Who is the most overated athlete of all time?

[bholdr]

david beckham.

damn straight.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Nolan Ryan

Very, very good pitcher with great longevity, but not one of the top 25 pitchers of all time.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Tyson was overrated, but Marciano is way more overrated.

[PhatTBoll]

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1. Nolan Ryan. 292 career losses. He lost over 47% of his starts. That breaks down to a scoge above league average. Strikeouts are impressive, as are no-hitters. But you'd think over 3 decades a great pitcher could find a way to win more than he lost. Also, 0 Cy Youngs. At no point did anyone ever think he was the best pitcher in half the league in a given season; why is he even considered among the best all time?

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With the possible exception of Walter Johnson, no pitcher struck more fear in the hearts of opposing batters than Ryan. That's got to be worth something. As far as the losses go, look at some of the teams he played for in his career. Some real stinkers in there.

[BWebb]

I think the top three are:

1. Joe Namath-has anyone looked at his career numbers.
2. Derek Jeter-get's all the hype because he lives in NYC.
3. Champ Bailey-Dude gets burned everytime he's on the field.

Rod Woodson is also in contention for the list.

[mostsmooth]

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Easily Cal Ripken. In his 20 years he hit .265 or less 10 times. He also has the honor of hitting into the most double plays in a career.

[/ QUOTE ]
off the top of my head , this is a good candidate, just because of the streak

[mostsmooth]

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Lance Armstrong.

He rides a [censored] bike and has a ridiculously low resting heart rate.

I repeat, he rides a bike.

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Thread over, this is the winner.

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if youre the best at something, how can you be overrated?

[mostsmooth]

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Oh, he's overrated because he only participates in one sport. Okay.

[/ QUOTE ]no, he is overrated because he participates in a sport which requires very little skill. I am still waiting for someone to prove me wrong. No one has BTW.

Please, someone tell me how cycling is a skillful sport. Its all about conditioning, and if someone has a freakishly large heart, they will excell at it.

[/ QUOTE ]
the definition of athlete: A person possessing the natural or acquired traits, such as strength, agility, and endurance, that are necessary for physical exercise or sports, especially those performed in competitive contexts.
given this definition, how is armstrong overrated?

[istewart]

[ QUOTE ]
I think the top three are:

1. Joe Namath-has anyone looked at his career numbers.
2. Derek Jeter-get's all the hype because he lives in NYC.
3. Champ Bailey-Dude gets burned everytime he's on the field.

Rod Woodson is also in contention for the list.

[/ QUOTE ]

Jeter is overrated but he is still a very good player and a lot of his hype is because of his postseason prowess, not just because he plays in NYC. He still is worth a nomination. Even as a Yankee fan I can say it.

Marino is not overrated.

[ucfryan]

Michael Vick without a doubt.