Phillies Madness Finals: Mike Schmidt vs Chase Utley

In the finals of the greatest Phillies player of all-time bracket, we have two of the greatest hitters in franchise history.

There are few surprises in our Phillies Madness bracket, and the finals are no exception.

Starting with 30 of our top-50 players of all-time, we’ve narrowed it down to the final two players through fan votes.

In the finals, we have number one seed Michael Jack Schmidt vs the six seed, Chase Utley.

The biggest stars and leaders of their respective championship teams, it only makes sense that the finals comes down to these two Phillies legends.

Here’s a look at how they got to the finals.

Mike Schmidt

• Round 1: Bye
• Round 2: 94-6 over Johnny Callison
• Round 3: 67-33 over Cole Hamels
• Round 4: 93-7 over Richie Ashburn

After getting a first round bye week as the top seed, Schmidt steamrolled over Callison, one of the most productive hitters in team history. Schmidt then managed his way to beat Cole Hamels, the eighth seed, handily. Surprisingly, he crushed Richie Ashburn, whose hitting record he beat and held for decades.

Chase Utley

• Round 1: 96-4 over Darren Daulton
• Round 2: 82-18 over Ryan Howard
• Round 3: 85-15 over Roy Halladay
• Round 4: 67-33 over Jimmy Rollins

Like Schmidt, Utley dominated his first round in the competition by beating fellow fan-favorite Darren Daulton. The next three rounds were against teammates from the greatest era in team history, but Utley pulled out undeniable victories against all three.

Now, here’s a comparison of the Phillies careers for Utley, the greatest second baseman in Phillies history, and Schmidt, the greatest third baseman in baseball history.

Schmidt: 2,404 games, 2,234 hits, 408 2B, 59 3B, 548 HR, 1,595 RBI, 106.9 WAR

Utley: 1,551 games, 1,623 hits, 346 2B, 49 3B, 233 HR, 916 RBI, 62 WAR

Clearly, the stats don’t even come close, and it’s the reason why Schmidt is unanimously regarded as the best player in Phillies history and one of the best in baseball history.

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Utley did pad his career stats with a couple of solid seasons in Los Angeles, but injuries derailed a career that was destined to join Schmidt in the Hall of Fame. There’s still a chance for Utley to get into Cooperstown, but he won’t be a nearly-unanimous first-ballot electee like Schmidt.

While the numbers clearly reflect where Schmidt belongs in Phillies history, the fan vote to decide the final round of our bracket could be closer than the prior races. Utley remains one of the most beloved players in franchise history and the fan vote could reflect that.

We’ll have polls up on our Twitter page throughout the week to determine the winner of our bracket, and the results of the two polls will be shared next week.