JAWS and the 2024 Hall of Fame Ballot: Chase Utley

The following article is a part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing take a look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2024 Hall of Fame poll. For an in depth introduction to this 12 months’s poll, and different candidates within the collection, use the instrument above; an introduction to JAWS may be discovered right here. For a tentative schedule and an opportunity to fill out a Hall of Fame poll for our crowdsourcing venture, see right here. All WAR figures check with the Baseball-Reference model except in any other case indicated.

When the Phillies returned to competition following a slide into irrelevance within the wake of their 1993 NL pennant, shortstop Jimmy Rollins, first baseman Ryan Howard, and lefty Cole Hamels gained many of the consideration. Howard all however ran Jim Thome out of city after the latter was injured in 2005, then mashed a serious league-high 58 homers in ’06 en path to NL MVP honors. Rollins, the emotional middle of the staff, carried himself with a swagger and declared the Phillies “the team to beat” on the outset of 2007, then received the MVP award when the staff adopted by means of with a division title. Hamels debuted in 2006 and have become their ace whereas making his first All-Star staff the following season. In the center of all that, as a part of the nucleus that will assist the Phillies win 5 straight NL East titles from 2007–11, with a championship in ’08 and one other pennant in ’09, Chase Utley was nearly as good or higher than any of them, although the second baseman hardly known as consideration to himself.

Indeed, Utley appeared to shun the highlight, taking part in the sport with a quiet depth that bordered on asceticism. He sped across the bases after hitting house runs, then reluctantly accepted high-fives within the dugout. “I am having fun,” he instructed the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Andy Martino in 2009. “When I’m on the baseball field, that’s where I love to be. I’m not joking around and smiling. That competition, that heat-of-the-battle intensity, that’s how I have fun.”

As a hitter, Utley had a compact and highly effective stroke that impressed everybody from probably the most grizzled of baseball males to budding superstars. From the Philadelphia Daily News‘ Paul Hagen in 2008:

“At times he can put close to what you’d call a perfect swing on the ball,” Phillies supervisor/hitting guru Charlie Manuel stated. “It’s good steadiness, rhythm, load, and on the similar time getting a ball that you simply’d prefer to hit. And simply, very slight, beneath the middle of the ball.

“He’s a very stylish hitter. He’s a good guy to talk about because, if you watch him day in and day out and look at him from a mechanics standpoint, he would be a tremendous guy to use as a demonstration for young kids.”

Forty miles away from Philadelphia, in Millville, New Jersey, a younger Mike Trout patterned his swing after Utley, his favourite participant. But hitting was solely one in every of Utley’s abilities. Thanks to his off-the-charts baseball instincts — refined issues like his secondary leads whereas operating the bases and his knack for positioning within the subject, which John Dewan identified in a 2009 Hardball Times piece — in addition to his foot velocity and vary, he was an distinctive baserunner and defender. His all-around abilities confirmed up in WAR; he outproduced Howard and Rollins of their MVP-winning years, and nearly everyone else throughout his heyday. His 59.7 WAR from 2005–14 trailed solely Albert Pujols‘ 67.7.

Utley’s enchantment was hardly restricted to statheads. “I think scouts used him more than anyone else I can recall as an example of a player who maximized skill with grit, energy, team-oriented nature, competitiveness,” wrote the New York Post’s Joel Sherman in 2018. “Scouts loved them some Chase Utley.”

For all of that acclaim, Utley was under-appreciated in his day. Because he didn’t debut till age 24 after starring at UCLA, and didn’t play 100 video games in a season till age 26, he didn’t attain many main milestones, and never solely did he by no means win MVP, he by no means received a Gold Glove regardless of off-the-charts defensive metrics. “I never played this game for awards, to be honest with you,” he instructed the New York Times‘ Tyler Kepner in 2018. “I feel like if you do that, you’re not really doing what’s most important, and that’s to try to help your team win.”

Will Utley’s lack of recognition throughout his profession carry over into Hall of Fame voting? To these eyes, that’s one of many poll’s largest questions, significantly provided that the writers haven’t elected anyone from the post-1960 growth period with fewer than 2,000 hits. Getting him into Cooperstown might be an actual struggle, one I don’t anticipate to be received on this poll.

Chase Cameron Utley was born on December 17, 1978 in Pasadena, California, the older of two kids of David (a private damage lawyer) and Terrell Utley. When he was a toddler, his household moved to Long Beach, the place he quickly started taking part in Wiffle Ball marathons on the entrance garden of neighbor Denny Mayfield.

