JAWS and the 2026 Hall of Fame Ballot: Chase Utley

Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

The following article is part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2026 Hall of Fame ballot. For a detailed introduction to this year’s ballot, and other candidates in the series, use the tool above; an introduction to JAWS can be found here. For a tentative schedule and a chance to fill out a Hall of Fame ballot for our crowdsourcing project, see here. All WAR figures refer to the Baseball-Reference version unless otherwise indicated.

When the Phillies returned to contention following a slide into irrelevance in the wake of their 1993 National League pennant, shortstop Jimmy Rollins, first baseman Ryan Howard, and lefty Cole Hamels gained most of the attention. Howard all but ran Jim Thome out of town after the latter was injured in 2005, then mashed a major league-high 58 homers in ’06 en route to NL MVP honors. Rollins, the emotional center of the team, carried himself with a swagger, declared the Phillies “the team to beat” at the outset of 2007, then won the MVP award when the team followed through with a division title. Hamels debuted in 2006 and became their ace while making his first All-Star team the next season. In the middle of all that, as part of the nucleus that would help the Phillies win five straight NL East titles from 2007–11, with a championship in ’08 and another pennant in ’09, Chase Utley was as good or better than any of them, though the second baseman hardly called attention to himself.

Indeed, Utley seemed to shun the spotlight, playing the game with a quiet intensity that bordered on asceticism. He sped around the bases after hitting home runs, then reluctantly accepted high-fives in the dugout. “I am having fun,” he told the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Andy Martino in 2009. “When I’m on the baseball field, that’s where I love to be. I’m not joking around and smiling. That competition, that heat-of-the-battle intensity, that’s how I have fun.” Read the rest of this entry »


Effectively Wild Episode 2406: Hal and the Hall


Sonny Gray Changes Teams. Again.

Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox have acquired veteran right-hander Sonny Gray and cash from the St. Louis Cardinals, in exchange for pitchers Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke, and either cash or a player to be named later. Seems straightforward enough.

After 13 seasons in the majors, you all know Gray by now: short guy out of Vanderbilt. Big, slow curveball, but not a ton of velo. Changes teams every two or three years. In those 13 seasons, Gray’s two best WAR seasons are 5.4 and 4.5, but he’s posted four additional seasons of between 3.5 and 3.9 WAR, and three others of between 2.4 and 2.7 WAR. This is the Toyota Sienna of pitchers: You don’t stay up nights dreaming about him, and he can be a little pricey, but he’ll get you and your family where they need to go with an absolute minimum of fuss.

The Red Sox made the playoffs in 2025. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb by assuming they’d like to make the playoffs again in 2026. If I were in the playoff-making business, I’d welcome the opportunity to add Sonny Gray to my team. Read the rest of this entry »


How Productive Were Those Outs?

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

I’ve long been interested in measuring the value of making an out. Different outs count differently, and yet pretty much every baseball statistic you can imagine ignores that fact. I’m not just talking about advanced ones like wRC+ or wOBA, though those do indeed treat all outs as equal. I’m talking about basic things like batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. No one says, “Well, he batted .320, but some of those outs were in bad situations, so it was more like batting .313.” That’s not how we think about offensive statistics.

But just because we don’t count outs differently doesn’t mean that they all have the same value. This is obviously true. Striking out with a runner on third and fewer than two outs is a tragedy. Hitting a run-scoring groundout in the same situation gets the batter a long series of fist bumps back in the dugout. But when it comes to wRC+ or batting average, that distinction doesn’t show up.

There are good reasons for existing statistics to work the way that they do. Batters don’t control who’s on base and how many outs there are when they come to the plate. They don’t control whether there are fast runners on base, or whether the outfield has arms so weak that anyone could score from third base on a fly ball. In the same way that a home run is a home run is a home run, statistics that try to measure batter skill treat all outs the same. But still… I wanted to know more. Read the rest of this entry »


Choose Your Weapon

James A. Pittman-Imagn Images

You just had to take in a ballgame. The sky was blue. The birds were chirping. On a day like today, even you couldn’t resist the siren song of the ballpark. You headed into the city and bought yourself a ticket, but now you’re in trouble. The zombie apocalypse began sometime after the third inning. The epicenter was right nearby, and the undead were drawn to the stadium in droves by the irresistible aroma of thousands of delicious humans. Maybe the churros too. It’s entirely possible that even the undead love the smell of churros. Whatever the reason, they (the zombies, not the churros) are flooding through the concourse and out into the stands. They’re climbing over the façade from every direction. You’re trapped.

