Baseball Hall of Fame: What we learned about the cases of Chase Utley, Felix Hernandez, Andy Pettitte and more

Key Highlights

• With 1,885 career hits, he’s making a push to be one of the rare position players inducted into Cooperstown with fewer than 2,000 career hits.
• His 259 career home runs stand out relative to his positional peers but pale in comparison to the offensive résumés of the two second basemen most recently elected: Craig Biggio, a member of the 3,000-hit club, and Kent, whose 377 homers are the most ever at the position. But Utley’s case is rooted in his all-around impact — a balanced offensive profile, a terrific glove at an up-the-middle position, impactful and ultra-efficient baserunning — which manifested in significant WAR totals during his peak that reflected his status as one of the best players in baseball.
• From 2005 to 2010, Utley ranked second in MLB in fWAR behind only Albert Pujols, a remarkable testament to his star-level performance that might’ve been somewhat overlooked because Utley never finished higher than seventh in MVP voting during that six-season span, while teammates Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins claimed the award in ‘06 and ‘07.
• Utley also never won a Gold Glove Award, but defensive metrics rated him exceptionally well, providing a serious boost to his WAR and bolstering his case as voters consider his candidacy through a more sabermetric lens. Utley has made steady progress toward induction; he debuted at 28.8% two years ago and has more than doubled that mark two years later.
• He’s not quite on the doorstep, but anyone who reaches the 50% threshold is a near-certainty to get elected eventually, which means Utley is officially within striking distance of election, perhaps in the next two or three years. Felix Hernandez: 46.1% of the vote, second yearVoting history:First year: 20.6%Second year: 46.1%AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt’s all about the peak for King Felix, who earned staff ace status with the Seattle Mariners at an astonishingly early age — he debuted as a 19-year-old in 2005 — and dominated in his early-and-mid-20s before his stuff and effectiveness plummeted as he entered his 30s.