Jack Powell may have posted a losing record over his career (245-255), but regardless of the era, isn’t anyone who won these many games have to be considered good?

Brett Butler was only an All-Star once, but don’t let that fact mislead you into what was one hell of a baseball player.

Playing from 1981 to 1997, Butler came up through the Atlanta Braves organization and won the first of his four Triple Crowns in 1983, his last year in an Atlanta uniform.  The speedy Centerfielder had 38 Stolen Bases that week, and while he never finished first in that stat, that season began a 13-year streak of at least 25 SB.

Butler was traded to the Cleveland Indians, where he again won the Triples Title (1986), but he returned to the NL with the Giants in 1988.  That season, he began a five-year run of MVP votes, led the NL in Runs, and was first in Hits in 1990.  After three seasons with the Gants, he moved south to the Dodgers in 1991, where he was finally an All-Star and would later have two more first-place finishes in Triples.

Butler played until 1997, where he finished his career with 2,357 Hits, 558 Stolen Bases, and a .290 Batting Average.

Darryl Strawberry was at one time the most feared hitter in the National League, and a case could be made that he was also the most recognized.

Drafted first overall in 1980, Strawberry debuted with the Mets in 1983, winning the Rookie of the Year.  The electric Outfielder was an All-Star in 1984 and would be again the next six seasons in New York.  Strawberry was one of the reasons that Mets fans came to the park, hoping to see one of his Home Runs, and every year as a Met, he delivered at least 25 of them, including a league-leading 39 in 1988.  That season, he was second in MVP voting, losing to Kirk Gibson of the Dodgers, though Strawberry likely should have won.

The Mets won the 1986 World Series, and he was on top of the world, finishing in the top ten in MVP voting three other seasons.  The two-time Silver Slugger was exceptionally popular and well-known and was on top of the world, or so it seemed.

During this elite period as a Met, he was not exactly angelic.  He had fought openly with teammates, was abusing drugs, and was known to be selfish, often showing up late.  Needing a change of scenery, Strawberry signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a Free Agent in 1991, and he was again an All-Star with 28 Home Runs.  As it turned out, this was the end of his dominance.

Injuries and off-field issues reduced him to a shell of his former self, but despite this, he consistently found work throughout the 1990s, most notably winning three World Series Rings in a reduced role with the New York Yankees.  He retired with 335 Home Runs and 1,000 Runs Batted In, but it felt like he should have so much more.

Jim Fregosi’s Major League debut coincided with that of the Los Angeles Angels, and it would not take long for the Shortstop to establish himself as one of the premier players at his position.

Fregosi went to his first All-Star Game in 1964 and then had a five-year streak beginning in 1966.  Fregosi was not a power hitter, but he had six 10-home-run seasons, which was good for a Shortstop of his era.  Defensively, he was very good, winning a Gold Glove in 1967, which was also the season he was seventh in MVP voting, and led the American League in Triples (13).  Fregosi also had seven other seasons where he received MVP votes.

The six-time All-Star also played for the Mets, Texas, and Pittsburgh, and he retired in 1978 with 1,726 Hits and 151 Home Runs.

Fregosi would later become a successful Manager where over reigns helming California, Chicago (AL), Philadelphia, and Toronto, he compiled a record of 1,028-1,094.