JAWS and the 2024 Hall of Fame Poll: Torii Hunter and Jimmy Rollins

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 sequence, use the software above; an introduction to JAWS could be discovered right here. For a tentative schedule and an opportunity to fill out a Hall of Fame poll for our crowdsourcing challenge, see right here. All WAR figures confer with the Baseball-Reference model except in any other case indicated.

Before Joe Mauer started starring for the Twins, there was Torii Hunter, and earlier than Chase Utley started starring for the Phillies, there was Jimmy Rollins. Hunter, a rangy, acrobatic middle fielder who finally gained 9 Gold Gloves and made 5 All-Star groups, debuted with Minnesota in 1997 and emerged as a star in 2001, the identical 12 months the Twins selected Mauer with the primary decide of the draft. The pair would play collectively from 2004 to ’07, making the playoffs twice earlier than Hunter departed by way of free company. Rollins, a compact shortstop who carried himself with a swagger, debuted in 2001 and made two All-Star groups by the point he and Utley started an 11-year run (2004–14) because the Phillies’ common double play mixture. The pair helped Philadelphia to 5 NL East titles, two pennants, and a championship, with Rollins profitable NL MVP honors in 2007 and taking dwelling 4 Gold Gloves.

Hunter and Rollins each loved prolonged and spectacular careers, racking up over 2,400 hits apiece with substantial dwelling run and stolen base totals. From a Hall of Fame perspective, each have credentials that attraction extra to traditionally-minded voters than to statheads. But of their time on the poll, they’ve gotten little traction, with Hunter topping out at 9.5% in his 2021 debut and Rollins solely breaking into double digits in ’23. Not a lot has modified concerning their electoral outlooks this time round; each are prone to be far outdistanced by their former teammates, whose superior statistics are a lot stronger regardless of comparatively quick careers. Still, these two could persist on the poll, with sufficient assist for us to maintain reliving their careers and discussing their deserves on an annual foundation. There are far worse fates for Hall of Fame candidates.

Torii Hunter (6.9% in 2023)

From the 2023 profile intro:

Torii Hunter might go get it. Fluid and swish whereas patrolling middle area, he was famend for his leaping, acrobatic catches and his willingness to sacrifice his physique. He made a robust sufficient impression upon those that watched him that he gained 9 Gold Gloves throughout his 19-year profession, greater than all however three middle fielders, specifically Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., and Andruw Jones. Hunter earned the nickname “Spider-Man” for his capability to climb outfield partitions to steal dwelling runs — one thing he did extra than simply about anyone else throughout his profession — although one try to take action at Fenway Park left him with a damaged ankle, and one other a concussion.

“I’ll do anything to get that little white ball. I’ll put my life on the line,” Hunter advised Sports Illustrated’s Albert Chen in 2005, sounding very very similar to the soccer participant he was throughout his highschool days in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Hunter rose from tough circumstances in Pine Bluff, together with a father who was hooked on crack cocaine and pals who fell into the dead-end life of medication, weapons, and gangs. His athleticism helped him escape, although when he entered skilled baseball as a first-round decide of the Twins in 1993, his expertise was extra uncooked than most.

The growth of Hunter’s bat lagged behind his glove early in his profession, however finally, he improved to grew to become an above-average hitter with a number of dimensions to his sport. From 2001-13, he averaged 23 homers and 13 steals per 12 months whereas hitting for a 115 OPS+, delighting followers together with his penchant for the spectacular play, and gaining a popularity inside the sport for being a vocal clubhouse chief. In that span, he made 5 All-Star groups and helped the Twins, Angels, and Tigers to the playoffs eight instances, although he by no means bought additional than the American League Championship Series with any of them.

More right here.

Jimmy Rollins (12.9% in 2023)

From the 2023 profile intro:

Few gamers have ever been extra central to the Phillies than Jimmy Rollins. In truth, excluding Mike Schmidt, no participant spent extra time in a Phillies’ uniform than Rollins, and even counting the Hall of Fame third baseman, none collected extra hits or stole extra bases. The pint-sized shortstop — 5-foot-7, 175 kilos in response to Baseball Reference — spent 15 of his 17 main league seasons with Philadelphia, the place he was on the middle of the crew’s return to rivalry following a slide into irrelevance on the outset of the Wild Card period.

Rollins was the beginning shortstop on the Phillies’ 5 straight NL East champions from 2007-11, together with their ’08 World Series profitable squad — simply the second in franchise historical past — and ’09 pennant winner. A slick fielder who provided velocity and pop from either side of the plate atop the lineup, he garnered the nickname “J-Roll” from legendary Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas. J-Roll projected a confidence that bordered on cockiness, and carried himself with a swagger. “We’re the team to beat,” he stated on the outset of the 2007 season, all however thumbing his nostril on the reigning NL East champion Mets, who had outdistanced the Phillies by 12 video games.

After shedding their first three video games and 10 of their first 13 to begin the 2007 season — together with two out of three at Shea Stadium, the place he was booed lustily by New York followers — the Phillies didn’t spend a day in first place till September 27, once they tied the Mets with three video games remaining. While they took two out of three from the Nationals, the Mets dropped two of three from the Marlins. Not solely was Philadelphia again within the playoffs after a 14-year absence, setting off a run throughout which the crew grew to become simply the fifth to win 5 straight division titles, however Rollins took dwelling NL MVP (Most Valuable Prognosticator) honors. A 12 months later, he added a World Series ring to a set that additionally grew to incorporate 4 Gold Gloves.

More right here.