The most unlikely of 2025 ballot new comers might be one of the most interesting cases for entry into the hall of fame. Many baseline baseball fans and even those deeply involved into the era of sabremetrics and statistics may gloss over the hall of fame case of Ben Zobrist and immediately pass him by. A ~45 WAR player with few accolades and lower stat numbers may have some questioning the validity of the ballot entirely as if it was not already in question. But what if I told you that Zobrist will eventually be a hall of famer. Let us delve into why that is exactly.
While I by no means expect Zobrist to stick around the ballot (with a 5% threshold being the requirement to remain for another calendar year), Zobrist is definitely worth a deeper look. Everything from a 44.5 career bWAR and a 42.4 fWAR(60 WAR is typically the borderline for a hall of famer) to a career OPS+ of 113 (130 being the baseline of a hall of famer) to less than 1600 hits (no player under 2,000 hits has entered since 1939) to his 0 gold gloves point to a less than stellar case. The story lies in the versatility. The new term as they call it, “super-utility” has swept baseball in the past few decades. Players giving up pure numbers for their ability to play anywhere on the diamond in a pinch. This prompted the coming of new awards such as the utility gold glove and the utility silver slugger. Both emblematic of the this “super-utility” type of player. The ultimate value of such a player is not necessarily where you might think either. Their sacrifice on a club allows for other players to have days off for rest to recuperate or as designated hitters. This value is intangible and invaluable. It cannot be quantified. All you can say is that it helps the ball club while potentially taking value away from the player. It is a lot more difficult to switch positions constantly and perform at the same level. Throughout the history of the game, there has never been a player that you could categorize as a utility type player to derive enough value in a quantifiable way to win the Most Valuable Player. Likely due to the value that is lost in such a role, but also in part due to the tax and tole this takes mentally and physically. The selfless ability to move around positions not only day-to-day, but also in a singular game allows for managers to put other players in more suitable positions to win. It allows the value of platooning players to be maximized and for players to get valuable rest. In that way, other players value might have increased in the process while Zobrist’s suffered. Not only that, his career likely was shortened because of the tole it would take.
Taking a look at the career itself of Ben Zobrist. He is the only player to have a season with a WAR above 8 and play 6 or more position in a singular season. He should have been the only MVP to play more 4 or more positions in a season. His 2009 season where he played 7 different positions, he led the entire American League in WAR and likely would have won MVP if the voting occurred today. He spent 8 of his 14 seasons playing 5 or more positions. He sacrificed his value for the team to thrive. He walked so guys like Mauricio Dubon, Chris Taylor, Brendan Donovan, and Martin Gonzalez could run. The thing is, none of these players touch the value of Zobrist and likely never will. The story of Zobrist would not be complete without mentioning his post season accolades as well. In his 14 seasons, he was able to play in a total of 8 different post seasons and a total of 64 games. As a whole it might not be the prettiest when it comes to statistics, however he was more than clutch. His career championship win probability added was 21.3% in the postseason meaning he added that percentage to his teams chances to win. He was a super contributor in the two World Series he appeared in for his team and took home a World Series MVP in 2016 to show for it. He likely could have taken it in his other appearance as he increased the royals chances of winning the 2015 World Series more than any other. The point being, he has his mark in history regarding his clutch ability to thrive on the biggest stage.
Something that alone got a guy like Billy Mazeroski into the hall of fame. Zobrist even trumps his career value and sports a similar career championship Win Probability added to him. So why not Zobrist?
Ben Zobrist will be the face and forefront, a pioneer if you will, of this super-utility movement.
While Zobrist will certainly not garner the voters attention on the main BBWAA ballot, he will be one to look at and get in based on future committees. As baseball history continues, his spot will become more prevalent as positionally versatile players become more and more prominent. We will all look back on his career as one of a pioneer for the super-utility and an example of a hall of fame standard for that position. Or lack of if you will.