The Most Underrated Positions in Sports

Throughout planning this blog in my head, I realized that the most underrated positions in sports are the really nitty gritty ones. The athletes that bear down and don’t care if they get hurt, they just put their heads down and do whatever it is they have to do. Usually they go through a certain amount of discomfort while performing their task.

These aren’t in order but rather the most underrated. I won’t put a limit on how many I’ll do because I also don’t want to bore you with another 7 billion-word blog.

The center: No, not the basketball one, because he’s fairly rated, but the football one. So to start off, all offensive linemen are underrated, but the center especially. For one, the center has to snap the ball and immediately put his hands up and block the guy charging at him. Along with this, he also makes line adjustments, like “shift left once the ball is snapped,” I bet you didn’t know that. Also, he has to place the ball perfectly into the QB’s hands for him to get ready to throw, like, perfectly. The guy he’s going to block is probably the heaviest guy on the defense, as the defensive tackle is usually the biggest.

Relief Pitchers: You definitely didn’t expect these guys to be on the list. Their existence is summarized by them coming in to a tie game with the bases loaded and no outs. But they definitely have more wrinkles to their being. To start, they are cooped up in a pen (literally) for two hours until they are called upon to go into the game. Also, these guys do not stay on a team for a long time, usually they stay on a team for a year or two, maybe three. Have you ever seen a relief pitcher sign a five-year, $150 million contract? Me neither. Also, these pitchers need to have a significant pitch, a strikeout pitch, a sweeping curveball, a 102-mph fastball, or a lockdown cutter. A lights out bullpen electrifies a team and provides security.

Shooting guards: You got your Klay Thompsons, your Michael Jordans, your Kobe Bryants, but in the NBA, the league isn’t filled with only legends. Especially in the modern NBA, where the 3-pointer is more important than anything else, the shooting guard becomes a very valuable position. Most don’t see how important these guys are. Most may think that point guard and center are at the top of the list every single time, and shooting guard is last or close to it, they’re actually a little wrong. What one should look for in a good shooting guard is right in the name: shooting and defense. I put Klay at the top of the list for a reason, he has both of those and he excels. James Harden is proving that he’s a liability on defense every night. But, he can score, some say, but then he’s allowing the other team to also score. Having a guy like Lu Dort (Oklahoma City Thunder) on your team is a blessing. He’s really young , but he’s shaping up to be a true 3 and D wing, Dort is a lockdown defender, he’s refined defense to an art form, and then on the other side of the court, he can shoot the lights out.