I’ve just finished reading “The Stark Truth: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players in Baseball History” by Jayson Stark.

In the book, Stark provides his picks for the top five most “overrated” and “underrated” baseball players for the eight non-pitcher defensive positions, designated hitters, right-handed starters, left-handed starters and relief pitchers.

For the Yankees fans reading this, here’s the “bad news” – there’s at least a dozen Yankees that made the “overrated” lists whereas around only four Yankees made the “underrated” lists.

In any event, I enjoyed reading “The Stark Truth.” It’s a quick read. And, Stark has a very casual way of writing that makes you feel as if you’re having a conversation with one of your baseball buddies – rather than having some supposed-hardball-genius preaching to you from their ivory tower.

You won’t agree with all of Stark’s picks…I know that I did not agree with some of them. Nonetheless, “The Stark Truth” presents many thought-provoking cases. And, they’re presented via a nice blend of hard statistical facts mixed in with non-quantifiable yet illuminating supportive evidence.

Baseball fans who enjoy having their perceptions challenged will enjoy “The Stark Truth: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players in Baseball History.” Granted, the cases may or may not change those perceptions. But, again, it’s because of the overall concept of Stark’s book, his presentation, and the succinct cases therein, that will make this an enjoyable read for them.