Three former Philadelphia Phillies All-Stars appear on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for the first time this cycle, and they join four holdovers, all of whom made at least one All-Star team during their time in red pinstripes.
Franchise icons Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard — both of whom last played in 2016 — are on the 2022 Hall of Fame ballot, the museum announced Monday. As is Jonathan Papelbon, who is the franchise’s all-time saves leader.
Rollins was a three-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove Award winner and the 2007 National League MVP. 2,306 of Rollins’ 2,455 career hits came in red pinstripes, making him the Phillies all-time leader in base hits.
Like Rollins, Howard was a three-time All-Star, and won an NL MVP, with his coming in 2006. The 2005 NL Rookie of the Year had one of the greatest power peaks in recent history, slugging 284 home runs and driving in 859 runs between 2005 and 2011. Howard hit 382 home runs in a career spent entirely with the Phillies, trailing only Mike Schmidt on the franchise home run leaderboard.
While perhaps not a fan favorite, Papelbon was an excellent closer for three-and-a-half seasons with the Phillies. As mentioned above, Papelbon is the Phillies all-time saves leader with 123. He holds the same distinction for the Red Sox, having closed 219 games in seven seasons in Boston. A six-time All-Star, Papelbon is 10th in MLB history with 368 saves.
Four other Phillies — Curt Schilling, Billy Wagner, Scott Rolen and Bobby Abreu — return to the ballot in 2022. All four have sizable proponents who believe they are worthy of election.
One of the greatest postseason pitchers of all time, Schilling is in his 10th and final year of Hall of Fame eligibility. A six-time All-Star, Schilling received 71.1% of the vote in 2021, the highest total in a year where no player was elected. He’ll need to get to 75% to be enshrined.
Wagner — who spent the 2004 and 2005 seasons with the Phillies — received 46.4% in 2021. He’s entering his seventh season of eligibility on the ballot. Wagner is sixth in MLB history with 422 saves.
Meanwhile, Rolen saw a tremendous jump in 2021, receiving votes on 52.9% of ballots in his fourth year of eligibility. That’s a pretty drastic increase from 10.2% in 2018. One of the greatest third basemen in MLB history, Rolen was a seven-time All-Star and eight-time Gold Glove Award winner.
Abreu was one of the most underrated players of his era, and perhaps in baseball history. While some of his defensive shortcomings have been documented, Abreu slashed .291/.395/.475 with 288 home runs, 1,363 RBIs, 400 stolen bases and an .870 OPS. Both because he didn’t play on a ton of great teams and peaked during the back half of The Steroid Era, Abreu only made two All-Star teams, but that’s not a very good way to evaluate his career. Abreu got votes on just 8.7% of ballots in 2021.
The full 2022 ballot can be seen below. Results will be announced on Jan. 25, 2022.
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