The last Phillies to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame were a pair of players who spent part of their career with the Phillies. Dick Allen was chosen by the Veteran’s Committee and Billy Wagner was elected into the Hall by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). Prior to that Scott Rolen was inducted in 2023.
The ballot for BBWAA members to vote on players was released and includes three players who spent at least part of their career wearing a Phillies uniform. Two of them, Hunter Pence and Howie Kendrick, won’t be elected for induction. The third player, pitcher Cole Hamels, is interesting. The left-hander had a great career and is a favorite among the Phillies faithful, but is he a Hall of Fame caliber player?
| STAT CATEGORY | HALL OF FAME NORMS | COLE HAMELS |
|---|---|---|
| WINS | 200 – 300 | 160 |
| STRIKEOUTS | 2,500-3,000 | 2,560 |
| ERA + | MINIMUM 120 | 123 |
| INNINGS PITCHED | 3,000 – 4,000 | 2.698 |
| CAREER WAR | 60 – 70 | 57.9 |
What the basic numbers say…
Hamels is just over what is considered a minimum number of strikeouts and ERA+. He comes close in wins, innings pitched, and career WAR. For players with those stats, voters generally look at a few other things: Cy Young awards and postseason performance among them. Hamels never won a Cy Young with his 2011 season placing him fifth for his highest finish in voting in his career. He also finished sixth twice and eighth once. In eight different seasons,
What a deeper look says…
In the postseason, Hamels is one of just 32 pitchers who have pitched 100 or more innings in the postseason and is 7-6, 3.41 over eight postseasons. In his six losses, Hamels received a total of just eight runs of support. In fact, run support was an issue for Hamels throughout his career. In 2008, Hamels was the Phillies MVP in both the NLCS and the World Series, making him just one of three players to win an MVP in both the league championship series and the World Series. His performance in the NLCS was one of the more impressive ones in the modern era. In 14 innings, Hamels posted a 1.93 ERA.
Doing some comparisons to other pitchers, Hamels actually comes out looking pretty good. Hamels is on a list of just 10 pitchers who posted an ERA+ above 120 and K/9 above 8.0 with at least 2,500 innings pitched in his career. That list includes pitchers like Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw, Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, Max Scherzer, John Smoltz, and Randy Johnson. In fact, Hamels ranks eighth in that prestigious top 10 ahead of David Cone and Roger Clemens. Among those, Johnson, Martinez, and Smoltz were all inducted in 2015. Verlander, Kershaw, and Scherzer are not yet eligible. Cone and Schilling have not been elected by the BBWAA, and Clemens will have to depend on the Veterans Committee.
The bottom line
This is Hamels’ first year of eligibility and being elected to the Hall of Fame on a first ballot is an honor reserved for the elite – Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Greg Maddux, and Pedro Martinez – so Hamels will not be elected in this year’s class. With Hamels being the biggest name among first timers, don’t look for any newbies to make it to the Hall of Fame. Down the road, Hamels will have a better shot.
Pence and Kendrick were good, but…
In just his second game with the Phillies, Hunter Pence doubled and scored the walk-off run on a Raul Ibanez double in the bottom of the 10th against Pittsburgh. The win led to his famous, “Good game. Let’s eat!” comment that became a Philadelphia catchphrase, was used in commercials, and printed on t-shirts. It all happened on July 31, 2011 just two days after Pence had been dealt to the Phillies from Houston for three minor league players.
Pence became a fan favorite in Philadelphia and put up strong career numbers, but the guy just isn’t a Hall of Famer. In addition to Houston and Philadelphia, Pence went on to play for San Francisco and Texas in a 15-year MLB career. Pence played in 155 games with the Phillies and hit: 28-94-.289/.357/.486/.844 before dealing him, a year after acquiring him, to the Giants in exchange for outfielder Nate Schierholtz, catcher Tommy Joseph, and right-hander Seth Rosin. In his career, Pence hit: 244-942-.279/.334/.461/.795 in over 1,700 games.
If there was a special place for guys who showed position flexibility and were counted on to put up solid offensive numbers, Howie Kendrick is in. Kendrick also played 15 seasons and came to the Phillies from the Dodgers after the 2016 season when the Phillies sent Darin Ruf and Darnell Sweeney to L.A. In 2017, Kendrick played just 39 games with the Phillies before being traded to Washington for pitcher McKenzie Mills, who never made it past Double-A.
In his time in the majors, Kendrick played for both Los Angeles teams, the Phillies and Nationals and hit: 127-724-.294/.337/.430/.767 in over 1,600 MLB games. Kendrick currently serves as a special assistant to Preston Mattingly in the Phillies front office.
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