No one loves a good debate quite like baseball fans, and with that in mind, we asked each of our beat reporters to rank the top five players by position in the history of their franchise, based on their career while playing for that club. These rankings are for fun and debate purposes only … if you don’t agree with the order, participate in the Twitter poll to vote for your favorite at this position.

Here is Todd Zolecki’s ranking of the top five second basemen in Phillies history. Next week: third basemen.

1. Chase Utley, 2003-15
Key stat: 62.0 bWAR from 2004-14 ranked third in baseball

Utley’s place as the greatest second baseman in Phillies history is indisputable. The only question remaining is this: Will he reach the Baseball Hall of Fame? Utley should be in the discussion. His career 64.4 bWAR and 62.9 fWAR rank 15th and 12th among second basemen in baseball history, respectively. Some people will say that Utley’s chronic knee conditions limited his years of greatness, but did they really? Utley’s 62.0 bWAR in an 11-year stretch from 2004-14 ranked third in baseball. Only Albert Pujols (76.2 WAR) and Adrián Beltré (63.3 WAR) were better. Miguel Cabrera (59.3) and Alex Rodriguez (52.2) rounded out the top five.

Eleven years as one of the top position players in baseball should be a long enough stretch of dominance to enter the Hall of Fame conversation, and maybe even make it.

In Phillies history, Utley ranks first among second basemen in runs (949), hits (1,623), doubles (346), home runs (233), RBIs (916) and walks (625). Among Phillies second basemen in the modern era (post-1900) with 1,000 or more plate appearances, he is first in on-base percentage (.366), slugging percentage (.481) and OPS (.847) and fourth in batting average (.282).

President George W. Bush once said if he could start a franchise with one position player and one pitcher, he would choose Utley and Roy Halladay.

Not a bad combo, huh?

• Phillies All-Time Around the Horn Team: C

2. Juan Samuel, 1983-89
Key stat: 72 stolen bases in 1984 remains the single-season franchise record

It was "Sammyfest" nearly every day at Veterans Stadium from 1984-89. He played 18 games for the Phillies in 1983, then made the National League All-Star team and finished second in National League Rookie of the Year Award voting in 1984. (Mets ace Dwight Gooden won it.) Samuel ranked 48th in baseball in bWAR (12.8) from 1984-87. He led the Majors with 59 triples and ranked fourth with 202 stolen bases over that span.

Samuel earned a spot on the Phillies Wall of Fame in 2008.

3. Dave Cash, 1974-76
Key stat: three consecutive NL All-Star teams from 1974-76

Cash played in Philadelphia for only three seasons, but he made three consecutive NL All-Star teams and received votes for NL MVP each year. He does not get enough love today, maybe because his Phillies teams never won the NL Championship Series. But Cash is fourth among modern Phillies second basemen in bWAR (11.7) behind Utley (62.0), Tony Taylor (17.6) and Samuel (12.0). He led the big leagues with 213 hits in 1975.

• Phillies All-Time Around the Horn Team: 1B

Cash also coined the Phillies’ slogan ,“Yes, we can!” in the spring of 1974. Cash loved the dog track, and one spring night, he collected a few hundred dollars from his teammates and made a bet on a dog he had been following at Derby Lane in St. Petersburg, Fla. The next morning, a few teammates asked him if everybody won.

“Yes, we did,” Cash said.

It turned into, “Yes, we can,” which became a slogan for Phillies T-shirts, bumper stickers and more. Cash also deserves credit for the disco hit “Phillies Fever:”

4. Manny Trillo, 1979-82
Key stat: three Gold Gloves with the Phillies

The Phillies plan to induct Trillo onto their Wall of Fame this summer. He spent only four seasons with the Phillies, but he made a tremendous impact. First, consider that the Phillies planned to play Mike Schmidt at second base in 1979, until they acquired Trillo in a February 1979 trade with the Cubs.

Second, Trillo’s biggest hit came in a thrilling and decisive Game 5 of the 1980 NLCS against the Astros at the Astrodome, where he tripled with two outs in the eighth inning to score two runs to tie the game. The Phillies won in 10 innings, 8-7.

“[Third-base coach] Lee Elia bit my arm after I got up after the triple,” Trillo said recently. “I don’t think that I really felt the bite because I was so happy for the triple and to get those RBIs. I was so happy that I did that. It was emotional for him, too, I guess.”

Third, Trillo won three Gold Gloves, made two All-Star teams and won two Silver Slugger Awards.

5. Tony Taylor, 1960-71, 1974-76
Key stat: second among Phillies second basemen with 1,511 hits

Taylor made the NL All-Star team in his first season with the Phillies in 1960. He was a fan favorite in his two stints with the organization. He played a slick second base. Former Phillies broadcaster By Saam coined the phrase “Taylor-made double play” every time he turned one.

Taylor had his best season in 1970, when he slashed .301/.374/.462. But the Phillies were going through a rebuild, so they traded him to the Tigers. He helped Detroit win the American League East in 1972, reaching the postseason for the only time in his career. He finished his career mostly as a pinch-hitter with the Phillies from 1974-76.

The Phillies put Taylor on the Wall of Fame in 2002.

Honorable mentions

Nap Lajoie (1896-1900) is one of the greatest players in baseball history, but we considered only modern-era players for the top five. Lajoie left the Phillies for the AL’s Philadelphia A’s because of a contract dispute. … Mickey Morandini (1990-97, 2000) made the 1995 NL All-Star team. Is there any Phillies fan that doesn’t say Morandini’s name like Harry Kalas said it? Mick-ey Mo-ran-di-ini. … Otto Knabe (1907-13) was a brilliant defensive second baseman, but could not hit a lick. Still, his 10.9 bWAR ranks sixth in franchise history. … César Hernández (2013-19) had a 9.3 bWAR.