Former Philadelphia Phillies star Chase Utley is going to need help if he hopes to be elected to the 2024 Class of the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Members of the Baseball Writers Association had to turn in their ballots on Dec. 31. While all of the ballots are in, 100 of them have chosen to make their ballots public and cataloged by a group of independent writers.
Of those 100 ballots, Utley appeared on just 44 of them, putting him at 44%. Players need 75% of the vote to get into the Hall of Fame.
An independent group of writers have been cataloging the ballots made public. It is expected that 384 ballots will be cast, meaning any player would need an estimated 288 votes for induction.
Utley was part of the Phillies’ 2008 World Series champions and spent 13 of his 16 years with the Phillies.
He was a six-time All-Star, a four-time Silver Slugger and finished in the Top 10 in MVP voting three times.
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.
Two other former Phillies are on the ballot, and one is having much more success in claiming election.
Former closer Billy Wagner — who spent a portion of his career in Philadelphia — had 79% of the vote after 100 ballots, putting him above the percentage needed for induction.
Jimmy Rollins, a former Phillies infielder, had just 12% of the vote after 100 ballots.
The top vote-getters after 100 ballots that are above the percentage needed for election were Adrián Beltré (98.0%), Joe Mauer (83.0%) and Todd Helton (82.0%).
The results will be revealed on Jan. 23. The induction ceremony is set for July 21 in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Whichever players are selected will join former manager Jim Leyland, who was voted in on the Contemporary Baseball Era Managers/Executives/Umpires ballot at the Winter Meetings.
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