Personally, I think he definitely was an underrated host. Yes, he made the typical "rookie mistakes" of misspeaking, forgetting whose turn it was, etc., but almost every game show host does this. And, yes, I consider him a "rookie" on BB 87 and CS because all of his shows lasted at most a year; not enough time to really find a niche in the game show world, IMO.
However, he definitely has a good command of the contestants and the overall game around him, which is a lot more than can be said about some hosts.
Need I bring up the names Chris Wylde or Rolf Benirschke? At least Rafferty proved himself a very capable host, and, yes, I would've loved to see him host more shows. It's just too bad no one picked him up afterwards.
Was he ever considered for any other game shows besides ESC, CS, or BB 87?
Anthony