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Jimmy Rollins is on the verge of reaching important Hall of Fame voting threshold

Seven former Phillies are featured on the 2022 BBWAA Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and Jonathan Papelbon are first-time candidates. Bobby Abreu, Scott Rolen, Curt Schilling and Billy Wagner are all returning candidates, with Schilling being in his final season of eligibility.

Jimmy Rollins is on the 2022 BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot. (William A. Guerro/Icon Sportswire)

Thanks to the excellent work from Ryan Thibodaux and his three-man ballot tracking team, the baseball world has a good sense of where each candidate stands in the voting as ballots from writers have slowly been revealed.

To earn election into Cooperstown, a candidate must receive at least 75% of the vote in a given year. To stay on the ballot, candidates must receive at least 5% of the vote each year. Candidates are eligible for election to the Hall of Fame on the BBWAA ballot for a maximum of 10 seasons.

With 31.4% of the vote accounted for in Thibodaux’s tracker, Phillies all-time hits leader Jimmy Rollins is closing in on ensuring that he’ll remain on the ballot for the 2023 vote. He currently has 15 votes (12.2%) with 123 ballots revealed. Since there are approximately 400 BBWAA members who are eligible voters (Thibodaux’s estimate is 392), Rollins needs about five more votes to stay on the ballot.

The Phillies shortstop could benefit from an extended stay on the ballot. Schilling, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa are all in their final year of eligibility, so voters who couldn’t make room for Rollins in their ballot this year could reconsider his candidacy. Voters who heavily weigh defensive performance and traditional counting statistics should favor Rollins in future voting.

Among former Phillies on the BBWAA ballot, Rolen probably has the best odds of getting into Cooperstown in the near future. Rolen finished at 52.9% in 2021, up from 35.3% in 2020 and 10.2% in his first year of eligibility in 2018. Per the Phillies public relations staff, among 14 Hall of Fame third baseman who played in the major leagues, Rolen would rank fourth in slugging percentage (.490), sixth in OPS (.855), sixth in extra-base hits (876) and sixth in home runs (316). He’s also an eight-time Gold Glove Award winner and would be ranked second only to Brooks Robinson among Hall of Fame third baseman in defensive runs above average (180.3).

Schilling finished 16 votes shy of election in 2021, but he’s likely to finish with an even lower total in his final year of eligibility as he stands at -13 net votes among returning voters who have so far publicly revealed their ballot. The former Orioles, Astros, Phillies, Diamondbacks and Red Sox pitcher asked to be taken off the BBWAA ballot last year, but the Hall of Fame denied his request.

Wagner has already crossed the voting threshold to remain on the ballot for an eighth year at 56 total public votes. Abreu is in good shape to stay on as well at 16 votes. Like Rolen, Abreu’s Hall of Fame candidacy could gain more traction as the years go by as voters take a deeper look at his overall career.

Barring an impressive comeback, Howard and Papelbon are expected to fall off the ballot in their first year of eligibility.

The voting results are expected to be announced on Jan. 25, with the induction date scheduled for July 24 in Cooperstown, New York.

Former Phillies on 2022 Hall of Fame Ballot

Player	2022 Public Ballot Votes (31.4% of vote known)	2021 Final Vote Total
Scott Rolen	86 (69.9%)	212 (52.9%)
Curt Schilling	70 (56.9%)	285 (71.1%)
Billy Wagner	56 (45.5%)	186 (46.4%)
Bobby Abreu	16 (13%)	35 (8.7%)
Jimmy Rollins	15 (12.2%)	NA
Ryan Howard	2 (1.6%)	NA
Jonathan Papelbon	1 (0.8%)	NA