You spent years telling anyone who would listen that the world was coming to an end. You told your family to prepare themselves the way you had been preparing yourself. You gave that speech every Thanksgiving, right up until you stopped getting invited to Thanksgiving. You built your bunker. You stocked it with food and batteries and flashlights and Twinkies. For reasons that you can’t quite recall, you’ve even got several cases of diapers down there. Most importantly, you stocked it with weaponry. You procured all kinds of weapons: big ones, small ones, stabby ones, shooty ones, explodey ones, poisony ones. You built a shrine to all the different ways a human being can inflict damage on any and all kinds of matter, and then you left it all behind, just hours before the apocalypse.

Here you are in your seat, and the zombies have got you surrounded. They want your sweet, sweet brains. The good news is that even without your arsenal, you’re ready to fight. You’ve been preparing for this moment your whole life. You reach back under your seat for the novelty helmet you discarded back in the third inning, scrape out as much nacho cheese as you can, and settle it onto your head. It may not be much good against a major league fastball, but as long as you can find some way to keep it in place, it should be strong enough to resist the teeth of the undead. Read the rest of this entry »


2026 Contemporary Baseball Era Committee Candidate: Roger Clemens

RVR Photos-Imagn Images

The following article is part of my ongoing look at the candidates on the 2026 Contemporary Baseball Era Committee ballot. For a detailed introduction to this year’s ballot, use the navigation tool above. An introduction to JAWS can be found here.

Like Barry Bonds with regards to position players, Roger Clemens has a reasonable claim as the greatest pitcher of all time. Cy Young, Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, and Grover Cleveland Alexander spent all or most of their careers in the Deadball Era, before the home run was a real threat, and pitched while the color line was still in effect, barring some of the game’s most talented players from participating. Sandy Koufax and Tom Seaver pitched when scoring levels were much lower and pitchers held a greater advantage. Koufax and 2015 inductees Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez didn’t sustain their greatness for nearly as long. Greg Maddux didn’t dominate hitters to nearly the same extent.

Clemens, meanwhile, spent 24 years in the majors and racked up a record seven Cy Young awards, not to mention an MVP award. He won 354 games, led his leagues in the Triple Crown categories (wins, strikeouts, and ERA) a total of 16 times, and helped his teams to six pennants and a pair of world championships.

Alas, whatever claim “The Rocket” may have on such an exalted title is clouded by suspicions that he used performance-enhancing drugs. When those suspicions came to light in the Mitchell Report in 2007, Clemens took the otherwise unprecedented step of challenging the findings during a Congressional hearing, but nearly painted himself into a legal corner; he was subject to a high-profile trial for six counts of perjury, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to Congress. After a mistrial in 2011, he was acquitted on all counts the following year, and in March 2015, he settled a defamation lawsuit filed by former personal trainer Brian McNamee for an unspecified amount. But despite those verdicts and resolutions, the specter of PEDs hasn’t left Clemens’ case. Read the rest of this entry »


A Late-Season Conversation With Bubba Chandler

Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Bubba Chandler has a bright future. Currently ranked fifth on our Top 100 — he remains rookie-eligible — the 23-year-old right-hander broke into the big leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates in late August and showed why he is one of the game’s top pitching prospects. Featuring a fastball that averaged 98.9 mph, Chandler fashioned a 4.02 ERA, a 2.66 FIP, and a 25% strikeout rate over 31 1/3 innings. Five of his seven outings were stellar. Bookending back-to-back bumpy efforts against the Brewers and Dodgers, he allowed just 10 hits and two runs over 24 2/3 frames, fanning 25 batters and issuing a lone free pass along the way. At his best, the 2021 third-round pick out of Bogart, Georgia’s North Oconee High School was flat out dominant.

Back in February, the personable flamethrower was featured here during our annual Prospect Week in an interview titled “Bubba Chandler Addresses His Power Arsenal.” We heard from him again in early September, that time learning why he is done playing catch with Paul Skenes. Today, we’ll hear from him on his initial impressions of pitching in the majors. Our conversation took place as the calendar was turning to September.

