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.