Irrational Reputations

I've always wondered why some players are thought of as part of an upper echelon that nothing in their performance ever supports. Every sport has a few players that year after year are projected to tear up the league. Even in the middle of disappointing seasons, these players continually are put on a pedestal reserved for exceptional players that they simply don't belong on.

Players like this all have varying reasons why they are seen as so good. Lamar Odom produces some big rebounding numbers that make him look like something beyond a good bench player. Jon Lester's place on one of baseball's biggest teams makes him seem better than his above-average stats would imply. Daniel Briere put up big numbers playing with one of the better lines in hockey back in his Buffalo days. Shawne Merriman is a bad person who has sold his soul.

Whatever the reason, these players pop up all over. My point here is, why? Why do we insist on placing these labels on players who don't deserve it? It seems that this comes down to a couple of reasons, one of which is that exposure increases value.

Players like Odom and Lester play for some of the most popular teams in their sports and as such, are seen across the nation repeatedly. When trying to think of talented players, why wouldn't one first turn to the occasionally excellent outfielder they see every week rather than the consistent player they see only for allstar weekend?

This brings me to another point: exciting stats. When a player like Baron Davis is raining down threes from halfcourt or dunking over Robin Lopez, why wouldn't anyone think he was great? Certainly, amazing plays stick in our mind longer than the routine, but one must always remember that amazing plays don't necessarily bely amazing players. Furthermore, players who used to be so outstanding (Manny Ramirez, Paul Kariya, Edgerrin James) have cemented so many great memories in our minds that it can be very hard to think of them as below average. These issues are only compounded by my above point of exposure. If the only play I see Monta Ellis make all year is a one-handed tomahawk dunk from the free throw line, of course I'm going to assume he's an elite player.

My point can be boiled down to just a few simple issues: don't let your eyes deceive you. Programs like SportsCenter are designed specifically to show the coolest plays of the night, but don't let this color your impression of players. No sports fan can possibly watch enough of every team to have a good opinion about every player, but simply try to see enough to know whether David Ortiz is actually any good or whether he's simply a strikeout prone fat guy. Because nothing ruins my day like hearing somebody tell me that Dwight Howard is unstoppable because he can dunk.