July 13, 2018

Chase Utley announces plan to retire at the end of 2018 season

By Matt Mullin
PhillyVoice Staff

Chase Utley was never one for speaking to the media, not unless it was absolutely necessary. So when news came down early Friday afternoon that the former Phillies and current Dodgers second baseman had called a previously unscheduled pre-game press conference prior to his team's game against the Angels, it didn't matter much that the topic of said press conference was unknown.

Everyone already knew — it was the only logical explanation. Utley, a likely future Hall of Famer and one of the best to ever wear red pinstripes, was planning on calling it a career. All that was left to figure out was whether or not that retirement would be effective immediately. As it turns out, it will not, as Utley announced his intentions of playing out the year before retiring at the end of the season, his 16th in the major leagues.

"There's obviously a lot of speculation as to why I, of all people, would call a press conference. Well, I just wanted to say that I've signed a five-year extension with the Dodgers," Utley said with a laugh in front of a room full of media members and teammates. "On a serious note, I think everybody pretty much has it figured out, but at the end of this year I'm going to retire. And I'm excited about that opportunity."

#LIVE: @Dodgers 2B Chase Utley expected to announce retirement plans https://t.co/2nKzH36nRP
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) July 13, 2018

Utley said the biggest reason for his decision is the desire to spend more time with his family.

"The one thing you can't do part time, you can't be a part-time dad," he said. "I'm ready to be a full-time dad."

A six-time All-Star and key member of the 2008 team that went on to become world [expletive] champions, Utley has posted some pretty impressive numbers, especially during his 12.5 seasons with the Phillies.

YR	TM	R	2B	HR	RBI	BA	OPS
2003	PHI	13	10	2	21	.239	.696
2004	PHI	36	11	13	57	.266	.776
2005	PHI	93	39	28	105	.291	.915
2006	PHI	131	40	32	102	.309	.906
2007	PHI	104	48	22	103	.332	.976
2008	PHI	113	41	33	104	.292	.915
2009	PHI	112	28	31	93	.282	.905
2010	PHI	75	20	16	65	.275	.832
2011	PHI	54	21	11	44	.259	.769
2012	PHI	48	15	11	45	.256	.793
2013	PHI	73	25	18	69	.284	.823
2014	PHI	74	36	11	78	.270	.746
2015	PHI/LAD	37	21	8	39	.212	.629
2016	LAD	79	26	14	52	.252	.716
2017	LAD	43	20	8	34	.236	.728
2018	LAD	15	8	1	14	.231	.644
TOT	16 Y	1100	409	259	1025	.276	.825
PHI	13 Y	949	346	233	916	.282	.847
LAD	4 Y	151	63	26	109	.239	.703

Stats via baseball-reference.com

What won't show up on the stats sheets are the plays like this one, which might be one of my favorite baseball highlights of all time.

And, of course, he was also the man.

Phillies fans will still have a chance to see Utley play, as the Dodgers are set to visit Philadelphia for a three game set later this month (7/23-7/25).