An early look at Phillies on 2020 Hall of Fame ballot
By John Town
With the 2019 Baseball Hall of Fame class now decided, let’s take an early look at Phillies who will be on the 2020 ballot.
For the second year in a row, the Phillies will be sending a former player to the Baseball Hall of Fame as Roy Halladay will be posthumously inducted this year. His family opted to have him wear a blank cap on his plaque, as to not disrespect Toronto or Philadelphia, both of which he loved playing in.
With this year’s voting now in the books, it’s a good time to look forward to the 2020 ballot. Curt Schilling, Scott Rolen, and Billy Wagner will return to the ballot while Bobby Abreu, Cliff Lee, and Raul Ibanez will be eligible for the first time. Each has their own arguments for why and why not they should be in Cooperstown.
As I evaluate each player’s case, I will make use of the Jaffe WAR Score System (JAWS). This system, developed by Jay Jaffe while at Baseball Prospectus in 2004, combines a player’s career and seven-year peak wins above replacement to decide if they should be in the Hall of Fame. A player is often compared to the average Hall of Famer at their position as well as other Hall of Famers at the position.
With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s dive into the Hall of Fame cases for former Phillies who could be on the 2020 ballot.