———

David Laurila: What have you learned since getting called up from Triple-A?

Bubba Chandler: “I don’t want to say the game is harder, but it is definitely a lot more thinking. Pitch-to-pitch thinking goes into it. Something I’ve learned is that at each level you go up, the less and less mistakes you can make. Up here, I’ve made a couple of mistake pitches that were hit pretty hard, whereas in Triple-A they might have gotten fouled off. So it’s kind of, how many mistakes can I limit myself to in a game? They’re going to happen, but when are they going to happen? Are they going to happen with guys on base? Are they going to happen with no one on base? Stuff like that.” Read the rest of this entry »


Can Ryan Helsley Actually Start, or Are We Just Not Eating Enough Protein?

Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

All relief pitchers are failed starters. In the future, everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes. All great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice… the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.

Therefore: In the future, all relief pitchers will be starting pitchers for 15 minutes, twice: First as failure, then as tragedy.

This jumble of aphorisms is what plopped out of my head when I read a bit of surprising news: The Detroit Tigers are interested in Ryan Helsley — reasonable enough, since he’s been a good high-leverage reliever for several years — as a starting pitcher.

Whoa. Read the rest of this entry »


Job Posting: Arizona Diamondbacks – Multiple Openings

Direct links to applications (please see job details below):

Baseball Operations Associate
International Area Scout – Barquisimeto, Venezuela
Bullpen Catcher


Baseball Operations Associate

The Arizona Diamondbacks are seeking a full-season associate to join the Baseball Operations department. This role offers a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience across multiple areas of the organization, with responsibilities that will evolve throughout the baseball calendar. The ideal candidate will bring strong analytical skills, creativity, and a deep passion for the game to help drive innovation and support decision-making across the department.

Reports To: Director, Baseball Administration & Director, Baseball Operations
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Term: Full-season associate, preferably beginning January 2026

Position Summary
The Baseball Operations Associate will support analysts and front office staff with ongoing projects and operational processes. Additionally, the associate will have the opportunity to take on one or more projects aligned with their skills and interests that provide value to the organization.

Primary Responsibilities

  • Collaborate across departments (Analytics/R&D, Baseball Operations, Player Development, and Scouting) assisting all departments with necessary tasks.
  • Produce statistical analyses and daily reports for baseball operations staff.
  • Conduct exploratory research to uncover trends and insights that may lead to competitive advantages.
  • Recommend advancements to Baseball Operations procedures and infrastructure to enhance efficiency.
  • Assist with the setup, capture, and processing of on-field technology at Chase Field and Salt River Fields.
  • Perform ad hoc analyses and research projects for various Baseball Operations groups.
  • Support front office staff in preparation for key events such as Salary Arbitration, the Rule 4 Draft, and the MLB Trade Deadline.
  • Contribute to ongoing projects within the R&D and Baseball Operations teams.
  • Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, or equivalent experience
  • Strong quantitative background demonstrated through academic coursework or work samples is strongly preferred (SQL, R, Python, Tableau, or similar tools).
  • Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
  • Excellent organizational, communication, and time management skills.
  • Deep understanding of and passion for baseball.
  • Ability to manage multiple responsibilities in a fast-paced environment with strong attention to detail.
  • Familiarity with current trends and development in baseball analytics is preferred but not required.
  • Willingness to work evenings, weekends, and holidays
  • Ability to relocate to the Phoenix area
  • Valid driver’s license required

Application Requirements
Please submit the following:
A cover letter and resume, including any relevant baseball research or applicable project work.

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.

To Apply
To apply, please follow this link.


International Area Scout – Barquisimeto, Venezuela

Reports To: Director, International Scouting & Assistant Director of International Scouting
Location: Barquisimeto, Venezuela (Lara State & surrounding regions)
Term: Full-time, year-round role

Position Summary
The International Area Scout for the Barquisimeto region will serve as the organization’s primary evaluator and representative within Lara State and surrounding territories. This role involves consistent field presence, player evaluation, market intelligence, and coordination with the broader International Scouting department. The ideal candidate will possess strong observational skills, deep regional baseball knowledge, and the ability to build trusted relationships in the Venezuelan amateur market.