“He was kind of a wuss to start with,” recalled Mayfield in 2009. “Very timid and shy. But the shyness he had, the game brought him out of it. He would slide into the fence, throw his body into the tree [the imaginary base] to be safe. I’d say, ‘You’re crazy.’”

Utley additionally performed Wiffle Ball together with his father and sister Taylor, youthful by seven years. To stop him from having to retrieve balls that younger Chase would hit into the road, David turned his son round to hit left-handed, so as an alternative his hits would rebound off the household’s home. Already working to hone his all-around sport, Chase would insist upon Taylor getting an opportunity to hit in order that he may work on his protection.

Among the opposite gamers in Mayfield’s Wiffle Ball group was Sean Burroughs, a future main leaguer and the son of former AL MVP Jeff Burroughs. As a coach for Utley’s Little League staff, the elder Burroughs helped Utley refine his hitting mechanics. While starring at Long Beach Polytechnic High School alongside future main leaguer Milton Bradley, Utley mimicked Thome, his future Phillies teammate and one in every of his favourite gamers, by shifting his proper foot to open his stance. He hit .525 with 12 homers as a senior, making a number of All-America groups.

Utley grew up a Dodgers fan, with Brett Butler, Kirk Gibson, and Steve Sax amongst his favourite gamers. The Dodgers drafted him within the second spherical in 1996, however collegiate life intrigued him; after visiting UCLA and discussing his state of affairs with senior Troy Glaus, one other future main leaguer, he selected to just accept a scholarship. He starred on the college, setting a freshman house run document with 15 and incomes All PAC-10 and All-America honors in his sophomore and junior seasons. Entering the 2000 draft, he was thought-about the most effective pure hitter among the many collegiate prospects; the Phillies selected him with the fifteenth choose, signing him to a $1.78 million bonus.

Utley started his skilled profession with the Batavia Muckdogs of the Low-A New York-Penn League, hitting .307/.383/.444 with two homers in 40 video games. Baseball America named him the Phillies’ fifth-best prospect, however he slipped to seventh after a difficult 12 months within the Florida State League, with BA expressing gentle issues about his protection: “He will never be a Gold Glover, but the Phillies are thrilled with the progress he made with his range and double-play pivot. He has enough arm to play second base but lacks natural actions around the bag.”

The Phillies tried Utley at third base whereas leaping him from High-A Clearwater to Triple-A Scranton/Wilke-Barre in 2002; later that season, the staff dealt Scott Rolen to the Cardinals in a commerce whose return included second baseman Placido Polanco; in the meantime, free agent David Bell’s four-year, $17 million contract blocked Utley on the scorching nook.

Returning to second base, the 24-year-old Utley cracked the Baseball America Top 100 Prospects listing at no. 81 in 2003, and made the massive membership out of spring coaching. He debuted on April 4, hanging out towards the Pirates’ Jeff Suppan in his lone plate look. “I struck out and got booed back to the dugout, which made it a proper start to my Phillies career,” recalled Utley in 2016. Two days later, he was demoted, however upon returning, he linked for his first hit, a grand slam off the Rockies’ Aaron Cook on April 20, and tore across the bases. As known as by the legendary Harry Kalas:

Afterwards, teammate John Kruk performed a legendary prank on the rookie, with an help from supervisor Larry Bowa:

Despite the slam and the nice enjoyable, Utley was despatched again to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre later that week, didn’t return till August 14, and hit simply .239/.322/.373 (87 wRC+) with two homers in 43 video games. Back within the minors to begin 2004, he was recalled when Polanco was sidelined by a quad pressure in May, and stayed up the remainder of the season, getting 11 begins at first base and 41 at second whereas generally bumping Polanco — who was within the midst of a fantastic 4.6 WAR season — to 3rd. Utley hit .266/.308/.468 with 13 homers in 287 plate appearances unfold over 94 video games; his 10 DRS (7 at second base, 3 at first base) started a streak of seven straight years in double digits.

The Phillies deliberate to show second base over to Utley for the 2005 season after Polanco hit free company, however the latter shocked them by accepting arbitration — usually a formality that entitled groups to draft choose compensation — and returning to Philadelphia. Under new supervisor Charlie Manuel, the pair roughly shared the second base job till June 8, when the Phillies traded Polanco to the Tigers. Utley broke out to hit .291/.376/.540 (132 OPS+) with 28 homers, 16 steals, 23 DRS, and seven.3 WAR, the league’s third-highest complete behind solely Pujols and Derrek Lee.

