Phillies Wall of Fame candidate: Placido Polanco
Placido Polanco isn’t a sure-fire member of the Phillies Wall of Fame, but he deserves a long look
Phillies fans have the opportunity to vote for the next member of the Phillies Wall of Fame, and the 10 person ballot released in February has some interesting options.
While not a headline candidate, Placido Polanco comes in as more than a throw-in to fill the ballot.
Polanco’s candidacy comes months after he fell off the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot on his first year of eligibility. While clearly not a Hall of Fame player Polanco did receive two votes from former New York Daily News writer Bill Madden and Dennis Georgatos of the Associated Press.
Throughout his career, Polanco was never more than an above average starter who had some very good hitting seasons. During his two stints with the Phillies Polanco played multiple positions and was a decent stopgap at third base before Maikel Franco came up.
Polanco ended up playing seven seasons in Philadelphia, the most in one place in his 16-year career despite not starting with the Phillies.
At the 2002 trade deadline Polanco was sent from St. Louis to Philadelphia in the Scott Rolen deal that has haunted the Phillies’ hot corner for nearly two decades.
Here’s a closer look at whether Polanco is worthy of the Wall of Fame.
Polanco was better than we remember
Polanco had 776 hits in 688 games over parts of seven seasons with the Phillies, and his 2,000 career hit was a two-run home run as a member of the Phillies. He falls short of the top-50 in career hits for the Phillies, but his 15.9 WAR is higher than Mike Lieberthal and Ryan Howard’s.
Among the six Wall of Fame candidates who are hitters, Polanco has more hits than two of them and more home runs than half of them. Unlike Bake McBride and Doug Glanville, Polanco won hardware with the Phillies, receiving an All-Star selection and winning a Gold Glove.
A 7.0 dWAR, the 14th best in franchise history, will help Polanco’s case. As a member of the Phillies Polanco became the first player in baseball history to win a Gold Glove at multiple infield positions in his career and the second to win a Gold Glove at multiple positions.
In his career, Polanco is the all-time leader in fielding percentage at both second base (.993) and third base (.983) among qualified fielders (players with at least 500 games at a position), according to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Unlike Rolen Polanco has remained in good standing with the team and fanbase, a critical requirement for the Wall of Fame. There was never any issue between Polanco, the organization nor the fans thanks to Polly being an all-around good guy who “played the game the right way.”
As he wrapped up his career, Polanco retired as a member of the Phillies in 2016 during Alumni Weekend.
Good, but not great
Polanco fell short of the That Ball’s Outta Here top-50 players in franchise history, but he did receive a vote in that balloting. While his numbers are impressive, they fail to rank among the top-50 in several key categories in Phillies history such as games played, hits, and home runs.
Among current Wall of Famers Polanco has more hits than Jim Thome, but would otherwise have the fewest hits among hitters on the Wall of Fame. Every hitter on the Wall of Fame has either 1,000 hits or 100 home runs, and Polanco would be the first without either.
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While Polanco was liked overall as a player and keeps a good relationship with the organization, he’s not considered to be a beloved player. Someone like Carlos Ruiz who never reached 1,000 hits or 100 home runs will make the Wall of Fame as a beloved player who, like Polanco, was better served with a glove.
Polanco played on one of the greatest teams in franchise history, but he was never considered the best player on his own team. That’s a hard mountain to climb when playing with Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, and Roy Halladay, but it’s hard to find Polanco on the top-10 of any of his own teams.
On the 2011 team that set a club record with 101 wins Polanco probably ranks between 12-15 on the team despite being an All-Star. John Mayberry Jr. had a better oWAR than Polanco that season.
Must Read. Top 50 Players in Phillies History. light
You can chalk Polanco up as a very good player who will be at Alumni Weekends for the rest of his life, but he, unfortunately, falls short of being a Wall of Famer.