Primary Responsibilities

  • Identify, evaluate, and track amateur players within Barquisimeto, Lara State, and nearby regions.
  • Submit detailed scouting reports, evaluations, and supporting video through the organization’s scouting system.
  • Establish and maintain relationships with buscones, trainers, academies, leagues, and local baseball contacts.
  • Attend games, tournaments, showcases, and private workouts on a regular and structured schedule.
  • Provide timely updates on prospect movement, development progress, market dynamics, and sign ability considerations.
  • Coordinate player looks, tryouts, and evaluation opportunities for crosscheckers and scouting directors.
  • Assist with administrative tasks related to scheduling, data entry, video capture, and event coordination.
  • Maintain compliance with MLB International rules, organizational policies, and ethical scouting standards.
  • Collaborate with International Scouting leadership on projects or region-specific initiatives as identified.
  • Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

  • Prior experience as a player, scouting, coaching, or player development within the Venezuelan amateur market preferred.
  • Strong understanding of baseball tools, biomechanics, and player projection.
  • Excellent organizational, communication, and time-management skills.
  • Ability to work independently and travel frequently within the assigned region.
  • Fluency in Spanish required; proficiency in English preferred.
  • Deep passion for player evaluation and international amateur baseball.
  • High attention to detail and timely reporting habits.
  • Familiarity with scouting technology, video tools, or player-tracking systems is a plus.
  • Ability to work evenings, weekends, and irregular hours as required by the baseball calendar.
  • Valid Venezuelan identification, driver’s license, and reliable transportation.

Preferred Skills

  • Existing relationships with trainers and academies in the Barquisimeto / Lara region.
  • Experience preparing formal scouting reports or video documentation.
  • Knowledge of international signing processes and market cycles.
  • Application Requirements
    Please submit the following:

    • Resume
    • Cover letter
    • Any relevant scouting samples, reports, or player evaluations (optional but preferred)

    We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.

    To Apply
    To apply, please follow this link.


    Bullpen Catcher

    Position Summary
    The Arizona Diamondbacks are seeking a part time Bullpen Catcher to assist in catching bullpens at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale , AZ. This role will work closely with minor league pitching and rehab coordinators to assist in minor league bullpens and throwing programs. There is also opportunity to spend time in different areas across Player Development depending on the skillset.

    Reports To: Director, Player Development & Minor League Pitching Coordinators
    Location: Scottsdale, Arizona
    Term: Part Time. January 2026 – October 2026

    Primary Responsibilities:

    • Assist pitchers with warmups, throwing program, and side sessions.
    • Assist rehab coordinators with on field work ( PFP, Batting practice, Fungos, etc).
    • Assist video department with data collection as assigned.

    Required Qualifications:

    • Experience catching college or professional pitchers.
    • Ability to catch multiple bullpens daily
    • Strong work ethic willingness to learn.

    We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.

    To Apply
    To apply, please follow this link.

    The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Arizona Diamondbacks.


    Effectively Wild Episode 2405: The Tragicomic A-Rod

    EWFI
    Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Warren Schaeffer staying on as Rockies manager, the Mets’ and Rangers’ Brandon NimmoMarcus Semien swap, and their memories, thoughts, and feelings concerning Alex Rodriguez, inspired by the new, three-part HBO docuseries Alex vs. A-Rod. Then (58:35) they talk to the co-directors/EPs of Alex vs. A-Rod, Gotham Chopra and Erik LeDrew, about how the docuseries sausage was made and their insights into A-Rod’s psyche.

    Audio intro: Jonathan Crymes, “Effectively Wild Theme 2
    Audio outro: Gabriel-Ernest, “Effectively Wild Theme

    Link to MLBTR on Schaeffer
    Link to Baumann on the trade
    Link to Alex vs. A-Rod trailer
    Link to stream Alex vs. A-Rod
    Link to Alex vs. A-Rod IMDb page
    Link to Gotham’s IMDb page
    Link to Erik’s IMDb page
    Link to latest HUAL episode
    Link to Munch King bag
    Link to “gun” etymology
    Link to 1993 Levy article
    Link to Secret Santa sign-up

     Sponsor Us on Patreon
     Give a Gift Subscription
     Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com
     Effectively Wild Subreddit
     Effectively Wild Wiki
     Apple Podcasts Feed 
     Spotify Feed
     YouTube Playlist
     Facebook Group
     Bluesky Account
     Twitter Account
     Get Our Merch!