Schilling, Rolen lead Phils on HOF ballot

PHILADELPHIA -- Maybe 2021 will be the year that Curt Schilling finally makes the Hall of Fame. Maybe Scott Rolen will take another step, too.

The former Phillies ace and third baseman returned on the 2021 Hall of Fame ballot, which was released on Monday. Players need to appear on 75 percent of ballots cast by eligible Baseball Writers' Association of America voters for enshrinement in Cooperstown, N.Y., in July.

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Schilling reached the 70-percent mark last year, falling 20 votes shy of 298 votes needed. This is his ninth of 10 years of eligibility on the ballot. Rolen’s name appeared on 35.3 percent of ballots cast last year, and 2021 marks his fourth year of eligibility.

Schilling has been trending toward induction, so he will be considered a favorite to make it. His vote percentage has increased in each of the past three years since 2017, when he appeared on 45 percent of ballots; after that, he came in at 51.2 percent in '18, 60.9 percent in '19 and 70 in '20.

Other former Phillies returning to the ballot include Billy Wagner (31.7 percent in 2020), who enters his sixth year, and Bobby Abreu (5.5 percent in '20), who enters his second. Players need to appear on five percent of ballots cast to remain on the ballot.

Abreu remains an interesting case because his numbers border on Hall of Fame-worthy, although he flew under the radar throughout his career. He slashed .291/.395/.475 in his 18-year career, with 2,470 hits and 400 stolen bases. He played in more than 150 games in 13 consecutive seasons (1998-2010).

Abreu posted a 60.0 career WAR, according to Baseball-Reference. Baseball-Reference’s Hall of Fame Monitor gives Abreu a score of 95; a score of 100 means a likely Hall of Famer. Its Hall of Fame Career Standards measurement gives Abreu a score of 54, while the average Hall of Famer has a score of 50. The Jaffe WAR score system (JAWS), which serves as "a means to measure a player's Hall of Fame worthiness," ranks Abreu 20th among all right fielders in baseball history, with a 60.0 career bWAR and a 41.6 bWAR over a seven-year peak. The average right fielder in the Hall of Fame has a 71.5 career bWAR and a 42.1 bWAR over a seven-year peak.

Shane Victorino appears on the ballot for the first time. He was a fan favorite while he played in Philadelphia from 2005-12, making two All-Star teams, winning three Gold Glove Awards and receiving National League MVP Award votes twice. Most importantly, he roamed the outfield for the Phillies when they won a World Series title, two NL pennants and five consecutive NL East titles from '07-11.

A.J. Burnett pitched for the Phillies in 2014. He is the only other player with ties to the Phils on the ballot.