How close is Chase Utley to the Hall of Fame?

[GIN ANTONIC]

I don't have a problem with him in but it wouldn't be an atrocity if he didn't make it. It only looks bad vs other picks who are in. The 'he's better than X player who's in' isn't a good argument because you don't want to lower the bar but I don't think Utley really does that.

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

He's a conflicting case. He has a half dozen asg appearances, 4 silver sluggers and a mid-60's WAR, but he's never finished higher than 7th in any mvp voting.

If you value overall greatness in terms of peak vs comp, then he probably isn't your guy. If you value body of work and attrition then he should be in.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

If Lou Whitaker and Bobby Grich are considered not good enough for HOF then Utley should not be in either

 

[Halladay]

Major League Leaderboards » 2014 » Batters » Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball

Not bad.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

If Lou Whitaker and Bobby Grich are considered not good enough for HOF then Utley should not be in either

Agreed and add Willie Randolph.

 

[Sports Enthusiast]

What is so special about him? These hall of fames are getting so watered down that the meaning is diminishing. You can tell the story of baseball without Chase Utley

 

[kingsholygrail]

He's also very likeable. I think he'll sneak in.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Robbie Cano > Utley and I'm not sure Robbie is a lock. Well even disregarding the steroids...now there's almost no shot he gets in.

What is so special about him? These hall of fames are getting so watered down that the meaning is diminishing. You can tell the story of baseball without Chase Utley

power hitting middle infielder who was very valuable at his peak. it was just short lived. if he played like that for longer he'd probably be a lock. Still a solid player for years after that but I don't think he's HoF worthy.

A lot of his value came from the defense and I am suspect on defensive metrics and all of that. I agree you can easily tell the story of the game and leave him out and he's borderline candidate at best.

HoVG to me.

 

[Dr Pepper]

From Dodger Stadium?

Around 2,760 miles.

 

[MS]

Robbie Cano > Utley and I'm not sure Robbie is a lock. Well even disregarding the steroids...now there's almost no shot he gets in.



power hitting middle infielder who was very valuable at his peak. it was just short lived. if he played like that for longer he'd probably be a lock. Still a solid player for years after that but I don't think he's HoF worthy.

A lot of his value came from the defense and I am suspect on defensive metrics and all of that. I agree you can easily tell the story of the game and leave him out and he's borderline candidate at best.

HoVG to me.

Cano was a dead lock until the steroids. If you're saying he was borderline your barometer is skewed.

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

Cano was a dead lock until the steroids. If you're saying he was borderline your barometer is skewed.

Agreed. Unless Cano actually turned into a pumpkin he was easily getting into the HOF. Now with PED suspension he probably misses.

 

[Halladay]

Utley's peak was much bettet than Cano's. Just started his career later had more injuries.

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

Utley's peak was much bettet than Cano's. Just started his career later had more injuries.

Much better in what way? Cano had 4 ops+ seasons above 140 to Utley's 1 and has 4 mvp finishes higher than Utley's highest ever finish.

Those aren't the end-all-be-alls obviously, but I'm curious as to what exactly made Utley's peak mich better than Cano's.

 

[Halladay]

Much better in what way? Cano had 4 ops+ seasons above 140 to Utley's 1 and has 4 mvp finishes higher than Utley's highest ever finish.

Those aren't the end-all-be-alls obviously, but I'm curious as to what exactly made Utley's peak mich better than Cano's.

Over a 5 year period, Utley was probably the 2nd best position player in baseball. About MVP voting, his two inferior teammates won back to back MVP awards, when he was clearly the better player. Also factor in that sabermetrics werent as highly regarded back then as they are now. Utley was the far defender and baserunner.

I like Cano, and as a career has had a better. But nobody will be able to convince me that Cano's top years were better than Utley's when you factor factor in all three facets of the game. So it probably wouldnt be mucg better, but it is better.

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

Over a 5 year period, Utley was probably the 2nd best position player in baseball. About MVP voting, his two inferior teammates won back to back MVP awards, when he was clearly the better player. Also factor in that sabermetrics werent as highly regarded back then as they are now. Utley was the far defender and baserunner.

I like Cano, and as a career has had a better. But nobody will be able to convince me that Cano's top years were better than Utley's when you factor factor in all three facets of the game. So it probably wouldnt be mucg better, but it is better.

Cano was gg caliber during his peak, so I don't see too much of an advantage there either way. Baserunning is totally in Utley's favor wrt not only steals, but taking the extra base.

One anomaly I just noticed was hbp's. While those help out obp, they himder ops because they're extra base hit eliminators. Cano during his prime was hit at most in a season 12 times with 7 being his next highest. Compare that to Utley who was hit 76 times between 07-09 and a total of 134 times between 06-12. That's an insane amount of times to have the bat taken out of your hands.

 

[Halladay]

Cano was gg caliber during his peak, so I don't see too much of an advantage there either way. Baserunning is totally in Utley's favor wrt not only steals, but taking the extra base.

One anomaly I just noticed was hbp's. While those help out obp, they himder ops because they're extra base hit eliminators. Cano during his prime was hit at most in a season 12 times with 7 being his next highest. Compare that to Utley who was hit 76 times between 07-09 and a total of 134 times between 06-12. That's an insane amount of times to have the bat taken out of your hands.

If we look at UZR, it isnt close. Baseball references defensivd runs saved likes Cano's more than UZR, but Utley still has better stats. Now, these metrics arent perfect, but they show that Utley was one of the top defensive players in all of baseball.

In terms of Utley getting hit, he used to crowd the plate and lean into pitches. He wouldnt budge either, and probably cost him the MVP in 2007 after breaking his hand after getting hit.

Im biased towards Utley, but to me ge was a better player than Cano.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

I started a HoF poll there > https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/2019-bhof-who-would-you-vote-for-you-can-vote-for-10.2519787/

 

[Vamos Rafa]

Players drafted out of college like Utley are just at a disadvantage. Their MLB service time will take a hit since they were still playing college ball at 20-21 instead of being a rookie in the majors. Then they're still in the minors for a couple of years until 23 or 24. They'd have to really kill it in the minors if they want to make it to the bigs in a hurry.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Scott Rolen 70.2 WAR........about to fall off the ballot. Similar track records. A lot of their value comes from defense.

How can Chase get in if Scott isn't?

 

[Halladay]

Scott Rolen 70.2 WAR........about to fall off the ballot. Similar track records. A lot of their value comes from defense.

How can Chase get in if Scott isn't?

They both should be.

 

[rangerssharks414]

Scott Rolen 70.2 WAR........about to fall off the ballot. Similar track records. A lot of their value comes from defense.

How can Chase get in if Scott isn't?

I agree. I don't think Rolen deserves to fall off the ballot, though. The "Rule of 10" is so dumb.