He confirmed that breakout was no fluke. While making the primary of 5 straight All-Star groups, he hit .309/.379/.527 (125 OPS+) with 32 homers, 15 steals, 18 DRS, and seven.3 WAR (once more third within the league) in 2006. From June 3 to August 3, he peeled off a 35-game hitting streak, matching Luis Castillo for the second-longest of the Wild Card period — solely Rollins’ 38-gamer from 2005 was longer — and tied for eleventh all-time. On August 9, he produced one of many signature performs of his profession. After clearing the bases with a three-run double off the Braves’ Macay McBride, he broke for third in an try to steal; when Howard chopped to McBride on the primary base facet of the mound, Utley rushed house. “Chase is going to keep going and he’s safe at home plate! Chase Utley, you are the man!” exclaimed Kalas, thereby christening him with an everlasting nickname.

“That moment began Utley’s ascent from mere superstar to civic icon,” wrote Kepner.

Utley completed seventh within the NL MVP voting as Howard, who led the majors with 58 homers and 149 RBI whereas tallying a career-high 5.2 WAR (which didn’t even crack the league’s prime 10) received. Two months later, and a day after his wedding ceremony, Utley signed the most important contract of his profession, a seven-year, $85 million extension that purchased out all three years of his arbitration eligibility and the primary 4 years of his potential free company.

The 2006 season had been the Phillies’ third in a row ending second within the NL East with between 85 and 88 wins, and their thirteenth straight with no playoff look. Spurred by the play of Utley, Rollins, Howard, Hamels, Pat Burrell, and Jayson Werth, the staff lastly broke by means of in 2007, making the most of a late collapse by the Mets to grab the division title on the ultimate day of the season with 89 wins. On September 12 they have been seven video games again, however went 13-4 whereas the Mets went 5-12. Though Utley produced his greatest season to this point on the plate (.332/.410/.566, 146 OPS+) and totaled 7.8 WAR, he missed 4 weeks resulting from a fractured metacarpal, suffered on July 27 when he was hit by a fastball from the Nationals’ John Lannan and wanted surgical procedure to insert a pin to stabilize his proper ring finger. He completed eighth within the NL MVP voting whereas Rollins, who hit .296/.344/.531 (119 OPS+) with 6.1 WAR, received. Both gamers have been held to 2-for-11 showings whereas being swept by the Rockies within the Division Series.

In 2008, Utley set a brand new profession excessive with 33 homers to go together with a 136 wRC+, 31 DRS (!) and 9.0 WAR, second solely to Pujols’ 9.2. The Phillies received 92 video games and claimed their second division title. Utley hit a mixed .220/.391/.460 with three homers through the postseason, arising huge a number of occasions. His two-run double off the Brewers’ Yovani Gallardo broke open a scoreless Division Series opener; the Phillies received in 4 video games. His two-run sixth-inning homer off the Dodgers’ Derek Lowe tied the NLCS opener, and he added a first-inning RBI double off Lowe amongst his three hits in Game 4; the Phillies received in 5 to advance to their first World Series in 15 years. Utley acquired them off on the suitable foot towards the Rays with a two-run first-inning homer off Scott Kazmir in Game 1, and added a solo homer off Matt Garza in Game 3.

Though he went hitless in Games 4 and 5, Utley scored 3 times after getting on base in a technique or one other. In the seventh inning of the latter sport — which had resumed after a 46-hour rain delay simply an inning earlier than — he made an unbelievable, career-defining play, “The Utley Play.” Ranging to his proper to backhand Akinori Iwamura’s grounder, he had the presence of thoughts to leap whereas faking a throw to first base, then threw a one-hopper to catcher Carlos Ruiz to nail Jason Bartlett attempting to attain the go-ahead run:

In 2018, on the event of the tenth anniversary of the play, Utley described what was going by means of his thoughts to The Athletic’s Jayson Stark:

“So as I catch it… I’m thinking to myself that I don’t think it’s the smart decision to go to first. One, it’s cold. Two, it’s a long throw, and I’m off balance. Three, if I don’t (throw), it doesn’t really matter. The run’s not going to score. So I figured I might as well pump-fake and see what will happen.”

