored 995 runs. He's doesn't walk much ... only 387 walks over those fifteen seasons. He's also not particularly a base stealer, with 77 over his career, though he did steal 13 in one season and 10 in another. He is, however, a .296 career hitter and he has 2295 hits in his career. Injuries have limited him a bit over the past few seasons, driving down some of those numbers. Still, if he can continue to produce for several more seasons, he might be worthy of Hall of Fame consideration. He could push 3,000 hits and 1600 RBIs, both of which would put him into rare company. He certainly, though, has been and likely will be overshadowed by others his age. At 36, he is the same age as Manny Ramirez, Chipper Jones, and Carlos Delgado. A quick glance at statistics says that the first two of that list are clearly ahead of Anderson on the Hall of Fame list. Delgado is an intersting comparison--significantly more home runs and RBIs than Anderson, but significantly less hits and a significantly lower batting average. Anderson has also won a World Series (2002) and is on a team that perenially competes for and often makes the postseason. He probably reached the height of his popularity when he won the Home Run Derby in 2003, but that never turned into long-time superstar status. If we take the position of my previous argument about it being a Hall of Fame, Anderson wouldn't even be on the radar.

So, in the end, he might go the way of the likes of Dave Parker, Harold Baines, and so many others ... including, potentially, Fred McGriff (depending on what voters do) ... as really good players with very nice careers, but not quite enough for to be called a Hall of Famer. Still, I think he ought to be considered in the conversation ...

Then again, he was on my fantasy team during his years of greatest success (2000-2003), so I may be biased ...