Phillies news and rumors 11/21: Chase Utley debuts on Hall of Fame ballot

Chase Utley is one of the greatest players in Phillies history. (Gavin Baker/Icon Sportswire)

Chase Utley’s Hall of Fame candidacy has generated plenty of debate since his 2018 retirement, and we’ll at least begin to see some clues in January. The Hall of Fame announced its 2024 Baseball Writers Association of America ballot on Monday, and the former Phillies second baseman is on it for the first time.

Utley’s case will be decided largely by how much the BBWAA voters value a player’s peak versus his body of work over an entire career. If enough side with the former criterion, Utley has a good shot. He averaged 7.6 bWAR per season between 2005 and 2010, earning four Silver Sluggers, five All-Star nods and five top-14 MVP finishes in that span. As our Tim Kelly pointed out in July, his 50.4 WAR from 2005-12 trailed only Albert Pujols, a surefire future first-ballot and inner-circle Hall of Famer, among position players.

If not, though, Utley will face an uphill battle, because his counting stats don’t quite amount to standard Hall of Fame production. He hit 259 home runs and fell 115 hits short of 2,000.

Utley’s Hall of Fame fate will likely be decided at least a couple years down the line. Set to be announced Jan. 23, 2024, the results of Utley’s first year will offer a sense of his chances to ultimately be inducted, but it’s likely that for Year 1, he falls somewhere between the 5% needed to remain on the ballot and the 75% needed for induction.

If and when he does, Utley will join Jimmy Rollins as core members of the 2007-11 Phillies to remain on the Hall of Fame ballot multiple years. Rollins got 9.4% of the vote in 2022 and 12.9% in 2023, so the double-play combo will fittingly appear on the ballot together this year.

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The latest episode of Phillies Therapy, with Paul Boye and The Athletic‘s Matt Gelb, reacts to the Nola signing.

Former Phillie Nation

A few more former Phillies are on the Hall of Fame ballot with Utley and Rollins.