5 reasons Utley belongs in the Hall of Fame

Six-time All-Star second baseman Chase Utley is on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame ballot for the first time in 2024, and it will be interesting to see how much support he garners from the voting populace in his first chance at election.

At first glance, Utley seems to be facing an uphill climb toward eventual enshrinement in Cooperstown, as he lacks some of the counting stats and accolades toward which voters typically gravitate.

Utley, who played for the Phillies and Dodgers, finished his 16-year career with fewer than 2,000 hits, 300 homers and 200 stolen bases. He never placed higher than seventh in his league’s MVP Award voting. And while he played until he was 39 years old, Utley didn’t do much of note after his age-31 season, hitting .253 with 82 homers and a 101 OPS+ from ages 32-39.

And yet, Utley still has a deserving case to eventually be elected, even if it doesn’t happen on his first ballot. Here are five reasons Utley belongs among the all-time greats in the National Baseball Hall of Fame:

1. He was one of the best players in baseball during his peak
Utley’s Hall of Fame candidacy might hinge on how much stock voters place in peak versus longevity. While he didn’t break through as an everyday player with the Phillies until his age-26 season and steadily declined as he moved into his mid-30s, he was an elite performer during his prime.

From 2005-10, Utley earned five All-Star selections and hit .298 with 162 homers, 216 doubles, 572 RBIs, 90 steals, a .911 OPS and a 133 OPS+ over 869 games.

In that span, Utley produced 45.5 bWAR, second only to Albert Pujols (52.1) among MLB position players. He was more than 7 WAR ahead of Alex Rodriguez, who placed third with 38.3 WAR, and more than 21 WAR better than the next-best second baseman, Brian Roberts (24.2).

Most bWAR among MLB position players, 2005-10:

1. Albert Pujols: 52.1
2. Chase Utley: 45.5
3. Alex Rodriguez: 38.3
4. Mark Teixeira: 33.4
5. Joe Mauer: 31.8

With Utley playing a pivotal role, the Phillies went from a perennial also-ran to a National League powerhouse, winning five NL East titles, two NL pennants and a World Series championship from 2007-11. Prior to that stretch, the Phils made the postseason only once (in 1993) from 1984-2006.

2. He compares well to second basemen in the Hall
Another factor voters should consider when examining Utley’s Hall of Fame credentials is how he stacks up historically against players at his position, especially those already enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

Utley’s career WAR of 64.5 ranks 15th all time among second basemen, and only 10 Hall of Fame second basemen have superior marks. Meanwhile, his seven-year peak WAR (his WAR total in his seven best seasons, consecutive or nonconsecutive) of 49.3 ranks ninth.

The JAWS system, developed by baseball writer Jay Jaffe to evaluate a player’s Hall of Fame worthiness by comparing him to the Hall of Famers at his position, takes both career WAR and seven-year peak WAR into account. Utley’s JAWS figure of 56.9 is right in line with the average (57.0) of the second basemen already in the Hall.

As Jaffe pointed out in his FanGraphs story breaking down Utley’s Hall of Fame case, Utley was worth 173 runs above average at the plate (per Baseball-Reference’s batting runs metric) during his career, ranking 20th among second basemen and surpassing nine Hall of Famers at the position.

3. He was arguably more valuable than his MVP teammates
Although Utley earned MVP votes every year from 2005-09, he was never a leading contender, peaking at seventh on the ballot in 2006. Meanwhile, he saw two teammates, Ryan Howard in 2006 and Jimmy Rollins in 2007, win the NL MVP Award.

However, there’s a case to be made that Utley could have won in either of those years. While Howard hit .313 with 58 homers, 149 RBIs and a 1.084 OPS during his MVP campaign, his poor defense at first base contributed to a WAR tally of 5.2 -- 2.1 WAR worse than Utley (7.3).

In terms of WAR, Utley also outperformed Rollins in 2007, 7.8 to 6.1. Rollins did have Utley beat in games played, hits, homers and stolen bases, but Utley bested his teammate in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage while posting an OPS (.976) that was 101 points higher than Rollins’ .875 mark.

4. He was a strong defender, even without awards to prove it
Utley’s Hall of Fame case is similar to that of Scott Rolen, who was elected to the Hall last year on his sixth ballot.

Like Utley, Rolen’s offensive profile on its own might not have been Hall of Fame worthy. But when combined with his all-world defense at third base, it was enough to get him across the finish line.

Utley’s glove work wasn’t on the level of Rolen’s historically, and he actually never won a Gold Glove Award, while Rolen won eight. That said, he was still a valuable defensive player at second base. In fact, with 131 fielding runs above average, he ranks seventh all time among second basemen.

5. He excelled on the World Series stage
Utley appeared in three World Series during his career, including back-to-back as a member of the Phillies from 2008-09.

While Utley had only nine hits and a .200 batting average in those Fall Classics, he made his knocks count. The second baseman went deep seven times in 15 World Series games, hitting a pair of dingers in Philadelphia’s five-game series win over the Rays in 2008 and five more when the Phils lost to the Yankees in the 2009 Fall Classic.

Utley is one of only three players (joining Reggie Jackson in 1977 and George Springer in 2017) to homer as many as five times in one World Series, and the only one to do so in a losing effort.

Among players to amass at least 50 career plate appearances in the World Series, Utley’s 1.046 OPS is the 13th-best.

Utley also made one of the greatest defensive plays in recent World Series memory against Tampa Bay in Game 5 of the 2008 Fall Classic. With two outs and Jason Bartlett on second base in the top of the seventh inning, Utley ranged to his right at second base to field Akinori Iwamura's ground ball. After backhanding the ball, Utley faked a throw to first base before firing home to nab Bartlett, who had continued running rather than stopping at third. Utley’s heads-up play kept the game tied, and Philadelphia went on to take the lead in the bottom of the frame en route to a championship-clinching victory.