Phillies legends Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins were a fantastic double-play combination in Philadelphia and there’s a chance that they could go into the Hall of Fame together. The middle infielders are on the Hall of Fame ballot together this year for the first time in Utley’s first year of eligibility and Rollins’ third.
MLB analyst Jon Morosi joined Audacy’s “The Bret Boone Podcast” and explained why he thinks Utley and Rollins deserve to go into the Baseball Hall of Fame together.
“I really hope that Utley’s support in Year 1 for him will help people give a second look to Jimmy Rollins. This is the longest-running double-play combo in the National League,” Morosi said (41:00 in player above). “I look at them as a great duo. They belong in. I think both of them.
“Utley, I think he’s a really interesting test case in terms of the duration of the peak. The peak that he had was dominant. He was one of the best all-around players in the game for a period of about four to five years.”
Utley finished top-13 in MVP voting from 2005 to 2009 during that peak. He averaged 31 home runs, 109 RBI, 119 runs, and 17 bases per 162 games while batting .301 with a .922 OPS. Utley was the best second baseman in the game during that time.
“Injuries happened later on, obviously, but he was on some significant teams in Philly, back-to-back World Series (appearances), great October performer,” Morosi continued. “You think about all the home runs that Chase hit in the month of October, and he turned a pretty good double play. Obviously, defensively wasn’t great but solid, so I think that his numbers, what he was able to do stand out because of just the greatness of the peak.”
During the Phillies’ back-to-back runs to the World Series, Utley hit nine home runs with 19 RBI in 29 games – the Phils went 20-9 during that span. He likely would’ve won the World Series MVP in 2009 with his five home runs if the Phillies were able to take down the Yankees.
“Jimmy was more of a long-term greatest in terms of the number of games that he played, the number of hits. He’s actually a unique shortstop in the history of the game, the only one that has hit certain numbers of triples, stolen bases, and home runs that Jimmy was able to hit as a switch hitter,” Morosi said. “I just think he was at his peak, he was an NL MVP.”
Rollins holds the Phillies record for at-bats (8,628), hits (2,306), and doubles (479). He was the straw that stirred the Phillies’ drink during their playoff runs in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
“For me, it’s a great double-play combination that I hope is one day honored together because of what they meant in a great baseball city in Philadelphia,” Morosi concluded.