Chase Utley has been a very good ballplayer. He was the Phillies’ overall best player for a very long time. Between 2003-2015, even with all of the injuries he has had, he was able to compile 61.5 Baseball-Reference WAR for the Phillies. This includes the 0.3 WAR from his call-up stint in 2003 and the -0.5 WAR he put up before being traded to the Dodgers. He actually rebounded with the Dodgers to put up 3.9 WAR over the next two and a half seasons.
As it stands, 65.4 WAR gives him more career WAR than Hall-of-Famers Craig Biggio, Andre Dawson, Dave Winfield, Willie Stargell, Hank Greenberg, and Joe Torre (although Torre is technically in the HOF as a manager). As he's in the company of a lot of Hall-of-Famers. Chase Utley really is a Hall-of-Fame worthy player.
What’s most incredible about Utley is that he’s done this while only playing more than 156 games 3 times in his career. To think he’s missed perhaps about 2 full seasons worth of games in his career and still amassed 5 seasons of at least 7.2 WAR is unbelievable. It is hard to say whether a player who has been oft-injured as Utley will be voted into the Hall-of-Fame, but the talent has always been there.
When he does play, he is definitely that level of player. It’s also important to note that despite never having won a Gold Glove, he’s been a well-above average defender at second base, amassing 135 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) in his career. That’s pretty impressive.
When it’s all said and done, it’s hard not to see Utley getting at least a fair shot on the first Hall-of-Fame ballot he appears on. His grit and determination for playing through so many injury-plagued seasons must count for something, but the numbers alone tell the story of a perennial All-Star with underrated defense. See you in Cooperstown someday, Chase!
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
As it stands, 65.4 WAR gives him more career WAR than Hall-of-Famers Craig Biggio, Andre Dawson, Dave Winfield, Willie Stargell, Hank Greenberg, and Joe Torre (although Torre is technically in the HOF as a manager). As he's in the company of a lot of Hall-of-Famers. Chase Utley really is a Hall-of-Fame worthy player.
What’s most incredible about Utley is that he’s done this while only playing more than 156 games 3 times in his career. To think he’s missed perhaps about 2 full seasons worth of games in his career and still amassed 5 seasons of at least 7.2 WAR is unbelievable. It is hard to say whether a player who has been oft-injured as Utley will be voted into the Hall-of-Fame, but the talent has always been there.
When he does play, he is definitely that level of player. It’s also important to note that despite never having won a Gold Glove, he’s been a well-above average defender at second base, amassing 135 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) in his career. That’s pretty impressive.
When it’s all said and done, it’s hard not to see Utley getting at least a fair shot on the first Hall-of-Fame ballot he appears on. His grit and determination for playing through so many injury-plagued seasons must count for something, but the numbers alone tell the story of a perennial All-Star with underrated defense. See you in Cooperstown someday, Chase!
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
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