My examination of the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot continues right now with a trio of studly NL East infielders who might not have enough momentum to make Cooperstown, though at least one seems to have a chance. The list here would be long-time Phillies Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins along with long-time Mets third baseman David Wright.
All three players are holdovers on the ballot. Utley debuted with 28.8% of the vote last year in his first try while Wright grabbed 6.2% in his first time. In Rollins' first three go-rounds, he's gotten 9.4%, 12.9% and 14.8%, respectively.
Let's dive in.
Chase Utley
Utley was a bit a late bloomer given his pedigree as a first-round pick out of UCLA, as he didn't get a full season as a starter until he was 26. He would make up for it by putting together one of the greatest five-season stretches for a second baseman that we've seen, posting at least 7.3 WAR in each of his first five full seasons, getting as high as 9.0.
The only players at the position to post at least five 7-WAR seasons ever are Rogers Hornsby (eight times), Eddie Collins (eight), Nap Lajoie (seven), Joe Morgan (five), Charlie Gehringer (five) and Utley. Ryne Sandberg and Jackie Robinson each got there four times. Among those with at least five such seasons, only Utley and Morgan did it after integration.
Five great seasons alone isn't usually call for induction into the Hall of Fame, but Utley surrounded that elite-level peak with plenty of good.
In parts of 16 years, he hit .275/.358/.465 (117 OPS+) with 1,885 hits, 411 doubles, 259 home runs, 1,025 RBI, 1,103 runs and 154 stolen bases. It has generally been tough sledding for players with fewer than 2,000 hits, but Utley's 724 walks should help matters in addition to his high peak and power prowess for a second baseman. Among second basemen, he ranks seventh in homers, 17th in RBI and 11th in slugging (among those with at least 1,000 games).
It's certainly possible to argue that Utley didn't do enough compiling to justify inclusion in the Hall of Fame. After all, he didn't even get 30% of the vote last season. For me, though, he's a peak candidate and his peak was certainly good enough to overcome a very slight deficiency in some of the career counting stats.
The JAWS system balances career performance with the peak and Utley is 12th all-time among second basemen. Of the 20 Hall of Famers from the position, the average inductee scores 57.1 in JAWS; Utley is at 56.9. The average is decently skewed by gaudy figures from Hornsby (100.5) and Collins (94.3), too. The highest post-integration number is Morgan's 80.
Utley's ahead of Lou Whitaker (who should be in, for me), Roberto Alomar and Craig Biggio while trailing only nine Hall of Famers, Bobby Grich (who should also be in) and Robinson Canó (who would be headed into the Hall on the first ballot if not for two PED suspensions). He's within one of Jackie Robinson and Ryne Sandberg.
I've done a deeper dive before, but Utley is a yes for me on this ballot.
Jimmy Rollins
An MVP, World Series champion, four-time Gold Glover, Silver Slugger and Roberto Clemente Award winner, Rollins certainly has plenty of hardware.
His MVP season (2007) was a clinic in compiling counting stats. He played in every single game and racked up 212 hits, 38 doubles, 20 triples, 30 home runs 94 RBI, 139 runs and 41 stolen bases.
Durability was a big component of Rollins' game, too. He played in at least 154 games in 10 of his 17 seasons. He topped 700 plate appearances seven times and had 699 in another.
In all, Rollins appeared in 2,275 games. He hit .264/.324/.418 (95 OPS+) with 2,455 hits, 511 doubles, 115 triples, 231 home runs, 936 RBI, 1,421 runs and 470 stolen bases. The hits, runs, triples and steals look good. The rate stats do not. That's a relatively low average if we're talking about the Hall of Fame while the OPS+ shows below-average combined on-base and slugging skills over the course of his career.
He was an all-around great player, though, so does it show up in WAR and JAWS?
Unfortunately for this incredibly fun player, the answer is not really. He's 27th among shortstops all-time in WAR, trailing Jim Fregosi and Francisco Lindor (who might eventually be a Hall of Famer, but he's only 31 years old). In JAWS, Rollins is 34th, behind Nomar Garciaparra, Troy Tulowitzki, Miguel Tejada and Carlos Correa.
I've mentioned before that Rollins' case is more than his numbers. It's not the Hall of Stats and there's a "feel" factor to Rollins. He was a heart-and-soul guy on those great Phillies teams from 2007-11. Is that enough to make up for the gap in his statistical resume? So far, the answer looks like it'll be a no.
David Wright
Once upon a time, Wright was headed to the Hall of Fame. His foundation through age 25 was strong enough that Mookie Betts, Dick Allen and Scott Rolen were among his top statistical similars at that age.
Through age 30, Wright was a career .301/.382/.506 (137 OPS+) hitter with over 1,500 hits, 345 doubles, 222 home runs and more than 850 runs and RBI. Again, he was well on his way.
Then back injuries stepped in.
Wright finished with 1,585 games in his career. He hit .296/.376/.491 (133 OPS+), which is good enough on a rate basis. He only was able to compile 1,777 hits, 390 doubles, 242 home runs, 970 RBI, 949 runs and 196 stolen bases. Especially in looking at the home runs and RBI for a third baseman, not to mention the hit total, this is a shortfall when it comes to established Hall of Fame standards.
Wright is 29th in WAR among third basemen in his career, trailing near-HOF types like Graig Nettles, Buddy Bell, Ken Boyer, Sal Bando and Darrell Evans, but also the likes of Robin Ventura, Ron Cey and Toby Harrah. JAWS should give a boost, since Wright's career was cut short and his peak was great. Instead, it only lifts him to 27th, still behind Evans, Ventura and Cey, not to mention still-active players like Nolan Arenado, Manny Machado and José Ramírez.
I've gone more in-depth on Wright before, but the bottom line is I just can't get him into "yes" territory.
It's all enough to say with confidence that Wright falls into the same tough-luck bucket -- due to injury -- as Don Mattingly, Johan Santana and, from this ballot, probably Dustin Pedroia. And so many more from baseball history. The game is a cruel mistress.
