Making the case for Chicago Cubs favorite Ben Zobrist to enter the Hall of Fame

In November, Chicago Cubs legend Ben Zobrist got the honor of being featured on the upcoming Hall of Fame ballot. It's a testament to his wonderful career of World Series heroics and utility excellence that he is featured alongside other icons of the game like Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, and Billy Wagner. Unlike those three, however, his chances of getting called to Cooperstown seem rather slim. The question for him is less whether he reaches the required 75% to get in and more whether he gets the requisite 5% to remain on the ballot for another year.

Whatever the Baseball Writers Association of America decides, I'm willing to argue that Zobrist deserves to be enshrined alongside other legends of the game. While I can't make as full-throated an endorsement of his candidacy as someone like Wagner, there's enough within the switch-hitter's resume to consider him among the best to ever play the game. His case requires not just a look at the stats, but everything he meant to the game of baseball and the Cubs during his career.

Let's start with his overall numbers though. Zobrist spent parts of 14 years in the majors and, over that time, sported a career slash line of .266/.357/.426 with a wRC+ of 116 across 1,651 games. In terms of counting stats, he ended with 1,561 hits, 768 RBIs, 167 home runs, and 116 stolen bases. One of the biggest strengths of his game was also his eye at the plate, with an excellent career 12.2% walk rate and 14.5% strikeout rate.

If those numbers don't sound Hall of Fame-worthy to you, you're not necessarily wrong. The benchmark for Cooperstown often lies in certain counting statistics or remarkable statistical peaks. Zobrist failed to reach 2,000 hits, a mark often seen as the floor for a modern inductee, and, while he had some fantastic years in Tampa Bay, they don't quite match the highs of other standout players at his primary position. It's much more "Hall of Very Good" than Hall of Fame.

JAWS, a statistic developed by Jay Jaffe that combines a player's seven-year peak with career totals to measure a player relative to other Hall-of-Famers, ranks Zobrist 27th among all second basemen with 42.1, below the average. He is still ahead of some inductees like Johnny Evers or Red Schoendienst, but caveats abound, like the fact that standards for the Hall have only increased in years since, and advanced defensive metrics have helped modern players become better appreciated.

For the latter reason, WAR is not the end-all-be-all, though it is useful for getting a snapshot of a player's overall value. By FanGraphs, he stands at 42.7 WAR, good for 33rd all-time at second base. Again, that mark doesn't necessarily sound like it belongs in Cooperstown - most inductees live in the 50 to 70 range. Looking deeper, however, it does start to reveal part of the reason he's worthy of real consideration.

Ben Zobrist defined the term "super utility" player

Zobrist's defining trait with the Cubs and beyond was his utility. Although second base is his primary position where he logged nearly 7,000 innings, he's also played over 3,000 innings in right field and thousands more between the rest of the infield and outfield (including one inning as a pitcher). He wasn't simply playing all these positions either. He was thriving.

By Defensive Runs Saved, Zobrist posted positive marks at four of the seven positions he played, with second base (29 DRS) and right field (27 DRS) understandably being the spots he excelled at. Had the utility Gold Glove or Silver Slugger existed in his time, Zobrist undoubtedly would have had more accolades to his name when you also consider his bat. You could even make the argument that those awards exist partly because of his unique excellence as a utility player. His strong defense at multiple positions is also reflected heavily in his WAR.

Perhaps the best showcase of his ability to succeed in multiple positions was his 2009 season with the Tampa Bay Rays. He became one of only four players to rack up 8.6 Baseball Reference WAR or more while playing ten or more games at three or more positions, joining Cody Bellinger, Stan Musial, and Babe Ruth. During the season, he posted a 153 wRC+ while also setting career highs in DRS at second base (16) and right field (12).

However, the full value of Zobrist's utility can't be measured by any statistics or comparisons. It can only be felt in how baseball responded to his presence. How often have you heard the term "Ben Zobrist-type player"? Since the Cubs favorite's debut, so many players have been branded with that title, from other successful utility role players like Marwin Gonzalez, Kike Hernandez, and Brock Holt, to superstars like Mookie Betts. Plenty of other Cubs players since then, like Nico Hoerner, Javier Baez, and Christopher Morel, have also been referred to by that term at times.

Zobrist was the first player to truly make everyone consider the value of such versatility. Even if his stats aren't quite Hall-worthy on paper, they become much more impressive considering he could reliably be played about anywhere on the diamond. Teams, understandably, desperately want that kind of player who can shift around at a moment's notice to cover for injuries, accommodate new additions throughout the season, get the most out of platoon bats, and generally make the job easier for other players and the manager. To me, that is true impact when your presence inspires an entire league to search for more players in your mold or to whittle other established players into that mold.

As a cherry on top, his unique contributions to the Cubs can't be understated. We all know that, in 2016, he was the World Series MVP of the Cubs team that finally won it all after 108 years, snapping the longest championship drought in professional sports. His go-ahead double was worth 31.3% championship win probability added, making it one of the top 20 most valuable hits in baseball history. He played in three World Series by the time his career was done, but none made quite the historical mark as his efforts on the North Side.

The Hall of Fame should highlight statistical excellence, yes, but its main goal first and foremost is to tell the story of baseball through its greats. In my eyes, you can't tell the story of baseball in the early 21st century without bringing up Zobrist. Whether it's his pivotal role on the curse-breaking Cubs or his nearly unrivaled positional versatility that is far more valuable than any metrics could convey, he's done just enough to make up for whatever bold ink or accolades he may lack on his stat sheets.

Even if the BBWAA doesn't agree he's Hall-worthy though, he'll always be a legend of the game in the hearts and minds of Cubs fans at the very least.