3 former Phillies look to join the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time
A couple of more players from the 2008 World Series-winning team are hoping to make it one step closer to Cooperstown.
The Philadelphia Phillies have three former players eligible to make the 2024 Hall of Fame ballot for the first time since leaving the playing field.
Chase Utley, Ryan Madson, and José Bautista will join a few other former Phillies who are still on the ballot trying to achieve that prestigious honor — Jimmy Rollins, Bobby Abreu, and Billy Wagner.
On Monday, the official ballot will be released, but ahead of that, let's take a look at the three Phillies who could potentially see their names appear.
José Bautista
José Bautista only spent part of one year with the Philadelphia Phillies, but he had a long, distinguished career after a bit of a rough start.
After being drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 20th round of the 2000 Draft, he made his MLB debut in 2004 and was passed around between four teams that same year.
Across 15 years, the now-43-year-old made stops in eight different cities during his career — mostly as a right fielder and third baseman — spending parts of 10 seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, where he turned his career around.
From 2010 to 2015 with the Blue Jays, Bautista made six straight All-Star Games while also winning three Silver Slugger Awards and finishing in the top eight in American League MVP voting four of the six years. Overall, Bautista played in 1,798 games and was a career .247/.361/.475 hitter with 344 home runs, 975 RBI, 1,032 walks, and 1,394 strikeouts in 7,244 plate appearances.
In 27 games with the Phillies in 2018, he slashed .244/.404/.467 with two home runs, six RBI, 11 walks, and 15 strikeouts in 57 plate appearances.
Tonight’s ‘Forgotten Phillie’ is the father of bat flips himself — the boisterous Jose Bautista.
— Alex Carr (@AlexCarrMLB) May 13, 2020
Joey Bats’ time in Philly was short, but, in 2018, he saw time with all of the Braves, Mets, AND Phillies.
Rumor has it he’s on the comeback trail, too... but as a relief arm...? pic.twitter.com/e6LnKNZ7y3
According to Baseball Reference, Bautista has a 78 in the Bill James Hall of Fame Monitor, with any number under 100 meaning he's less likely to be inducted into the HOF, but his OPS+ of 124 is tied for 10th-best among eligible players for 2024.
Ryan Madson
Ryan Madson was selected by the Phillies in the ninth round of the 1998 draft and made his MLB debut in 2003, spending most of his career as a relief pitcher.
In nine years with the Phillies, the right-handed pitcher was 47-30 with 52 saves, a 3.59 ERA, and 547 strikeouts in 630 innings.
Ryan Madson is one of the most underrated Phillies ever.
— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) December 31, 2019
Since 2000, @fangraphs says that he's been the 15th most valuable reliever in baseball.
(Al Bello/Getty Images) pic.twitter.com/K7RRe3xPH8
After taking over the closer role in 2011 for the Phillies on his way to 32 saves, Madson wasn't brought back in free agency. And after Tommy John surgery kept him out in 2012, followed by some failed trials with teams, he initially retired before making his comeback with the Kansas City Royals in 2015. In one year with the Royals, the now-43-year-old had an ERA of 2.13, a 197 ERA+, a 3.09 FIP, and a 0.963 WHIP in 63 1/3 innings.
From 2007 through 2017, a total of eight seasons played, the right-hander put up a 2.77 ERA, 84 saves, 140 walks, 488 strikeouts, 3.12 FIP, and 1.130 WHIP in 516 2/3 innings between four different teams.
In his full 13-year career, the pitcher was 61-48 with a 3.48 ERA, 775 punchouts, and 250 walks in 869 2/3 innings. In 57 postseason games, Madson had a 2.73 ERA with 70 strikeouts in 56 innings. As of now, his 57 appearances rank third-most of all time in postseason history among pitchers, behind only Mariano Rivera and Kenley Jansen, and his .857 winning percentage (6-1) in the playoffs is tied for fifth-best.
With a Hall of Fame Monitor mark of 41, it's not likely Madson will make the cut, though his 125 ERA+ is fourth-best among players potentially up for the ballot, while his 1.242 WHIP is third-best.
Chase Utley
For Phillies fans, there's no doubt that second baseman Chase Utley deserves the call to Cooperstown. For those outside of Philadelphia and those voting, the case might not be so clear, though.
The electric infielder was drafted in the first round in 2000 and made his MLB debut three years later in 2003.
In 13 years with Philadelphia, Utley slashed .282/.366/.481 with 233 home runs, 916 RBI, 142 stolen bases, 625 walks, and 958 strikeouts in 6,617 plate appearances across 1,551 games.
On this day in 2007, Chase Utley helped this Phillies complete a crucial sweep of the Mets by delivering a walk-off single off of Billy Wagner.
— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) August 30, 2023
For my money, this is the best regular season game ever at CBP. pic.twitter.com/izRXsnK4Zl
For his career, which also included four years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Utley hit .275/.358/.465 with 259 long balls, 1,025 RBI, 1,193 strikeouts, and 724 walks in 1,937 games.
The left-handed batter also ended his career ninth on the list for most times hit by a pitch with 204. When playing second base, he finished with a .982 fielding percentage, and the speedy infielder currently has the third-highest success rate for stolen bases at 87.5 percent, behind only Byron Buxton and Alexi Casilla.
David Adler of MLB.com noted that for Utley’s chances of making the HOF, it’ll mostly depend on how voters weigh his peak years. Adler pointed out that "his 64.5 career WAR is close to the average for a Hall of Fame second baseman, and his peak WAR is above-average."
While Utley was consistently steady throughout his 16-year career, he shined from 2005 to 2009, batting .301 with an on-base percentage of .388 and a slugging percentage of .535. During that stretch, he amassed 146 home runs and 507 RBI in 754 games. Adler noted his WAR during these years was 39.7, double the closest second baseman (Brian Roberts, 23 WAR).
The now-44-year-old was rewarded with four consecutive All-Star appearances, four Silver Sluggers and five straight years with MVP votes during that stretch. Utley collected two more All-Star Game nods in his career, finishing with six total.
Utley displayed the most power of his career during the Phillies' run to the 2008 World Series title, finishing that year with 32 homers and 104 RBI. Overall, with Philadelphia, he put up a .262/.402/.500 line in the postseason, with 10 home runs, 25 RBI, 34 walks, 38 strikeouts, and 10 stolen bases in 46 games. Those numbers dropped with the Dodgers, however, and some injuries limited his playing time overall.
When looking at the HOF Monitor, Utley is right on the cusp with a 94, but his 64.5 WAR is fifth-best and the WAR for his top seven seasons is second-best (49.3).
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