Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and former Phillies closer Billy Wagner joined Dave Parker and former Phillie Dick Allen as part of the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame class. Wagner was elected in his 10th and final year on the ballot.
Two legendary Phillies from the 2000s teams are on an upward trajectory among Hall of Fame voters. Former second baseman Chase Utley received 39.8 percent of votes in his second year on the ballot. Former shortstop Jimmy Rollins received 18 percent of votes in his fourth year on the ballot. A candidate must receive at least 75 percent of votes to be inducted and can remain on the ballot for 10 years.
Why Phillies stars Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins will get into Hall of Fame one day
Utley is an untraditional Hall of Fame candidate. He accumulated 1,885 hits and 259 home runs throughout his 16-year career between the Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers. Those numbers are modest compared to traditional Hall of Fame standards.
Hall of Fame voters used to rely on the Magic Number Clubs such as the 3,000-hit or 300-win clubs when deciding their votes. Players in those esteemed clubs or players close to them would generally win over the voters. The Athletic’s Jayson Stark believes the old-school way of voting is nearing an end (subscription required) with a more metric-driven approach now.
Stark believes Hall of Fame voters will look for players who had big, unmistakable peaks of greatness, a clear impact on winning and a period in their career when they were among the elite players at their position. He thinks Utley is the clear definition of this approach.
Although his numbers might seem underwhelming, Utley was among Major League Baseball’s best at the peak of his career. The four-time Silver Slugger produced a 45.4 bWAR from 2005-10, second to only future first-ballot Hall of Famer Albert Pujols among position players in that span. Utley was named to five of his six career All-Star Games in those six seasons during his prime and hit .298 with 992 hits, 216 doubles, 25 triples, 162 home runs, 572 RBI, a 133 OPS+ and 90 stolen bases.
Utley was a key piece on the Phillies teams that made five consecutive playoff appearances from 2007-11 and two consecutive World Series appearances in 2008 and 2009. He had a career .262 playoff batting average with the Phillies with seven doubles, 10 home runs, 25 RBI and a .902 OPS in 46 games. He also delivered one of the most iconic speeches in Philadelphia sports history during the 2008 World Series parade.
Utley compares well to other second basemen already enshrined in the Hall of Fame. His 64.5 bWAR ranks 15th all-time at the position and is higher than 13 Hall of Famers. The JAWS system takes both career WAR and seven-year peak WAR into account to evaluate a player’s Hall of Fame worthiness by comparing him to the Hall of Famers at his position. The average of the 20 second basemen in the Hall of Fame is 57, and Utley’s sits at 56.9.
After receiving 28.8 percent of votes in his first year on the ballot in 2024, Utley saw his percentage rise by 11 points this time around. The six-time All-Star is trending in the right direction for an eventual induction into the Hall of Fame.
Rollins received 9.4 percent of votes in his first year on the ballot in 2022, 4.4 percent more than the minimum to remain on the ballot. His percentage increased to 12.9 in 2023 and 14.8 in 2024. It’s been a gradual climb for Rollins through his first four years on the ballot, increasing by 8.6 percent since his first year.
In Stark’s explanation for the players he voted for on the 2025 Hall of Fame ballot, he mentioned that most people would’ve picked Rollins to have an easier route to Cooperstown than Utley as their careers were winding down. That was because Rollins had more of the traditional counting numbers compared to Utley. However, his journey to the Hall of Fame might hit some road bumps with the evolving voting.
Rollins accumulated 2,455 hits and 231 home runs throughout his 17-year career. He led the National League in triples four times and stolen bases once. He’s the Phillies’ all-time leader in at-bats and doubles and second in stolen bases behind Hall of Fame outfielder Billy Hamilton. In 2014, Rollins passed Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt for the most hits in Phillies history and remains the all-time leader.
Rollins has the accolades to support his Hall of Fame case. He’s a three-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glover, one-time Sliver Slugger, World Series champion and was named MVP in 2007. Rollins not only produced at the plate, he also dazzled in the field with an above-average career .983 fielding percentage at shortstop.
It may take some time for Utley and Rollins to forever be enshrined among baseball’s greats. They also may never make it to Cooperstown. Only time will tell, but the evolving Hall of Fame voting may work in the Phillies’ long-time double play duo's favor.