Blinksportsnews247
It will be fascinating to see how much support six-time All-Star second baseman Chase Utley receives from voters in his first attempt at election in 2024. He is on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame ballot for the first time.
Initially, it appears that Utley will have a difficult time being inducted into Cooperstown because he does not have some of the counting statistics and honors that voters usually find appealing.
After 16 years, Utley—who played for the Dodgers and Phillies—had less than 2,000 hits, 300 home runs, and 200 stolen bases. In the voting for the MVP Award in his league, he never finished better than sixth. Utley continued to play until he was 39 years old, but after his age-31 season—during which he hit.253 with 82 home runs and a 101 OPS+—he didn’t accomplish anything noteworthy.
Even if Utley is not elected on his first try, he still has a strong case to be elected in the future. The following five factors make Utley deserving of a spot in the National Baseball Hall of Fame among all-time greats:
At the height of his career, he was among baseball’s finest players.
Voters’ preference for peak over longevity may determine how much weight to give Utley’s Hall of Fame candidacy. He was a top player in his heyday, even though he didn’t become a regular player for the Phillies until his age-26 season and his performance progressively worsened as he approached his mid-30s.
Over 869 games from 2005 to 2010, Utley hit.298 with 162 home runs, 216 doubles, 572 RBIs, 90 steals, a.911 OPS, and a 133 OPS+.
Utley earned 45.5 bWAR during that time period, second only to Albert Pujols (52.1) among MLB position players. He was more than 7 WAR ahead of Alex Rodriguez, who finished third with 38.3 WAR, and more than 21 WAR ahead of Brian Roberts (24.2).
Most bWAR among MLB position players between 2005 and 2010:
Albert Pujols (52.1), Chase Utley (45.5), Alex Rodriguez (38.3), Mark Teixeira (33.4), and Joe Mauer (31.8).
From 2007 to 2011, the Phillies transformed from being a perennial also-ran to a National League juggernaut, winning five NL East crowns, two NL pennants, and a World Series championship with Utley at the helm. From 1984 to 2006, the Phillies only made the postseason once (in 1993).
He ranks among the best second basemen in the Hall of Fame.
Another issue voters should examine while evaluating Utley’s Hall of Fame credentials is how he compares historically to other players at his position, particularly those already inducted.
Utley’s career WAR of 64.5 ranks 15th all-time among second basemen, with only 10 Hall of Famers having higher statistics. Meanwhile, his seven-year peak WAR of 49.3 (his WAR total in his seven finest seasons, consecutive or not) ranks eighth.
The JAWS approach, created by baseball writer Jay Jaffe to assess a player’s Hall of Fame potential by comparing him to Hall of Famers at his position, considers both career WAR and seven-year peak WAR. Utley’s JAWS figure of 56.9 is in line with the average (57.0) of Hall of Fame second basemen.
As Jaffe pointed out in his FanGraphs story deconstructing Utley’s Hall of Fame case, Utley was worth 173 runs above average at the plate (per Baseball-Reference’s batting runs metric) during his career, ranking 20th among second basemen and surpassing nine Hall of Famers at the position. 3. He was arguably more valuable than his MVP teammates Although Utley earned MVP votes every year from 2005 to 2009, he was never a leading contender, peaking at seventh on the chart.
He was a strong defender, even without awards to prove it
Utley’s Hall of Fame case is similar to that of Scott Rolen, who was elected to the Hall last year on his sixth ballot.
Rolen’s offensive profile, like Utley’s, might not have been Hall of Fame worthy on its own. However, when combined with his world-class defense at third base, it was enough to propel him to the finish line.
Utley’s glove work was never on par with Rolen’s, and he never earned a Gold Glove Award, whereas Rolen won eight. Nonetheless, he was a valuable defensive player at second base. In fact, he ranks ninth all-time among second basemen with 131 fielding runs above average.
Utley had nine hits and a.200 batting average in the Fall Classics, but he made them count. The second baseman homered seven times in 15 World Series games, including a pair against the Rays in a five-game series win in 2008 and five more against the Yankees in the 2009 Fall Classic.
Utley is one of only three players in World Series history (together with Reggie Jackson in 1977 and George Springer in 2017) to homer five times in a single game, and the only one to do it in a losing effort.
Utley’s 1.046 OPS ranks 13th among players with at least 50 career plate appearances in the World Series.
Utley also made one of the greatest defensive plays in recent World Series history against Tampa Bay in Game 5 of the 2008 Fall Classic. With two outs and Jason Bartlett on second base in the top of the seventh inning, Utley ranged to his right at second base to field Akinori Iwamura’s ground ball. After backhanding the ball, Utley faked a throw to first base before firing home to nab Bartlett, who had continued running rather than stopping.
Blinksportsnews247
