Bench Player to Star Player?

[Funky Bunky]

Bench utility player that came up clutch a few times as a Devil Ray, then slowly became a cornerstone of the defense, became a fairly consistant hitter, and made an All-Star Game. Er'body loves Zobrist down here.

Zobrist is an awesome choice, because of his versatility at many positions and has became a major cog in the Rays offense. Zorrilla is also one of my favorite Rays players as well.

Ben Zobrist is a star?

He was a 2009 MLB All-Star and he's just so underrated compared to Evan Longoria.

He's not a "star" though. Not a name most fans would know.

If your a baseball fan you know who he is.

I'm a huge baseball fan. No clue who he was until you mentioned him. Couldn't even have told you what team he played for.

Then you're not a huge baseball fan. Zobrist has had an ops of over .800 (including one year of .948), 3 of the last 4 years, and he has also been top 20 in MVP voting 3 of the last 4 years. If you have never heard of a guy who has those credentials, I dont know what to say.

[Corvus]

Alex Edler, though drafted in the 3rd round was basically an unknown playing in Sweden's third tier league (which I guess would be the Swedish equivalent of the ECHL?) when he was drafted and if not a star, has displayed star potential.

[Cosmic]

Kurt Warner.

End of thread.

Not so fast.

Dominik Hasek was drafted 199th overall by Chicago in 1983, but didn't play his first game there until 1991. By then, the Hawks had someone in net named Ed Belfour.

Chicago traded Hasek to Buffalo for Stephane Beauregard and the pick used to draft Eric Daze.

Hasek went on to win six Vezina trophies, appear in 3 Stanley Cup finals (one with the Sabres, two with Detroit) and win two Stanley Cups, and is considered one of the top goaltenders of all time.

In fairness, had Hasek been born in North America he'd have gone much, much higher. Hasek wasn't a forgotten player, teams were afraid to take a chance on players behind the curtain, hense his 25 year old rookie year.

Still, ignoring his draft status and the time it took him to get to the NHL, he played 25 games over two years for the Blackhawks and then they traded him away for spare parts. I think he definitely qualifies for this thread. He's also the only goalie to win the Hart Trophy twice.

[NEW.ERA]

Miikka Kiprusoff

Late draft pick, backup in San Jose, takes the Flames to a Cup Final, wins Vezina, 300 wins. I'd say star.

[Cujo]

Kurt Warner.

End of thread.

Not so fast.

Dominik Hasek.....

Need I remind you that Warner didn't just do this in St. Louis, he also went from bench to superstar (again) during his time in Arizona.

Throw whoever you want out there, but Kurt Warner is the greatest zero-to-hero, underdog story EVER.

[Fifty8_Black O]

This is a homer play here but I think Jake Delhomme fits nicely into this category. Undrafted backup QB out of Louisiana Lafayette played on the practice squad for the Saints, then played in the World League (where he backed up Kurt Warner for a season) and won a championship there in a two qb system. Came back to the Saints, played well in limited action behind Aaron Brooks and Jeff Blake. Carolina signed him as a free agent in the '03 offseason (he chose the Panthers over the Cowboys, both teams offering a qb competition with incumbents Rodney Peete and Quincy Carter respectively) and took over the starting job during half time of the first regular season game and carried the cats back from a 17-0 deficit to victory. He went on to lead them to a Super Bowl in his first season where he still holds the record for longest offensive play from scrimmage. In 7 seasons with the Panthers he made the playoffs 3 times, the NFC championship twice, was a pro-bowler in 2005, holds the team records for most career passing yards, passing touchdowns, interceptions, 4th quarter comebacks, and game winning drives, not to mention being the winner of the 2005 NFL quarterback skills challenge and the guy who delivered us

. And that class is todays lesson on the ragin' cajun himself, Mr. Jake Delhomme.

[chuckymack]

That commercial is fantastic.

[GFB]

Played ball at community college and then at Virginia Union. Undrafted free agent to the Wizards. Throw-in player in trade to Magic for Ike Davis. Then was a throw-in player with Chucky Atkins to the the Pistons in the Grant Hill sign/trade.

After the move to the Pistons, here's the resume:

• NBA champion (2004)
  
• 4× NBA All-Star (2003–2006)
  
• 4× NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2002–2003, 2005–2006)
  
• 3× All-NBA Second Team (2003–2004, 2006)
  
• 2× All-NBA Third Team (2002, 2005)
  
• 2× NBA rebounding champion (2002, 2003)
  
• NBA blocks champion (2002)
  
• 5× NBA All-Defensive First Team (2002–2006)
  
• NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2007)