Apr. 23, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay (center) watches from the bench alongside Chase Utley in the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Jayson Stark of The Athletic released his MLB All-Quarter Century Team, and Roy Halladay was the only Phillie to make the final cut. Did the Hall of Fame baseball writer get things right?
It’s 2025 which means we’ve reached the quarter century mark
Let’s pick a baseball All-Quarter Century Team, via @jaysonst. pic.twitter.com/idvHnom5rd
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) May 22, 2025
First of all, let's get this out of the way: Of course, Halladay deserved to be in the starting rotation, which also included Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer and Randy Johnson. Halladay spent the final four seasons of his Hall of Fame career with the Phillies, winning the NL Cy Young Award in 2010 and finishing runner-up to Kershaw a year later. With a staggering 67 career complete games, Halladay is unquestionably one of the best pitchers this century.
Cole Hamels did draw some consideration for the starting pitching staff, but when names like Zack Greinke, CC Sabathia, Pedro Martinez and Jacob deGrom were left off the list, it's hard to make much of a case for the 2008 World Series MVP to actually make the staff.
Ryan Howard had an incredible peak, but injuries derailed the second half of his career. Frankly, it wouldn't have mattered if they didn't — Howard wasn't going to top Albert Pujols, who edged out Miguel Cabrera, Jim Thome and Freddie Freeman, among others.
Bryce Harper was also mentioned as a candidate both at first base and right field, but it's hard to argue him over Pujols at first base or Aaron Judge in right field.
Other than Halladay, the two Phillies who really had a shot at making Stark's list were Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley.
Rollins was a four-time Gold Glover that recorded 2,455 hits and was worth 49.7 WAR — per FanGraphs — in a career that began in the first year of eligibility for this list, 2000.
But while Rollins was a superior defender and basestealer, Derek Jeter's output at the plate made him the obvious choice at shortstop for Stark. The first four-plus seasons of Jeter's career were in the 1990s, but even with those years excluded, he racked up 2,658 hits this century. Where Rollins was a career .264 hitter with a .743 OPS, Jeter hit .307 with an .806 OPS from 2000 until the end of his career. Jeter also topped Rollins in WAR this century at 53.6.
What about Utley at second base? That one is a bit closer, especially when you add in that Utley's top two competitors at the spot have some skeletons in their closets. José Altuve — Stark's pick — was part of the 2017 Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal, even if there's some evidence that he was against it. Robinson Canó was twice suspended for failed performance-enhancing drug tests.
From just a numbers standpoint, here's where the top three competitors stand.
Chase Utley: .275/.358/.465 with 259 home runs, 1,025 RBIs, 1,885 hits, .823 OPS, 61.5 WAR
Robinson Canó: .301/.351/.488 with 335 home runs, 1,306 RBIs, 2,639 hits, .839 OPS, 57.5 WAR
José Altuve: .304/.361/.465 with 233 home runs, 826 RBIs, 2,276 hits, .826 OPS, 57.9 WAR
You can't really go wrong with any of these three. Utley was the best defender of the trio, and you can definitely make a case that he was the most complete at his peak. But Altuve has long since passed him in terms of career hits, and Canó was definitely the best run producer. Personally, I'd lean Canó based on the numbers.
Overall, though, Stark's list is excellent, and well worth your time.
