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

It's one of the oldest pastimes known to man, dating as far back as the invention of the wheel (somewhat overrated) and the discovery of fire (vastly underrated). But not until thousands of years later, with the arrival of baseball, did the overrated-underrated debate really fulfill its potential. This great sport was virtually made for the O-U (overrated-underrated) debate, and the chances of any living soul having not engaged in it at one time or another are small. Whether you are a hardcore fan or a casual observer, you almost certainly have been lured into a war of wits on the merits, or lack thereof, of a particular ballplayer, team, or record-setting achievement. Sports-radio-talk-show hosts are well-known instigators of these kinds of debates, as are baseball columnists, friends, ex-friends, or the complete stranger sitting three seats down at the local watering hole. It really doesn't matter if you went to the five-tool school of baseball verbiage or if you know just enough about the team in your zip code to survive the occasional water-cooler gossip; the O-U debate is so subjective that any argument could last for hours, regardless of the presence of statistical facts or hardball knowledge in the discussion. That was the case, of course, until Jayson Stark took it upon himself to end the debate once and for all in The Stark Truth - or, more likely, energize it for years to come. Stark, a baseball columnist and television analyst for the better part of the last three decades, attempts to identify the most overrated and underrated players of all time at each position. He'll be the first to admit that his selections will invite skepticism and even controversy, which is the very essence of the O-U debate. In Stark's findings, based on years of research and mounds of statistics (which, he says, can be somewhat overrated), you will see more Hall of Fame players than also-rans on both sides of the fence. One can be considered the best player of his time and still be overrated - or underrated - which makes The Stark Truth a fascinating journey into the greatest debate about the greatest game. -- from dust jacket.