It's not all about WAR. A lot is merely perception; Edmonds was never "feared" like Pujols was, never won an MVP, finished shy of 400 homers and 2000 hits. Edmonds was an extremely well rounded player but it feels like the bbwaa likes the flashy guys. Griffey did basically nothing for half of his career and got the most votes ever. I think no one would dispute that Utley was the best 2b in baseball in his prime and no one was really close. That's the important difference, I think.