Phillies: Comparing each 2008 star to a current MLB player
There are plenty of beloved Philadelphia Phillies players from the late 2000s run that resulted in the 2008 World Series Championship. Of them all, the Mount Rushmore of that team is undoubtedly Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels.
The 2008 season was not the best season of any of those four’s careers but the collective effort, along with their teammates, led to the first World Series title since 1980.
We can find some similarities between the core four from the 2008 season and some MLB stars of today. While it is not a perfect comparison, we thought it would be a fun exercise to compare each of the 2008 stars (and their 2008 seasons) to 2021 players and their seasons.
Comparing each 2008 Philadelphia Phillies star to a current MLB player:
Jimmy Rollins: Wander Franco
Again, this mostly has to do with the 2008 and 2021 season. Of course, there is going to be some similarities as they have to play the same position and have similar traits, but we are not comparing Rollins’ fantastic MLB career to Wander Franco’s rookie season.
Franco’s rookie season does look a lot like Rollins’ 2008 season, though. In 2008, Rollins hit .277 with a .786 OPS, 11 home runs and 47 stolen bases. He also played great defense at the shortstop position, although he did not win a Gold Glove in 2008.
Franco’s similarities to Rollins are deeper than him being a switch-hitting shortstop. Franco is hitting .270 this season with a .782 OPS, six home runs and two stolen bases. Rollins certainly has the advantage in stolen bases but the game is also much different now than it was in 2008. Franco has the speed to steal more bases, it just does not go with the analytics.
Franco hits home runs at a higher rate but the slugging percentage is similar. Franco’s slugging percentage this season is only 13 points higher than Rollins’ in 2008 while Rollins’ on-base percentage was 17 points higher than Franco’s is today.
Franco is also a solid defender, although not quite to Rollins’ level yet. Franco has a 122 OPS+ plus this season (meaning he is 22% better than league average) while Rollins had a 104 OPS+ in 2008.
Ryan Howard: Rhys Hoskins
Ryan Howard’s prime may have been short but wow was it fun. Outside of Giancarlo Stanton’s few years, Howard is the last big home run hitter that was hitting home runs at a record pace. Sure, there have been some big seasons here and there, but nobody has matched the 198 home runs he hit from 2006 through 2009.
It is hard to get a comparison for Howard because his home run number is so high. There are not many players that slug 48 home runs and drive in 146 RBIs, leading the league in both. Ironically enough, the player who compares the most to Howard is current Phillies first baseman, Rhys Hoskins.
Hoskins is not going to reach the overall numbers that Howard reached in 2008 because he missed time and is out for the season. But when it comes to rates, Hoskins is fairly close. Out of all the big power-hitting first basemen this season he is the best example of a low batting average, big home run hitter.
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Hoskins is hitting .247 with a .864 OPS and 27 home runs. Howard hit .251 with a .881 OPS and 48 home runs. Howard posted a 125 OPS+ in 2008 while Hoskins currently has a 134 OPS+.
Hoskins has hit one home run in every 16.4 plate appearances this season. Howard, who reached exactly 700 plate appearances in 2008, hit one home run in every 14.6 plate appearances. Howard is higher, but it is not that far off.
If Hoskins had 700 plate appearances this season, at his current rate. He would hit 43 home runs this season. He also has driven in 71 RBIs. At his run-producing rate he would have 112 RBIs. Howard had far more but 112 RBIs is a lot in 2021 and would likely lead the league, just like Howard.
It is a shame that Hoskins’ 2021 season is already over.
Chase Utley: Marcus Semien
You are not going to find a player that is having the kind of season that Chase Utley had in 2008. While it was not his MVP season, Utley was not only one of the best hitters in the entire league but was an elite defensive player as well.
The result of that is a FanGraphs WAR that is very hard to replicate. Utley posted an 8.2 fWAR in 2008. To put that into perspective, there were only 10 seasons from 2015-2019 in which a player posted an 8.2 fWAR or better. Mike Trout did it four times, Mookie Betts twice and Bryce Harper, Josh Donaldson, Alex Bregman and Aaron Judge once.
The closest comparison to find is Marcus Semien and the hitting numbers are very similar between the two second basemen. While Semien is an above-average defender, he does not have the glove that Utley had.
Semien has played every game this season and if he plays all 162, at his current rate, he will finish with a 6.9 fWAR. That is fantastic.
Semien is dependable like Utley and his standing among his peers at the plate is nearly identical to Utley in 2008. Semien has a lower batting average and OPS than Utley but is nearly identical in OPS and wRC+. Semien has a 133 OPS+ and 132 wRC+ this season. Utley had a 136 OPS+ and 134 wRC+ in 2008. Strikingly similar.
Utley finished with 33 home runs and Semien is currently as 32, likely finishing the year around 37. Utley also stole 14 bases in 2008, Semien is only one shy of that mark with 13.
Cole Hamels: Sandy Alcantara
Cole Hamels has had a really interesting career as he has always been a really good pitcher in the league but has never been considered to be the best of the best. Hamels has been to four All-Star Games and has been named both the NLCS MVP and the World Series MVP.
That being said, he never finished higher than fifth in Cy Young voting and received a Cy Young vote four times. In hindsight, it seems like Hamels’ career was better than it actually was, but the fact still remains that without him, the Phillies likely don’t win the 2008 World Series.
We cannot use playoff numbers for 2021 as the playoffs have not begun and out of all the comparisons, this one was by far the toughest. The game is different now so there are plenty of pitchers with higher strikeout rates and better ERAs but still have a lower ERA+ as they are not better compared to league average than Hamels was in 2008.
The player that compares the best is Sandy Alcantara. He is not a southpaw but he is a young pitcher in the NL East that could be starting a great career. Hamels was 24 in 2008, Alcantara is 25.
Hamels finished the 2008 season with a 3.09 ERA, 1.082 WHIP and 196 strikeouts in 227.1 innings pitched. He did not strike out as many batters as today’s pitchers do, but he was a workhorse. His advanced numbers are solid as well with a 141 ERA+ and a 3.72 FIP.
Alcantara is also a workhorse. He likely won’t get to Hamels’ innings pitched but he has made 27 starts and is on pace for 33 with 202 innings pitched. Believe it or not, he is actually fourth in MLB in innings pitched.
Alcantara has a 3.27 ERA, 1.119 WHIP and 158 strikeouts in 165.1 innings pitched. He owns a worse ERA+ at 125 but a better FIP at 3.57. His rates per nine innings are similar as well. Hamels struck out 7.8 batters per nine innings, Alcantara has struck out 8.6. Hamels allowed 7.6 hits per nine innings, Alcantara allows 7.5 hits per nine.
Hamels walked 0.5 batters less per nine innings than Alcantara has this season but allowed 0.2 more home runs per nine innings.
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Regardless, the numbers are not perfect but Alcantara at least fits the mold of being a young workhorse pitcher who is near the top of the league in innings pitched while not being a high-volume strikeout guy.