In his second year on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, second baseman Chase Utley presents an interesting case as one of the top offensive second basemen of his era, an underrated fielder and a guy who simply knew how to win.
Utley debuted in 2003, pairing with shortstop Jimmy Rollins for the next 12 seasons. Ryan Howard joined the band a few years later and Philadelphia’s infield core led the team to five consecutive playoff appearances, two National League pennants and the 2008 World Series title.
Utley was beloved by Phillies fans as one of the most ‘hard-nosed’ players in the game and while he didn’t win an MVP award like Rollins or Howard, the second baseman may have the most lasting social cache in Philadelphia.
Utley’s candidacy is bolstered by defensive metrics, his 17.3 dWAR the highest of any second baseman from 2003-2018. Because of that, he actually ranks fourth in career WAR among the players on this year’s ballot behind only Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran and Manny Ramirez.
Here’s a closer look at Utley’s Hall of Fame candidacy:
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The case for Chase Utley
Jeff Kent, who holds the record for most homers as a second baseman but has league-average defensive numbers, fell off the ballot with 46.5% support in 2023.
Utley’s offensive production may not have lasted as long as Kent, the 2000 NL MVP, but their numbers are strikingly similar during each’s five-year peak. Kent had a .916 OPS from 1998-2003 to Utley’s .911 from 2005-2010.
Without a Gold Glove, Utley’s defense was underappreciated at the time but advanced metrics put him as one of the better second basemen in history. Utley’s 131 fielding runs (based on Total Runs and Defensive Runs Saved) ranks fifth among those who played at least 90% of their games at the keystone.
There’s also the postseason narrative for Utley, who helped the Phillies snap a 14-year playoff drought with a stunning comeback NL East title in 2007. In the 2009 World Series, Utley slugged five home runs in a six-game loss to the Yankees, joining Reggie Jackson as just the second player accomplish the feat.
The case against
Utley didn’t debut until he was 24 years old and his prime wound up being short-lived, beginning his offensive descent at age 32. In his final eight seasons, Utley only managed a .738 OPS and averaged 10 homers, leaving him short of a few milestones – 1,855 hits and 259 home runs – that would have looked great on his Hall of Fame résumé.
That brings us back to Kent, who failed to get a groundswell of support in his final years on the ballot despite being the premier modern slugging second baseman. In fact, we may see Utley surpass Kent’s best vote total in the next year or two.
Kent was better than Utley for longer and finished with markedly better counting stats, but should Utley’s dWAR outweigh that eyeball test?
Leaning on advanced stats to judge players in hindsight is (rightfully) a point of contention among fans and Hall of Fame prognosticators, but the Phillies legend’s defensive metrics are the cudgel that will probably get him into Cooperstown at some point.
Voting trends
After a strong showing in his first year on the ballot, Utley has received 52.9% support through 115 ballots public ballots in Ryan Thibodeaux’s 2025 Hall of Fame Tracker.
2024: 28.8%
Bottom line
It’s likely that Chase Utley will make the Baseball Hall of Fame in the next nine years before his time on the ballot is up.
It was hard to fathom this being the case a half-decade or so ago, but recent slow-burn inductees – namely Todd Helton and Scott Rolen (with Billy Wagner and Andruw Jones soon to come) – have paved a clearer path for a player like Utley.
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