Chase Utley was treated horribly in MVP voting.
Editor’s note: This story was originally published in October of 2020
When Chase Utley first becomes eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot in 2024, one of the arguments that some will use against him is that not only did he never win the National League MVP voting, but he never finished in the top five.
This piece isn’t about Utley’s Hall of Fame worthiness, but if you don’t believe that the six-time All-Star has a resume worthy of Cooperstown, it would behoove you to find another argument at some point in the next four years.
No, Utley didn’t ever finish in the top five in National League MVP, but that’s more of an indictment on what voters valued at the time than his resume.
In 2005, Utley’s first full major league season, the second baseman slashed .291/.376/.540 with 28 home runs, 105 RBIs, a .915 OPS, 23 defensive runs saved and a 7.2 WAR.
Voters rewarded him with a 13th-place finish in National League MVP voting. He actually finished third among players on his own team, with Pat Burrell’s 117 RBIs and 99 walks propelling him to a seventh-place finish, while the bulk of one of the longest hitting streaks in MLB history helped Jimmy Rollins to finish 10th. Burrell, Rollins, Albert Pujols, Andruw Jones, Derrek Lee, Morgan Ensberg, Miguel Cabrera, Carlos Delgado, Chris Carpenter, Brian Giles, Dontrelle Willis and Jason Bay all finished above Utley in National League MVP voting. Only Pujols and Jones topped him in WAR.
There is a reality — one that was especially prevalent in 2005 — that you need to have a household name to compete for an MVP Award that’s voted on by national writers. This holds especially true if your case isn’t based on a historic home run output.
