Nine former Phillies eligible for Hall of Fame induction in 2019
By John Town
Nine former Phillies were listed on the official BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot announced Monday, headlined by the late Roy Halladay.
The Baseball Writers Association of America announced the 2019 Hall of Fame ballot Monday morning. Nine former Phillies made the cut, including six new names, the most notable of whom is Roy Halladay.
Altogether, the former Phils and their current year on the ballot are: Freddy Garcia (1st), Roy Halladay (1st), Roy Oswalt (1st), Juan Pierre (1st), Placido Polanco (1st), Scott Rolen (2nd), Curt Schilling (6th), Bill Wagner (4th), and Michael Young (1st).
In addition to these players, longtime manager Charlie Manuel is up for induction by the Today’s Game Era committee. The panel of 16 will meet Dec. 9 at the Winter Meetings, with 12 votes needed for Manuel to get inducted. He has a strong chance of getting in after managing Philadelphia to five straight division championships, two National League pennants, and one World Series championship.
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Out of all the newcomers, Halladay has the best case for induction. Over 16 years in the majors, he had a 3.38 ERA, 203-105 record, 1.178 WHIP, 2117 strikeouts, and 592 walks. He won the Cy Young award twice and was an All-Star eight times. Halladay threw just the second no-hitter in MLB postseason history and is one of only 23 pitchers to ever throw a perfect game. He is a near-lock for the Hall.
Oswalt is the only other newcomer with a chance to remain on the ballot after this year. He has good career rates with a 3.36 ERA and 3.56 strikeout-to-walk ratio but is limited in terms of counting stats. He ranks below-average in JAWS among Hall of Fame pitchers. Oswalt could stick around for a few years, but getting 75% of the vote behind him will be a tall task.
Otherwise, the other new former Phils on the ballot aren’t expected to last past this year. They all had long, successful careers in the league, but none of them stood above their counterparts enough to warrant induction.
Turning toward returning names, Schilling remains an interesting case for the Hall. He climbed back over 50% of votes last year in his fifth year of eligibility but remains a divisive figure for his post-career comments. He still needs a large boost in votes to reach the 75% threshold, but his numbers are trending upwards.
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Wagner remains a longshot considering he only got 11.1% of votes in his third year of eligibility. He was one of the top relievers in the game during his career, but you need to be a transcendent player like Mariano Rivera or Trevor Hoffman to get inducted as a reliever. Wagner should stick around this year and for a few more, but his induction may have to come via a committee.
Rolen enters his second year of eligibility in a similar spot as Wagner. Rolen received 10.2% of the vote last year, one of the lowest totals to still remain on the ballot. He is right around average in JAWS for Hall of Fame third basemen and has plenty of accolades.
Rolen may become one of those players who slowly climbs up the ballots and gets pushed in right before he is no longer eligible.
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After seeing Jim Thome get inducted into the Hall of Fame, watching another former Phillie get inducted in 2019 would be great.