A little Sunday reading for everyone (hat tip to the 700 Level) — the New York Times has a story about Chase Utley (call him “Mr. Baseball” or the Anti-Manny Ramirez) and his approach to baseball. It’s stuff you’ve heard before, but we get some childhood snapshots and the Reds’ Edinson Volquez adds Utley’s kryptonite at the plate. There are also plenty of good quotes from Utley, his father, Jimmy Rollins and Davy Lopes.
Maybe the best illustration of Utley’s demeanor comes from Lopes, who says Utley almost never slaps his hand after hitting a home run:
“Nine out of 10 guys, I can get. He’s very difficult to get to sometimes because he’s at full blast, like he’s never hit a home run before.â€
It’s a nice piece, and it’s good to see Utley getting more recognition nationally for being such an exceptional player. More and more he’s becoming the model of how the game should be played.
Tim MalcolmTim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.
