Quote:
Originally Posted by jduds
Utley is doing very well in the 2025 ballots made public (52.9%). I thought it doubtful he'd make it and now think he has a good shot in a year or two. I'm not sure why his case is better than Kenny Lofton's, but it seems the voters are convinced,
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Kenny Lofton was the unfortunate victim of a stacked ballot. It featured ten players who have been inducted into Cooperstown (although, oddly enough, none that year), not counting Schilling / Bonds / Clemens (and Dale Murphy, Mark McGwire, Don Mattingly, Sammy Sosa, and Rafael Palmeiro).
Lofton put up solid numbers by the end of his career but hadn't made an All-Star appearance in many years. Utley at least made an All-Star game at 35 and retired after his age 39 season. For Lofton, it was age 32 at last ASG and 40 for retirement. Voters were too far removed from seeing him at his best.
And not just that, but even late career Utley still was in the news - as the guy whose dirty slide broke Ruben Tejada's leg. That kept him fresh in the mind of voters, especially the salty ones who thought that Utley was a tough player who played the game the way it used to be played.
Lofton also bounced around towards the end of his career, which (to me at least) gave "latching on with a team willing to give him a shot" vibes. And again, he put up great numbers during those years.
We didn't really have a good concept of WAR back in 2013.