…“I knew I had plenty of time to get the ball [home]… I knew I didn’t have to make the perfect throw. I just had to get it to Chooch in a normal amount of time. So I kind of kept going on the run, and threw a one-hop throw on purpose.”

The Phillies scored a run within the backside of the seventh inning, then held on to clinch their first championship in 28 years. Utley punctuated the celebration by dropping an f-bomb on the victory parade, declaring the Phillies “World Fucking Champions!” and additional endearing himself to the Philadelphia devoted.

After one other exceptionally sturdy season in 2009 (31 homers, 136 OPS+, 23-for-23 in steals, and eight.2 WAR, once more second to Pujols), Utley went off within the postseason, hitting a mixed .296/.424/.648 with six homers in 71 PA towards the Rockies, Dodgers, and Yankees. Against the latter, he tied Reggie Jackson’s World Series document with 5 homers, clubbing two solo photographs off CC Sabathia in a 6-1 Game 1 win, one other solo homer (plus an RBI double) off Sabathia in a Game 4 loss, after which a three-run homer off A.J. Burnett and a solo homer off Phil Coke in a Game 5 win.

Utley joined the 1980 Royals’ Willie Aikens as the one gamers with a number of multi-homer video games in a single World Series, however he couldn’t do every part himself. The Phillies misplaced in six video games, leaving Utley as the one participant to hit 5 homers in a World Series defeat.

From 2005–09, Utley hit a mixed .301/.388/.535 (135 OPS+) whereas averaging 29 homers, 15 steals, 20 DRS, and seven.9 WAR, an exceptional stretch. His 39.7 WAR for these 5 years trailed solely Pujols (44.6) and was over 5 wins forward of third-ranked Alex Rodriguez (34.2) and over 10 wins forward of fourth-ranked Mark Teixeira (29.3). He averaged 151 video games in that stretch, touchdown on what was then the disabled listing simply as soon as in that span (2007), however as he entered his 30s, he had a tougher time staying wholesome. He missed seven weeks in 2010 resulting from a torn ligament in his proper thumb however nonetheless completed with 5.8 WAR in 115 video games, adequate for eighth within the league. The Phillies received their fourth straight division title, and Utley drove in a team-high 4 runs as they swept the Reds within the Division Series earlier than falling to the Giants within the NLCS.

Patellar tendinitis in his proper knee delayed Utley’s 2011 debut till May 23; between that and a concussion he suffered in September, he performed in simply 103 video games, managing a 110 OPS+ and three.8 WAR. He helped the Phillies to their fifth straight division title and hit .438/.571/.688 in a shedding trigger within the Division Series towards the Cardinals. The subsequent 12 months, patellar chondromalacia in his left knee delayed his season debut till June 27. He homered off the Pirates’ James McDonald in his first plate look, and in simply over half a season (83 video games) nonetheless totaled 9 DRS and three.1 WAR, although the Phillies slipped to 81-81, lacking the playoffs for the primary time since 2006.

Though sidelined a month resulting from an indirect pressure, the 34-year-ald Utley performed 131 video games and hit .284/.348/.475 with 18 homers in 2013. Except for the OBP, these have been his greatest numbers since ’09, although his -5 DRS — his first detrimental complete — restricted him to three.6 WAR. The Phillies went simply 73-89; shortly after Utley agreed to a two-year, $27 million extension in August, Manuel was fired and changed by Ryne Sandberg. The staff once more went 73-89 in 2014; Utley parlayed a powerful first half into his sixth and ultimate All-Star look, however slumped within the second half to complete at .270/.339/.407 (108 OPS+) with 3.6 WAR.

After a dreadful first half of the 2015 season, adopted by a month and a half on the DL resulting from proper ankle irritation, Utley acquired scorching simply lengthy sufficient upon returning in early August to drum up curiosity in his providers. He agreed to waive his no-trade clause, and in a waiver-period deal on August 19, was despatched to the Dodgers for 2 gamers, together with money to cowl most of his remaining wage. “It’s time,” he stated of leaving Philadelphia. “We put our heads together and decided it might be best for us to part ways. I gave them a list of a handful of teams that I would consider playing for, and then it was [general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.]’s job to find the best deal he could for the organization. And ultimately it came down to the Dodgers, a team I grew up watching.”

