“I’ve said it over and over again but I can’t thank the fans enough for the amount of support they showed me. Not only for this series but when I played here in Philadelphia. One thing I’m happy about is that I got to thank them in person. I hope they understand how important they are to me.” - Chase Utley
So far it has been an exciting season of baseball for us fans of the Philadelphia Phillies. The rebuild has moved along quite a bit faster than anticipated and here we are on July 25th with the Phils in first place in the National League East after taking a series from last year's pennant winners, the Dodgers. As Richie Ashburn would say, "It's hard to believe Harry." Beating the Dodgers never gets old in Philadelphia, but this year's visit by the L.A. team is bittersweet since we have the seen the last of one of the all-time great Phillies in Chase Utley. Unless the two teams meet in the playoffs of course, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
I became aware of Chase Utley in 2002 when he was placed on the Phillies AAA squad at that time, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons. The Barons played near me so I usually made it to a few games every year. Utley quickly became a local favorite because he hustled on the field in a way Phillies fans hadn't seen since Pete Rose donned the red pinstripes. He had some pop in his bat too, he looked major league ready to us.
The Phillies had been awful for a long stretch, so we were excited to see some new blood called up to give the team a kick in the ass. Utley made the Phillies roster in 2003 and rode the bench for a while because management at that time was stupid. The Phils had Placido Polanco playing second at that time and he was very good. However, David Bell was playing third and he sucked hard. I hate that guy so much I refuse to say his name out loud. Polanco could have easily played third base.
Utley struck out in his first career at-bat as a pinch hitter, he was saving something special for his first career start. That start came on April 24th and Phillies fans will never forget his first major league hit.
That's how legends are born, by hitting a grand slam for their first major league hit. Since the Phils were stupid, they refused to see the potential in Utley and sent him back down to AAA less than a week later. I was so pissed off. David Bell hit .195 with 4 homers in 2003. Ed Wade wouldn't admit he made a mistake in signing Bell as a free agent, so he stuck with him while Utley tore up the minor leagues. UGH!
The following year Utley began the season once again in AAA despite obviously being better than Bell and Polanco. I never liked Ed Wade. He was called up during the season, but still had difficulty finding consistent playing time. The fans and the media were up in arms over this nonsense.
Finally in 2005, Utley was named the starting second baseman of the Phillies. And he let the entire National League know it: .291 BA, 28 HR, 105 RBI, 93 RS and 16 SB. Along with Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard, the future was looking good for the Phils.
It was in 2006 that Chase officially became "The Man" in Philadelphia.
Did you watch the video? If not do it. Seriously. Don't make me tell you again.
That's right, after clearing the bases with a double Utley scored from second on a ground out to the pitcher. He scored from second base on a ground out to the effing pitcher!
That is my favorite Chase Utley highlight. It epitomizes the drive and hustle he possessed to win.
In 2008 the Phillies brought the World Series championship back to Philadelphia. Two Utley highlights always stick out in my memory from that series.
Utley lets the Rays know in the first inning of game one they have no chance in hell of beating the Phillies with a home run in his first career World Series at-bat.
Just when the Rays thought they could send the series back to Tampa, Utley pulls this defensive gem out of his dupa to let them know the Series was ending in Philadelphia that night.
Of course, after the victory parade Utley made it abundantly clear who the victors were. If you are politically correct in nature you better skip this one. Then again, if you are politically correct in nature why the phuck are reading my posts?
That was the best quote in Phillies history since Tug McGraw told New York to stick it up their ass in 1980. "Ya gotta believe" as the Tugger used to say.
Sadly in 2009 the Phils couldn't repeat as champs after losing to the Yankees in the World Series despite Utley hitting a record tying 5 home runs in the series. In Game One, he hit two homers off of left hander C.C. Sabathia. Only one other left handed batter in the entire history of the World Series has hit two home runs in the same game against a left handed pitcher. Care to guess who? Babe Ruth. When you tie records set by the Babe, you are something special.
Injuries caught up to Chase starting in 2010 and as his fortunes declined, so did the Phillies. It was obvious he was the heart and soul of the franchise. In 2015 the Phils traded Utley away to the Dodgers to help kickstart their rebuild. In true Philadelphia fashion they got in return two shitty minor leaguers who did absolutely nothing to help turn the franchise around. Thanks for nothing Ruin Tomorrow Jr., you are missed by no one.
Chase announced his retirement two weeks ago so Phillies fans could have one last chance to see him as the Dodgers prepared to make their only visit to Philadelphia this season. He received the hero's welcome he so justly deserved.
Utley made the quote at the top of this post before he left town. He doesn't need to thank us, he gave us all he had. He will always be "The Man" in Philadelphia.
Before I end this post, let me just say to all the Mets fans out there, yes both of you, don't fret. The Dodgers have one more trip to New York in September. I'm sure Chase will knock one over Utley's Corner in Citi Field one last time to remind the Mets they have been his bitch since 2003.
Photo credits: Mathew Straubmuller CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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