Chase Utley Will Get to Cooperstown … Just Not Yet

Good news, Phillies fans … beloved second baseman Chase Utley will get to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The bad news … it is going to have to wait another year or two. This franchise icon and 2008 World Series champion is one of the most popular Philadelphia Phillies ever. No disrespect to Tony Taylor, Manny Trillo, or Juan Samuel, but it would be hard not to call Chase the top second baseman ever to don the red pinstripes. Here are some auspicious harbingers why this silver fox should be getting the call to Cooperstown soon.

Chase Utley Will Be a Hall of Famer…Eventually

The Numbers

In 16 MLB seasons with the Phils and Los Angeles Dodgers, Utley put up some of the best stats ever for a primary second baseman: 259 home runs, 1,025 RBI, a 64.6 WAR, a .275 batting average, an .823 OPS, 411 doubles, and 204 HBP (ninth all-time). Utley’s peak was 2005-2009, when he had four seasons of 28+ home runs and 100+ RBI. In 2006, he hit .309 with 203 hits (including a 35-game hitting streak). The following year, #26 hit a career-high .332 and helped lead the Phillies to their first postseason since 1993.

Of course, there’s 2008, when he was a huge part of only the second World Series winner in Phillies history. This lefty hit three huge homers in that postseason run. Then the following year, he tied an MLB record with five long balls in the 2009 Fall Classic against the New York Yankees.

With 50.7% of Hall of Fame ballots released publicly, here’s how former Phillies are doing (@NotMrTibbs):

Chase Utley 67.9%
Bobby Abreu 39.1%
Cole Hamels 31.2%
Jimmy Rollins 24.7%
Hunter Pence 0.5%
Howie Kendrick 0.0%

75% is needed to be elected pic.twitter.com/KLAbNZBMMt

— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) January 18, 2026

Let’s focus on the singular stat of WAR to magnify Utley’s candidacy. In his peak years, this UCLA man was a fixture in the MLB top five. From 2005-2009, his WAR numbers were 7.3, 7.3, 7.8, 9.0, and 8.2. For a 10-year period, his WAR shows he was unequivocally one of the best players in baseball. In fact, his career WAR of 64.6 is smack dab in the middle of the Hall of Famers at his position. Furthermore, his WAR7 (the sum of his best seven years) is ninth all-time among second basemen. So, if you’re using WAR as a Hall of Fame measuring stick, Utley is above Cooperstown residents Joe Gordon, Nellie Fox, and newly elected Jeff Kent. His WAR is also second only to Mike Schmidt in franchise history among all position players.

Intangibles

What truly made Chase Utley a South Philly deity were his gritty intangibles like baserunning, defense, and headiness. He routinely broke up double plays (just ask Ruben Tejada) and barreled into catchers (before it was outlawed).

Defensively, although not known as an Ozzie Smith clone, his defensive WAR of 17.4 is 11th all-time among all guys labeled position #4 on the scorecard. As far as baseball IQ, look no further than his play to nail a runner at the plate during the World Series clincher in 2008.

HOF Trends

Numbers aside, if you look at the MLB Hall of Fame voting trends, you’ll see Utley is well-positioned. In 2024, his first year on the ballot, he got 28.8% of the needed 75%. Last year, he shot to 39.9%. He is projected to jump into the 60% range this year. That puts him well ahead of the arcs of some recently named Hall of Famers. For comparison, Scott Rolen was elected in his sixth year of eligibility, but only got 10.2% of the votes in his first year. There are several other citable examples that bode well for The Man.

The stat comparisons and voting trends appear very promising for the presumptive best second baseman in Phillies’ history. Chase Utley won’t be elected to the Hall of Fame in 2026, but his name will be called in 2027 or 2028 at the latest. Until then, fans in Philadelphia will have to just wait patiently and politely, as they are known to do.