JAWS and the 2025 Hall of Fame Ballot: Torii Hunter and Jimmy Rollins

The following article is part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2025 Hall of Fame ballot. For a detailed introduction to this year’s ballot and other nominees in the series, use the tool above; an introduction to JAWS can be found here. For a tentative schedule and the opportunity to fill out a Hall of Fame form for our crowdsourcing project, see here. All WAR figures are from the Baseball-Reference version unless otherwise indicated.

Before Joe Mauer started starring for the Twins, there was Torii Hunter, and before Chase Utley started starring for the Phillies, there was Jimmy Rollins. Hunter, a rangy, acrobatic center fielder who eventually won nine Gold Gloves and made five All-Star teams, debuted with Minnesota in 1997 and emerged as a star in 2001, the same year the Twins drafted Mauer as the first pick in the draft. . The pair would play together from 2004 to 2007, making the playoffs twice before Hunter left in free agency. Rollins, a compact shortstop who carried himself with swagger, debuted in 2001 and made two All-Star teams as he and Utley began an 11-year run (2004-2014) as the Phillies’ regular double-play combination. The pair helped Philadelphia win five NL East titles, two pennants and a championship, with Rollins winning NL MVP honors in 2007 and taking home four Gold Gloves.

Hunter and Rollins both enjoyed long and impressive careers, accumulating over 2,400 hits each with notable home runs and stolen base totals. From a Hall of Fame perspective, both have credentials that appeal more to traditionally minded voters than statesmen, but have gained little traction in their time on the ballot. Hunter debuted with 9.5% in 2021, but has yet to match that since, finishing with 7.3% in the 24th poll. Rollins debuted with 9.4% in 2022 and has gained since then a bit of ground in each cycle, with 14.8% in 24. Both have been distanced by their former teammates, whose advanced stats are much stronger despite relatively short careers; Mauer was elected last January, while Utley debuted with 28.8%, nearly double Rollins’ share. However, it looks like this pair will persist on the ballot for a while, with enough support to allow us to continue reliving their careers and debating their merits on an annual basis. There are far worse fates for Hall of Fame inductees.

Torii Hunter (7.3% in 2024)

Since the introduction of the 2023 profile:

Torii Hunter might go get him. Fluid and graceful as he patrolled center court, he was renowned for his leaps, acrobatic catches and his willingness to sacrifice his body. He made a strong enough impression on those who watched him that he won nine Gold Gloves during his 19-year career, more than all but three center fielders, namely Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr. and Andruw Jones . Hunter earned the nickname “Spider-Man” for his ability to scale outfield walls to steal home runs – something he did more than anyone else during his career – although an attempt to do so at Fenway Park left him left with a broken ankle, and another a concussion.

“I will do anything to get that little white ball. I’m going to put my life on the line,” Hunter said Illustrated sportis Albert Chen in 2005, looking a lot like the football player he was in high school in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Hunter was raised by difficult circumstances in Pine Bluff, including a crack-addicted father and friends who fell into a dead-end life of drugs, guns and gangs. His athleticism helped him escape, though when he entered professional baseball as a first-round pick of the Twins in 1993, his talent was rawer than that of many others.

Hunter’s bat development lagged behind his glove early in his career, but he eventually improved into an above-average hitter with multiple dimensions to his game. From 2001-2013, he averaged 23 homers and 13 steals per year, posting a 115 OPS+, delighting fans with his passion for spectacular play and earning a reputation as a vocal clubhouse leader. In that span, he made five All-Star teams and helped the Twins, Angels and Tigers reach the playoffs eight times, though he never got beyond the American League Championship Series with any of them.

More information here.

Jimmy Rollins (14.8% in 2024)

Since the introduction of the 2023 profile:

Few players have been more central to the Phillies than Jimmy Rollins. Indeed, with the exception of Mike Schmidt, no player has spent more time in a Phillies uniform than Rollins, and even counting the Hall of Fame third baseman, no one has collected more hits or stolen more bases. The pint-sized shortstop — 5-foot-7, 175 pounds according to Baseball Reference — spent 15 of his 17 major league seasons with Philadelphia, where he was at the center of the team’s return to contention after slipping into irrelevance at beginning of the joker era.

Rollins was the starting shortstop for the Phillies’ five consecutive NL East champions from 2007 to 2011, including the ’08 World Series-winning team – only the second in franchise history – and the ’09 pennant-winning team. A crafty defender who offered speed and power from both sides of the plate at the top of the lineup, he earned the nickname “J-Roll” from legendary Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas. J-Roll exuded a confidence that bordered on cockiness and carried himself with bravado. “We’re the team to beat,” he said early in the 2007 season, almost mocking the defending NL East champion Mets, who trailed the Phillies by 12 games.

After losing their first three games and 10 of their first 13 to start the 2007 season – including two of three at Shea Stadium, where they were vigorously booed by New York fans – the Phillies didn’t spend a day in first place until September 27, when they tied the Mets with three games remaining. While they took two of three from the Nationals, the Mets lost two of three from the Marlins. Not only did Philadelphia return to the playoffs after a 14-year absence, kicking off a run in which the team became only the fifth to win five straight division titles, but Rollins took home NL MVP honors (Most Valuable Prognosticator). A year later, he added a World Series ring to a collection that has grown to also include four Gold Gloves.

More information here.