Former Phillies Star Gets First Hall of Fame Vote
Adam Rubin, who covered the Mets for ESPN and is a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America, cast his ballot, which was released by the BBWAA’s Hall of Fame ballot tracker.
Voters are not required to disclose their ballot, but many do so in an effort to be transparent about who they are voting for.
Rubin returned a ballot with votes for 10 players, which is the maximum.
Utley was one of them. Carlos Beltrán, Adrian Beltré, Todd Helton, Andruw Jones, Álex Rodríguez, Manny Ramírez, Gary Sheffield, Billy Wagner, and David Wright received the remaining votes.
Second baseman Utley is making his first appearance on the ballot. He spent 2003-15 with Philadelphia before spending the final three seasons of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
At the plate he slashed .275/.358/.465 with 1,885 hits, 411 doubles, 259 home runs, 1,025 RBI, 1,103 runs and 154 stolen bases. He helped the Phillies win the 2008 World Series.
In addition to being a six-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger, he placed three times in the Top 10 of the MVP voting.
Holdovers Omar Vizquel, Andy Pettitte, Bobby Abreu, Jimmy Rollins, Mark Buehrle, Adrián González, Matt Holliday, Brandon Phillips, José Reyes, and James Shields are among the remaining candidates on the ballot. First-year candidates Joe Mauer, José Bautista, Bartolo Colon, Adrián González, Matt Holliday, José Reyes, and James Shields are also included.
The complete class will be announced on Jan. 23, with voting to be completed by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America by Dec. 31. In December, a select panel will determine, if any, finalists on the Contemporary Baseball Era Managers/Executives/Umpires ballot advance to next year’s ceremony, which is set for July 21 in Cooperstown, N.Y.
A player requires 75 percent of the votes from the BBWAA for induction.