Four Phillies on 2025 Hall of Fame ballot

Members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America have cast their votes for the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame. 75% of the votes are needed to earn a trip to Cooperstown, N.Y. The announcement will be made live on Jan. 21 on MLB Network.

Phillies legend Dick Allen will be posthumously inducted this July 27. Four former Phillies are on the current ballot again. Will anyone else who played in Philadelphia join the game’s greatest fraternity?

• Phillies alumni

Alphabetically, the four Phils Alumni ...

Bobby Abreu
6th year on ballot ... 14.8% of the votes (2024).

Bobby was ahead of his time with big numbers for on-base percentage, slugging, average, run production and scoring runs. He had a smooth left-handed swing that produced 921 extra-base hits.

• Abreu's Hall of Fame case

18-year career ... slashed .291/.395/.425 ... 60.2 WAR ... .870 OPS ... 2,425 games, 1,453 runs, 2,470 hits, 574 doubles, 59 triples, 288 home runs, 1,363 RBI, 400 stolen bases ... 8 consecutive seasons with 100+ walks; 9 times over 100 runs; 9 times played 154+ games per season; 7 of seasons of batting .300

Of 21 hitters on the ballot, only two have a higher OPS, four have more hits, five a higher average and four a higher WAR.

Two-time All-Star, two Silver Slugger Awards and one Gold Glove Award. Abreu led the league in triples (11, 1999) and doubles (50, 2002) and was durable, twice playing in all 162 games (2001, 2005).

Jimmy Rollins
4th year on ballot ... 14.8% of ballots (2024).

Jimmy was a durable table setter whose rise to prominence lined up with the team's success. In his 14 Phillies seasons, the club enjoyed 10 winning seasons, reaching the playoffs five times and claiming a World Series title in 2008.

17-year career ... slashed .264/.324/418 ... 47.6 WAR ... .743 OPS ... 2,275 games, 1,421 runs, 2,455 hits, 511 doubles, 115 triples, 231 home runs, 936 RBI, 470 stolen bases, 857 extra-base hits.

Among Hall of Fame shortstops Rollins is fifth in home runs, sixth in doubles and stolen bases; eighth in runs scored and triples and 11th in hits (Ozzie Smith has 5 more hits).

Three All-Star games, four Gold Gloves, Silver Slugger, 2007 MVP (Slashed .296/.344/.531 with 38 doubles, 20 triples, 30 home runs, 94 RBI, 139 runs scored, 41 steals and 6.1 WAR).

16 SS have won an MVP but only four (Barry Larkin, Alex Rodriguez, Miguel Tejeda and Rollins) since Cal Ripken won for the second time 1991 ... One of two National League shortstops to win four Gold Gloves since Ozzie Smith won 13 straight from 1980-1992.

In the sabermetrics universe: Critics point to his 47.6 WAR as being low. (HOF Phil Rizzuto is 42.2) (baseball-reference.com) ... Then, Rollins’ Defensive Runs Above Average — an advanced metric calculated by FanGraphs — is the best among all shortstops from 2000-2014.

In the real world: Comparing 11 HOF shortstops back to 1950: Five played more innings than Rollins’ 19,513.2 (Luke Appling, Derek Jeter, Cal Ripken Jr., Ozzie Smith, Luis Aparicio) ... Rollins’ career fielding percentage is the best (.983; Smith is second, .978) ... Career errors are the fewest (154; Ripken Jr. is second, 225) ... Rollins led league in fielding percentage 4 times (Ripken also 4 times; Smith, 8).

Rollins is one of seven shortstops who is the all-time hit leader for his franchise. His Phillies hit total (2,306) trails only Derek Jeter (Yankees), Cal Ripken Jr. (Orioles), Robin Yount (Brewers) and Luke Appling (White Sox).

Chase Utley
2nd year on the ballot ... 28.8 % of votes in 2024.

16-year career ... slashed .275-.358-.465 ... 60.5 WAR ... .823 OPS ... 1,937 games, 1,103 runs ... 1,885 hits, 411 doubles, 58 triples, 259 home runs, 1,025 RBI, 154 stolen bases, 728 extra-base hits, 204 hit by pitches.

Six-time All-Star, four Silver Slugger Awards, four times top 15 in MVP voting. Led league in runs scored (131, 2006) and hit by pitches (2007-08-09).

• Utley's Hall of Fame case

Utley was the most dominant second baseman from 2005-10. During that time frame, the Phillies reached the postseason five consecutive seasons, including a World Series (2008).

Broken right hand (hit by pitch) curtailed his 2007 season and knee injuries reduced playing time in four straight seasons starting with 2010.

While he finished with fewer than 2,000 hits, his 59.7 Wins Above Replacement from 2005 to 2014 trails only Albert Pujols. His career WAR (64.5) ranks 14th among all second basemen, He led the Phillies in WAR both times a teammate won the MVP (2006-07).

Utley was an elite base runner as his stolen-base percentage (87.5) is the best by any player who attempted at least 100 steals and his 76.2 BsR — a stat created by FanGraphs to be an “‘all encompassing base running statistic” — ranks him 13th all-time.

He 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. Three homers in that Series came off lefty CC Sabathia.

Utley is one of only three players (joining Reggie Jackson, 1977 and George Springer, 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 14th best.

Billy Wagner
10th and final year on the ballot ... 73.8% of votes in 2024, short of the needed 75%

16-year career ... 47-40 record, 2.31 ERA ... 853 games (all in relief) ... 27.8 WAR ... 422 saves ... 903 innings, 601 hits, 300 walks, 1,196 strikeouts ... 10 seasons, 30+ saves.

Seven-time All-Star, Cy Young Award voting (4th in 1999; 6th in 2006).

• Wagner's Hall of Fame case

One of eight pitchers with 400 saves. Of those eight, only Mariano Rivera has a lower career ERA (2.21) than Wagner’s 2.31.

The 5-foot-10, left-handed fireballer would be the ninth relief pitcher in the Hall. As Jayson Stark pointed out, Wagner ranks No. 1 in the modern era among all left handed pitchers in ERA, WHIP (0.998), strikeout rate (11.9), opponent average (.187) and opponent OPS (.262) for a minimum of 900 innings.

Wagner was the Phillies closer for two Phillies seasons (2004-05): 8-3 record, 1.86 ERA, 120 games, 59 saves, 126 innings, 146 strikeouts.