This year’s Hall Of Fame voting results and the upcoming nominees reveal the fate of Phillies legend Chase Utley, as well as a few other members of the 2008 World Series team
The 2025 MLB Hall of Fame class was announced a few weeks ago, which saw former Phillie, Billy Wagner, along with Ichiro, and CC Sabathia set to be enshrined. The veterans’ committee also announced Dave Parker and, Phillies legend, Dick Allen will be enshrined. For Allen, it is comically overdue and something that should have happened 25 years ago—bare minimum—while he was still alive. There are a few more Phillies in the running over the next few years who will be interesting to track in the years to come.
Bobby Abreu
In his sixth year on the ballot, Abreu got 19.5%. While not remembered as a fan favorite, Abreu spent eight and a half seasons in Philly and overall accumulated some crazy good stats. He had a bit of a lackadaisical approach and his low numbers this late into things kind of indicate he will not get in. He is in the Hall of Very Good and honestly was a bit underrated at the time.
Chase Utley
This was the big one to watch during this voting cycle. Chase Utley will be a Hall of Famer one day. The Man made the jump from 28.8% of the vote in his first year on the ballot last year to 39.8% in year two. Chase is tracking above guys like Scott Rolen, Larry Walker, and Todd Helton at this point in their candidacies as well. Utley also flipped a fair amount of voters who didn’t vote for him last year. The required 75% of the vote needed is becoming increasingly more attainable. Utley is the best 2B in Phillies history and by WAR the 15th best 2B ever and 9th when covering the best seven-year stretches. From 2005 to 2010, only Albert Pujols generated more bWAR than Utley. His fantastic fielding (7th all-time in Rdrs) and proclivity to show up in big moments made him an integral part of the Phillies for over a decade. There are a couple of very weak classes coming up in 2026 and 2027 so there is a chance we see Utley in the Hall of Fame sooner rather than later.
Cole Hamels
The handsome lefty from southern California will see his first year of eligibility take place in 2026. Hamels was really good and at this point is the best starting pitcher the Phillies ever drafted. 4x All-Star and his role in the 2008 World Series Title were massive winning NLCS and World Series MVP. He is one of only six starting pitchers since 2000 to win the World Series MVP. Cole was great but was often looked over as in his prime from 2009-2013, he was often the second-best pitcher behind legends like Halladay and Lee. Hamels had eleven seasons with an ERA+ of 115 or higher with seven of them being 132 or higher which is truly elite level. As the expectations for Hall of Fame pitchers continue to come down, Hamels will be a super interesting candidate to watch. He may have never won a Cy Young, but he was an All-Star caliber starting pitcher for well over a decade. His career WAR is within three of this year’s inductee, CC Sabathia, and there are over 20 pitchers with lower career WARs than Hamels. His WAR is 15 points higher than Jack Morris who was recently inducted as well.
Jimmy Rollins
Probably the most interesting Hall of Fame case of the 2008 era guys because from some perspectives he feels like a slam dunk, but from others, he appears nowhere close. He only got 18% in what was year four on the ballot. It is pretty clear, he’s going to miss out with those numbers. However, Rollins was really good. He was the straw that stirred the drink of the best run in Phillies history. He has the individual accolades too. MVP, 3x All-Star, 4x Gold Glover, Silver Slugger, Roberto Clemente Award, and of course World Series champion. Rollins 2007 saw him become only the fourth player of all time to have a 20/20/20/20 season (HR/2B/3B/SB). He is the Phillies all-time hit leader as well. Rollins was arguably never the best player on his team though and in his 17 seasons only posted an OPS+ above 100 (league average) 4 times, only one of which was over 105. Rollins feels like another member of the Hall of Very Good. It could be very possible though that he gets in 20 years from now with the veterans committee.
Ryan Howard
If Howard were to ever get into the Hall of Fame it would be as a Veterans Committee guy years from now as in his first year of eligibility he only received 2% of the vote, which is low enough to be removed from the ballot. Howard’s power was legendary and his seven-year high point from 2005-2011 was an all-time display for a slugger. 382HRs, Rookie of the Year, MVP, 3x All-Star, Homerun Derby winner, Silver Slugger, NLCS MVP, and a key component to the 2008 World Series winning Phillies. Since Roger Maris’ single-season record of home runs was set at 61, among players who never failed a drug test, Howard’s 2006 homerun total of 58 has only been passed twice. His 149 RBIs that season remain the most in a single season since 2005 and may remain a modern standard. He seemed like a shoo-in for 500+ home runs if his body didn’t fail him. He had 253 home runs by age 30. Even as his career went on his power was still incredible to watch.
Please Phillies, Please retire 6, 11, 26, and 35. Regardless of whether they are in the Hall of Fame or not, they are the best 1B, 2B, SS, and homegrown SP, in franchise history who led the most successful era in this teams 140+ year history.
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