Utley is a player with tons of experience, as the 36-year-old had spent the first 13 years of his big league career with the Phillies, and the second-baseman is comfortable going to the Dodgers. Bill Mackiewicz’s son is no different.
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Now that Chase Utley, the longtime Phillies second baseman (and a notorious Met killer), has departed Philadelphia for sunnier pastures in Los Angeles, a vacancy has been left in an important position: baseball’s ultimate franchise player.
To those fans, and many in and around the game, it just won’t look right seeing Utley in anything but red pinstripes.
The video was posted to Facebook Wednesday, and has gone viral, with almost 400,000 views in just 48 hours.
Amaro, who told the 94WIP Morning Show on Tuesday that it is “very likely” Utley remains a Phillie for the rest of the season, admitted there “was more discussion with a couple more clubs and obviously with Chase, who had quite a bit of power in this situation”. Utley will also work at third base to prepare for Kendrick’s return, but with Justin Turner entrenched at the hot corner, Dodgers brass haven’t worked out all the details regarding Utley and his potential playing time.
The NL West-leading Dodgers lost second baseman Howie Kendrick to a hamstring injury earlier this month. In 2008, when the Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series, it was fun. “I know it’s special for them”. If everything goes through and he’s here, it’d be nice to see him playing some home games there at a place that he’s comfortable hitting….
As I watched the Phillies game on TV Wednesday night, I, like many fans, was waiting for some farewell tribute to Utley. From 2005 to 2009 with the Phillies, Utley ranked in the top-15 in MVP voting.
Utley, who was born in Pasadena and grew up in Long Beach, seemed to enjoy discussing a few topics. “All the things we did there, we can be proud of it, but come join me man”.
If Los Angeles can catch lightning in a bottle, and get two-to-three great weeks out of Utley, it could be just enough to put them over the top and into an NLDS matchup with the New York Mets. Going down Broad Street after winning the World Series was an wonderful feeling.
I don’t completely hate the trade for Utley. When he declared the Phils “World F–ing Champs”, it came out the way a fan would say it, and his intensity on the field always reflected his own admiration for the qualities fans appreciate the most.
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And that, more than the success he had, is what resonated with the city of Philadelphia so much and made him so popular and loved. If Chase Utley ever returns to Philadelphia as a player, and especially on the day he is inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame, the atmosphere in Citizens Bank Park will feel like it did during the glory days of Phillies baseball, as the icon that is Chase Utley will receive the standing ovations he deserves.