The transfer helped cowl for Howie Kendrick’s damage, and reunited Utley with Rollins, who had been traded to the Dodgers the earlier December. Though he didn’t make a serious contribution on the sector, Utley started mentoring rookie Corey Seager, who joined the staff in September and by the tip of the month had displaced Rollins within the lineup.

After profitable the NL West for the third straight season, the Dodgers confronted the Mets within the Division Series. In the seventh inning of Game 2, Utley singled after which on an infield grounder slid arduous and late to the suitable of second base in an try to interrupt up a double play. In doing so, he collided violently with Rubén Tejada, upending the shortstop as he spun in an effort to make an acrobatic throw. Utley was initially known as out, however replay confirmed that Tejada by no means touched the bottom, although neither did Utley. Utley was dominated protected, and the Dodgers scored 4 runs amid a decisive rally; in the meantime, a fractured proper fibula ended Tejada’s season.

Mets followers and even many gamers across the sport known as Utley’s slide a unclean play, however others declared such contact a part of the sport. The slide was just like the kind of takeout slides beforehand accepted and even glorified as old-school examples of hard-nosed baseball.

Major League Baseball suspended Utley for 2 video games for what chief baseball officer Joe Torre known as an unlawful slide, however Utley appealed, although he didn’t play in both sport; the Dodgers misplaced the collection in 5 video games. Utley’s suspension was lifted within the spring after Torre discovered no prior self-discipline for comparable slides, however within the wake of the play, MLB instituted Rule 6.01(j), a.okay.a “The Utley Rule,” mandating {that a} slide to interrupt up a double play has to incorporate a bona fide try to succeed in and stay on the bottom. While contact with the fielder is allowed, the runner isn’t allowed to alter his path to provoke contact or have interaction in a “roll block.” A runner violating the rule is out for interference, and so is the batter. As a results of the rule, MLB moreover made the so-called “neighborhood play,” by which fielders have been beforehand allowed to be close to the bag however out of the runner’s path, reviewable by replay.

Amid the controversy, the 37-year-old Utley re-signed with the Dodgers through a one-year, $7 million deal, the primary of three successive pacts he would ink together with his hometown staff. He performed often in 2016 however hit for only a 92 OPS+ with 1.2 WAR, weighed down by a career-worst -9 DRS. The Dodgers scaled again his taking part in time in 2017, and he turned in an identical efficiency for a staff that received its first pennant in 29 years however fell to the Astros within the World Series.

Renowned for his potential to acknowledge a pitcher tipping his pitches, Utley was seemingly unable to identify the telltale indicators from Yu Darvish, who was chased early in each Games 3 and seven. Two years later, in fact, the baseball world discovered that the Astros have been illegally stealing indicators and relaying them to hitters utilizing their trash-can system. Utley, who’d heard rumors of what the Astros have been as much as, watched hours of video to attempt to determine it out. He suggested his teammates to alter their signal sequences, however with out audio couldn’t crack the banging side of the code.

“You’re looking in the dugout, you’re looking at first base coaches, you’re looking in the outfield, you’re looking in the bullpen,” Utley instructed podcaster Ben Reiter. “You’re looking for anything that can be a clue to what they’re doing. And… at the time, I wasn’t able to come up with any one particular thing that I thought was fishy during the World Series.”

Utley re-signed with the Dodgers through a two-year, $2 million deal in February 2018. He began simply 35 video games from amongst his 87 appearances, however carried out properly solely as a pinch-hitter (.342/.419/.474 in 43 PA). On July 14, he introduced he would retire on the finish of the season. He started his press convention by deadpanning that he’d signed a five-year contract extension, then cited his readiness to be a full-time father as his motive for strolling away.

…

When it involves the Hall of Fame, Utley would look like going through an uphill battle primarily based upon the size of his profession, from his delayed arrival as a daily to his accidents and retirement at age 39. Because he was drafted out of faculty, he was 24 when he debuted. Among post-integration place gamers, solely Wade Boggs, Edgar Martinez, and Kirby Puckett debuted of their age-24 seasons and nonetheless wound up in Cooperstown. Additionally, Utley’s 7,863 PA outdoes simply three expansion-era Hall of Famers, specifically Mike Piazza (7,745), Puckett (7,831), and Tony Oliva (6,880), all of whom completed with batting averages above .300.

