Are MLB Players Irrational, Biased, or Just Loopy?

There’s been a lot of noise recently about a Sports Illustrated poll in which Major League Baseball players named Derek Jeter the most overrated player in the league, with 10 percent of the vote.

The poll was based on a survey of 495 MLB players. Since SI runs a new poll every week, I assume the questions were asked all at once, perhaps at the beginning of the season. Which makes the previous week’s poll even stranger.

When asked “Among current major leaguers, which player would you pick to build a team around?”, Jeter finished second in the polling with 12 percent of the vote. Alex Rodriguez, who finished first with 14 percent of the vote, was fourth on the “overrated” poll with 7 percent of the vote.

How is it possible for the same voters to call two players grossly overrated while also wanting to build a team around those players?

It makes you wonder who’s doing the overrating. It also makes you wonder about the rationality of virtually anyone who votes for virtually anything.