More Than a Good Second Baseman
By Sean Lerman
– WBCB 1490 Sports Director
.282 career Phillies batting average, 233 home runs, 916 RBIs, four 28+ home run seasons, four 100+ RBI seasons, six all-star appearances, four silver slugger awards, one World Series ring.
Chase Utley was a very good second baseman.
Okay, great. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about why Chase Utley is one of the most beloved athletes in this city and why he meant so much to so many people, myself included.
Chase Utley hustled. That’s the basis of it. We love Chase Utley because he hustled. Which is a little bit sad when you think about it.
When Utley busted onto the scene with a 28 home run, 105 RBI season in 2005, some of the best players in baseball included Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and Alfonso Soriano. Not exactly a group of guys known for busting it down the first base line on a ground ball to the pitcher.
The three players to make the all-star team from Philadelphia that year were Bobby Abreu, Jimmy Rollins, and Billy Wagner.
Despite the fact that he won a farce of a gold glove that year, I don’t think Bobby Abreu knew that you were allowed to dive for baseballs or catch them while your body was touching the right field fence, and Jimmy Rollins is basically the poster boy for, “OH MY GOD WHY DID HE NOT RUN OUT THAT POP UP TO THE THIRD BASEMAN!?!?”
Chase Utley was, and still is despite his fading skills, the antithesis of that attitude in baseball. He consistently sprinted down to first base, even on easy grounders or pop flies. He came into the league as an absolutely terrible defensive player and through hard work turned himself into a serviceable middle infielder who put 100% effort into every single play, diving all over the place even when he probably never had a shot at getting to the ball anyway.
For me personally, Utley was everything that I wanted to be as a baseball player. When the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, I was a high school senior getting ready to go off and play college ball.
Utley made me believe that even if I wasn’t the fastest or strongest player, I could work harder and hustle more than everyone else, and that would give me a chance.
That kind of attitude translates not only on the baseball field, but to real life as well. Chase Utley worked harder than everyone else, and he was rewarded for it with a long and successful career in a Phillies uniform.
He is living, breathing proof that hard work matters and that hustle pays off in the long run.
You can quote statistics and tell me about big moments all day, but the every day hustle, the fact that it didn’t matter if it was a Wednesday in August or a Saturday in October, that’s why we love Chase Utley.
Sean Lerman is the sports director at 1490 AM WBCB. You can find his blog updated weekly right here on wbcb1490.com or follow him on twitter @seanlerman.