As I wrote on the time of his retirement announcement, the constraints on Utley’s profession left him in need of 2,000 hits, placing his Hall of Fame destiny in danger. I had famous earlier within the season in connection to Joe Mauer that on the time neither the BBWAA nor any small committee had elected a single place participant with fewer than 2,000 hits whose profession crossed into the growth period. Some of the most effective gamers exterior the Hall on the time — Dick Allen, Bobby Grich, Andruw Jones, and Minnie Miñoso, all of whom I profiled at size in my 2017 e-book, The Cooperstown Casebook — have been on the flawed facet of that line. Since then, the elections of Miñoso (whose now-included Negro Leagues statistics push his complete to 2,113), Oliva, and Gil Hodges through the 2022 Golden Days Era Committee have produced exceptions, however BBWAA voters have but to interrupt the streak.

The 2,000-hit cutoff persists primarily as a proxy for profession size, with the extra notable gamers such because the aforementioned ones prone to have derived a larger portion of their worth by excelling in areas in addition to batting common, whether or not it’s excessive on-base percentages, good baserunning, good protection, and so forth, significantly at positions of defensive significance. Here are the highest gamers by WAR amongst these in need of 2,000 hits:

Over half of that prime 25 suits into one in every of three teams: pre-expansion Hall of Famers (Baker, Boudreau, Dickey, Doby, Greenberg, Gordon, Hartnett, and Robinson), lively gamers and sure future Hall of Famers (Betts, Goldschmidt, Machado, and Trout, with Longoria on this group however the least prone to be enshrined), and would-be Hall of Famers if not for his or her transgressions (Jackson and McGwire). All had comparatively brief careers for one motive or one other. The lively ones are ongoing, Jackson was banned for all times, McGwire had quite a few accidents, and the Hall of Famers have been restricted by catching (Dickey and Hartnett), segregation (Doby and Robinson), World War II (Greenberg and Gordon), or uncommon circumstances (Baker missed one prime season resulting from a wage dispute with Connie Mack and one other because of the aftermath of his spouse’s demise, whereas Boudreau retired at 34 to handle full-time).

All of these guys and the ten others have been or are elite in at the very least one space of batting (as measured by OPS+), fielding, or baserunning, and most performed positions of defensive significance. The 10 outsiders represent a who’s who of unsung stathead favorites, and as famous, a couple of are within the Casebook. Allen has missed election by a single vote twice as an Era Committee candidate. Grich is the one non-PED-linked participant in addition to this poll’s newcomers Mauer and Adrián Beltré who’s above the profession WAR, peak WAR, and JAWS requirements at his place however exterior the Hall. Jones, who obtained 58.1% in his sixth 12 months on the poll in 2023, is trending in the direction of eventual election and will break the BBWAA seal on the sub-2,000 distinction.

Utley not solely suits neatly into this subgroup, he’s third in worth thanks largely to his baserunning — which additionally consists of a further 24 runs for his potential to keep away from grounding into double performs, not included within the desk above — and protection. On the topic of baserunning, whereas Utley solely stole greater than 16 bases as soon as (his 23-for-23 exhibiting in 2009) and totaled simply 154 steals, he was caught simply 22 occasions. Among gamers with at the very least 150 tried steals since 1920 (the purpose from which we now have steady availability of caught stealing totals), his 87.5% success price ranks first, forward of the extra prolific Carlos Beltrán (86.4% in 361 makes an attempt) and Trea Turner (86.1% in 301 makes an attempt), in addition to Werth (85.2% in 155 makes an attempt). Like Werth, Utley benefited from the tutelage of Davey Lopes, whose 83% success price is third behind solely Tim Raines (84.7%) and Willie Wilson (83.3%) amongst these with at the very least 500 makes an attempt; an skilled at studying pitchers, Lopes served because the Phillies’ first base coach from 2007-10, a span throughout which the staff stole at an 84.3% clip, six factors forward of the pack.

Additionally, from 2006–12, Utley was yearly among the many NL’s greatest in additional bases taken (XT%) — multiple base on a single, greater than two on a double — both rating among the many prime 10 or with a top-10-worthy proportion however with not sufficient taking part in time to qualify resulting from his accidents. His composite 64% success price for these seasons, 23-25 factors above the league averages in these years, can be included inside these baserunning runs, as are the outs he made on base. Among Wild Card period gamers, his 69 runs for baserunning and double play avoidance ranks seventh, 4 runs forward of Beltrán; everyone else within the prime 10 has over 300 stolen base makes an attempt to pad their totals.

