Lew Burdette was the star right-hander for the Milwaukee Braves in the 1950s, but his career was a tad on the complicated side to dissect.

Burdette made his first appearance in the Majors for the Braves in 1950, but he was not a permanent member of the roster until 1952.  Burdette became a top hurler in 1953, and from 1953 to 1961, he had at least 15 Wins every year but 1955. Burdette won the National League ERA Title in 1956 (2.70), and the year after, he was the World Series MVP in what would be the Braves' only World Series Championship in Milwaukee.  He had 20 Win years in 1959 and 1960 and was third in Cy Young voting in the latter season.

Burdette was good during this period, utilizing control to lead the NL in BB/9 three times, but he also gave up a lot of Hits, and his career bWAR is under 30.  Known for his fidgeting, Burdette was an annoyance to batters, and it was joked that he would make coffee nervous.

After declining in the early 60s, Burdette bounced to St. Louis, Chicago (NL), Philadelphia, and California before retiring in 1967 with a record of 203-144.

Kevin Appier was arguably one of the most underrated Pitchers of the 1990s, and perhaps we can shed some light on a career that feels unknown outside of Kansas City.

After finishing 12-8 with a third-place finish in Cy Young voting in 1990, Appier was a fundamentally sound, albeit somewhat hidden, player in the small market of Kansas City.  The righthander had a great 1993 season, going 18-8, and leading the American League in ERA (2.56), ERA+ (179), FIP (2.90), and bWAR (9.3).  Appier was third in Cy Young voting, though his bWAR was more than double that of the winner, Jack McDowell of Chicago.  Appier would finally earn an All-Star berth in 1995, though it would be the only one he attended.  

In his time with the Royals, Appier had seven top-ten finishes in bWAR, five ERA top-ten finishes, and four top-five finishes in Strikeouts.  Despite these strong stats, the 1993 season was the only year that he received a Cy Young vote.

Following the Royals, Appier played for Oakland, New York (NL), and Anaheim, where he won a World Series Ring in 2002.  He returned to KC to finish his career, retiring in 2004.  Appier left the game with a 169-137 record with 1,994 Strikeouts.

Forget about Robin Ventura headbutting Nolan Ryan’s fist.

Before he reached the Majors, Robin Ventura already had a full trophy case.  In 1988, the Oklahoma State star was a three-time All-American, won the Dick Howser Trophy, the Golden Spikes Award, and was a Gold Medal winner for the United States.

Professionally, Ventura proved to be a good-hitting third baseman who spent the majority of his career with the Chicago White Sox, the team he debuted with in 1989.  Ventura became a starter in 1990 and was an All-Star in 1992.  With the Chi-Sox, Ventura had five 20 Home Run years and six 90-plus RBI years, but his best asset was his defense, as he earned five of his six Gold Gloves with Chicago.  Ventura is also currently in the top twenty all-time in Total Zone Runs.

While the White Sox are the team Ventura is best known for, he would have another four-year run of 20 Home Runs, three with the Mets and one with the Yankees.

Over Ventura’s career, he blasted 294 Home Runs with 18 of them being Grand Slams.  He would later manage the White Sox from 2012 to 2016.

While the career of Jose Canseco was beset with controversy regarding his steroid use, the players he would later accuse of taking PEDS, and his off-field shenanigans, there should be no doubt that during his prime, he was pegged as a future Hall of Famer.

That prime was in the late 80s and early 90s, where Canseco was one half of the “Bash Brothers” with Mark McGwire in Oakland.  Canseco was an immediate sensation, winning the American League Rookie of the Year award in 1986.  Two years later, Canseco was the best hitter in baseball, winning the Home Run Title (42), RBI Title (124), and he was the first player to have a 40/40 year in Home Runs and Stolen Bases.  Canseco was named the MVP, and he took the A’s to the first of three consecutive World Series appearances.  Oakland only won one of them (1989), and Canseco continued to be an offensive force, winning another Home Run Title with 44 deep in 1991.

With Oakland, Canseco was a five-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger, but the rebuilding Athletics dealt him to the Texas Rangers during the 1992 season.  Canseco was only 27, but he sustained injury after injury, and his defensive skills deteriorated badly, as with many big guys.  When he was healthy, he could still belt it over the fence, as shown by his six straight 20 Home Run years from 1994-99, and he had a personal best in 46 with the Blue Jays in 1998.  

Canseco also played for Boston, Tampa, New York (AL), and Chicago (AL) and retired with 462 Home Runs and 1,407 RBIs.