Four former Phillies are back on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot

The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) has announced its ballot for the 2025 Hall of Fame class, and while there are no former Philadelphia Phillies making their ballot debuts, four former Phils are back on the ballot, each with a different level of expectation and urgency.

Four former Philadelphia Phillies are back on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot this time around

Now in his sixth year of eligibility, Bobby Abreu just barely made the cut when he debuted on the ballot in 2020, garnering only 5.5 percent of the vote to stay above the 5 percent cutline. He slowly moved upwards but peaked at 15.4 percent in 2023 before dropping to 14.8 percent in 2024.

Abreu amassed nearly 2,500 hits and won several individual awards during his underappreciated career, but it seems as though he's destined to settle in near the bottom of the ballot until his eligibility expires. Absent a huge jump this year or next, his case will ultimately fall short of Cooperstown.

Closer Billy Wagner collected 59 of his 422 career saves in Phillies pinstripes across the 2004 and 2005 seasons. The 2025 ballot represents his 10th and final chance at election after he missed by just five votes last year.

Wagner has been on quite the upward trajectory for several seasons, and all indications are that he'll get the call to the Hall in his final shot. He is the most likely of the four former Phils on the ballot to make it this year, although he certainly won't be wearing a Phillies cap on his plaque.

The Phillies' all-time hits leader, Jimmy Rollins, appears for the fourth time. He has made small jumps each of the last two years, and he currently sits right with Abreu at 14.8 percent. But things are looking promising for the 2007 NL MVP, with many saying that he will experience more notable jumps in the coming years.

Rollins has the hardware to back up his case, and he has the counting stats, with 231 home runs, 1,421 runs scored, and 470 stolen bases. He won't get in this year, but he could find himself there eventually.

And then there is "The Man," Chase Utley, who debuted on last year's ballot and garnered 28.8 percent of the vote. Certainly, there is a long way to go to reach the 75 percent threshold, but Utley's candidacy is buoyed by the analytics movement and the new tendency to rely on WAR and other metrics rather than simple counting stats.

This method of thinking will certainly help Utley, whose career numbers don't look overwhelming at first glance. But he had such a tremendous peak from 2005-2009 that many voters will likely be swayed, even if it takes a while. Utley won't get voted in this year either, but he now seems quite likely to find himself enshrined by the end of the decade. That's a speech that Phillies fans simply can't wait for.

For those curious, next year's wave will see four former Phillies appear on the ballot for the first time. 2008 NLCS and MVP Cole Hamels has the strongest case, though his inability to reach 200 career wins or 3,000 strikeouts will likely hurt his chances. Hunter Pence had a brief but memorable stint for the Phillies. He had a fine MLB career, but likely won't be long for the ballot. Two other players who had cups of coffee with the Phillies amid their productive careers, Howie Kendrick and Neil Walker, will be one-and-done on the ballot.

We now wait for Jan. 21, 2025, to find out if any of Rollins, Abreu, Utley, or Wagner get the call to the Hall. Thirty-seven players who have suited up for the Phillies in their history have gone on to the Baseball Hall of Fame. And while they aren't all created equal in terms of contributions to the Phillies, it's a notably big number that might be growing very soon.

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