As for the fielding, Baseball America accurately predicted Utley would by no means win a Gold Glove, however that’s as a result of he was robbed. Yes, single-year measures of single metrics aren’t all that dependable, however there’s energy in pattern dimension. Among all second basemen, Utley’s 131 fielding runs ranks seventh all-time:

Of the 4 different gamers on this listing whose careers crossed into the Gold Glove period (1957 onward), each Mazeroski and White received eight Gold Gloves, whereas Polanco received three; Ellis, a defensive cog on the Moneyball-era A’s, had seven seasons of double-digit DRS totals and will have received {hardware} alongside the best way.

Utley is one in every of 20 gamers to build up at the very least 100 DRS in his profession. He’s eleventh in each DRS and UZR at 90.1 runs, 2.6 forward of Dustin Pedroia for the lead amongst second basemen. Multi-time Gold Glove winners abound in each units of rankings, however Utley is the highest-ranking amongst those that by no means received as soon as. From 2005–11 — his peak years as a defender, all predating the introduction of the SABR Defensive Index into the voting — Brandon Phillips and Orlando Hudson received six of the seven Gold Gloves amongst NL second basemen, with Castillo the opposite one. In phrases of each DRS and UZR, Utley usually outperformed them of their profitable years:

Perhaps if he’d come alongside a bit later, when fielding metrics grew to become extra broadly accepted, Utley would have fared higher in Gold Glove and MVP voting; the place he ranked among the many NL’s prime three in WAR yearly from 2005–09 and was eighth in ’10, he by no means positioned greater than seventh within the voting. That limits him to a rating of 94 (in need of “a good possibility”) on the Bill James Hall of Fame Monitor, which dishes out credit score for issues which have tended to sway voters: seasons with eye-catching plateaus akin to 30 homers, 100 RBI, and 100 runs, careers at .300 or higher, awards, league leads in key stats, and playoff appearances.

Utley’s distinctive baserunning and protection wouldn’t put him inside hailing distance of Cooperstown with out his bat. Via Baseball Reference’s batting runs measure, he was 173 runs above common on the plate, which ranks twentieth amongst all second basemen and surpasses 9 of 20 Hall of Famers, seven of whom had over 8,000 PA. His 117 OPS+ is greater than 11 of the 20 enshrinees.

Add all of it up and Utley’s 64.5 profession WAR ranks fifteenth amongst second basemen, a bit greater than 5 factors under the usual however forward of 10 of the 20 Hall of Famers. Of those under him, solely Robinson was elected by the writers, whereas the remaining have been small-committee decisions, not all of them good. Four different second basemen exterior the Hall had greater WARs, specifically Lou Whitaker (75.1), Grich (71.1), Robinson Canó (68.1), and Willie Randolph (65.9). Whitaker is one other Casebook topic whom I’ve championed, whereas Randolph, whose worth owes much less to his bat (104 OPS+) than his baserunning or protection, went one-and-done on the 1998 BBWAA poll, as Grich did in ’92 and Whitaker in 2001. Canó, who final performed in 2022, isn’t eligible but and wont be elected anytime quickly resulting from a number of PED suspensions.

Utley fares even higher by seven-year peak, rating ninth at 49.3, almost 5 full wins above the usual. He trails seven Hall of Famers and Canó (by 0.1); among the many 13 Hall of Famers, he leads are BBWAA honorees Sandberg, Frisch, Roberto Alomar, and Craig Biggio. Meanwhile, his 56.9 JAWS ranks twelfth, 0.1 under the usual. Of the 11 second basemen above him, solely Grich and Canó (each at 58.7) are exterior the Hall; the 9 under him embrace two BBWAA honorees, Alomar (55.0) and Biggio (53.6). Neither was elected on the primary strive; Alomar’s entry was forestalled by a 12 months resulting from his spitting incident, whereas Biggio, a member of the three,000 hit membership, was delayed by two years amid an unprecedented poll crunch when he grew to become eligible in 2013.

Given his comparatively brief profession and lack of milestones, Utley might not be considered as an automated alternative. But his standing by JAWS, his outstanding function within the Phillies’ success, and the excessive regard by which he’s held inside the sport make him a simple choose to those eyes. Indeed, as that aforementioned retirement announcement piece suggests, I’ve been awaiting the purpose at which I may embrace him on my poll, and I collect that I’m hardly the one voter who feels that manner. At this level, we now have the instruments to see how underrated he was in his profession. It’s time to reward him with the popularity he deserves.