Chase Utley has a Hall-of-Fame resume. There, I said it. I’m not even sure – is this controversial? Let’s go through his case:
Best player at his position for a decade (2000’s)
Best player on a World Series-winning team (2008 Phillies)
A career WAR equivalent to Craig Biggio, another second baseman (mostly) who is not too controversial of a pick (elected on his third year on the ballot btw).
From an autographed trading card perspective, Joe Mauer’s career spanned three eras. He was the first pick in the 2001 MLB draft, so he was featured heavily in 2002 card releases. In 2002, autographed cards were still mostly on-card, but some sets were moving towards stickers. Then about a decade of mostly sticker autographs occurred (i.e. the Dark Ages), followed by a slight but noticeable rebirth (hardly a Renaissance) in on-card autos towards the end of his playing career.
From a historical perspective, Frank Thomas is perhaps one of only two sluggers (along with Ken Griffey Jr.) to make it out of the Steroid Era with his intially stellar reputation still pristinely intact. His career arc followed that of most of baseball’s greats before him: a quick, nimble bat hitting for power and average in his youth, injuries as his career progressed, and his final years showing good, but lower production as his slowing bat changed him into more of a guess/mistake hitter.
“Mr. Padre” is pretty much universally loved and accepted as the greatest player in Padres history. His career spanned 20 years (1982-2001) and he collected 3,141 hits, all in a Padres uniform. As of this writing, Tony Gwynn is ranked tied for 22nd all-time in career batting average. Notably, Gwynn’s career ended >40 years after everyone ahead of him on the list.
Andruw Jones was one of the most hyped prospects in baseball history. He burst into the national consciousness by hitting home runs in his first two World Series at-bats in game one of the 1996 series vs. the Yankees. He was the youngest player to homer in the World Series at 19.5 years old.
As a A’s fan who grew up rooting for the late-80’s and early-90’s Bash Brothers teams, it was difficult to make sense of and come to terms with the 1993-1997 teams. They were bad. Jason Giambi helped pull the team out of the cellar and back to the playoffs, so he’ll always have a soft spot in my heart.
