Utley, Rollins deserve to be inducted into the Hall of Fame
There are few spicier sports topics than a question that comes up at this time of the year every year: Who does or does not deserve to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame?
The voters, from the Baseball Writers Association of America, received their ballots earlier this month, and they have until New Year’s Eve to make their selections, and there will be plenty of interest around here once they do. Jimmy Rollins is on the ballot for the third time, Chase Utley for the first.
At the risk of sounding like the most homerish homer who ever campaigned on behalf of candidates from the hometown team, I’d have both Rollins and Utley on my ballot if I were a voter. My colleague Matt Breen laid out the cases for Rollins and Utley in a recent story, and those cases are persuasive, though they’re distinct from each other. In some ways, in fact, they’re opposites.
Rollins’ longevity is the centerpiece of his candidacy. Over his first 13 major league seasons, he ranked first in the National League in hits, first in doubles, second in runs, and third in extrabase hits; won an MVP award, four Gold Gloves, and a World Series; and had the highest fielding percentage of any shortstop who played 1,000 games or more. Rollins’ worthiness for induction comes down to a standard that is commonly used to judge these things: Was he a great player — or a really good player — for a long enough period of time? I’d say yes.
Utley’s is the more interesting case to study. He has a stronger claim to the Hall than Rollins does, mostly because he compares so well to other second basemen who already are in
Cooperstown. There are 20, and Utley would fit snugly among them: fifth in home runs (259), eighth in OPS (.823), 10th in total WAR (64.5).
The knock on Utley would be that he wasn’t nearly as durable as most Hall of Famers, that his performance and production fell off as his body broke down. But for a five-year period in his prime, 2005 through 2009, he was pretty remarkable, batting .301 with a .922 OPS and a record-tying five home runs in the 2009 World Series, ranking among the top fielding second basemen and the top baserunners in the sport.
That aspect of Utley’s career — for a relatively brief period, he was the finest player at his position, truly elite by any measure — is a criterion that generally too often gets overlooked or undervalued when evaluating whether a figure ought to be in the Hall of Fame. I’ve made this argument before, and for anyone who doubts Utley’s bona fides, I’ll make it again now: A particularly significant individual achievement or period of achievement — even if it is relatively brief, even if it is an outlier in that figure’s overall career or life — should be enough to warrant induction.
Yes, Utley and Rollins should be in. So should Don Mattingly, who over a six-year span in the 1980s won a batting title, an
MVP, five Gold Gloves, and four Silver Slugger awards. So should Dwight Gooden, whose average season during his first five years for the Mets — an 18-7 record, a 1.102 WHIP, 10 complete games, four shutouts, 213 strikeouts in 235 innings — provides only the slightest indication of how dominant and famous “Dr. K” was at his best.
So should Roger Maris, for his 61 home runs in 1961. So should Kirk Gibson, for his winning home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. So should Bobby Thomson, for “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World” in 1951. So should Don Larsen, for his perfect game in the 1956 World Series. So should Curt Schilling, as abhorrent as his opinions and public behavior have been, for being the best big-game pitcher of his time.
So should Curt Flood, for his brave challenge to the reserve clause and a fight that led to free agency. So should Bill White, who had a fantastic playing career on its own merits but, more importantly, was the first Black man to serve as president of either the National or American League and who was the first Black man to be a full-time broadcaster for a team in one of North America’s four major sports. So should Dick Allen, for reasons that have been enumerated for years now.
The results of this round of Hall of Fame voting will be revealed on Jan. 24. Here’s hoping the voters get it right. And here’s hoping that, in the future, those with the power to make such determinations open their minds to these other candidates who are worthy, and who already have been waiting too long for the recognition they deserve.