Chase Utley is one of the most popular athletes in the history of Philadelphia. (Tom Mihalek/Icon Sportswire)
It won’t go down as his most famous speech at Citizens Bank Park, but Friday night’s retirement ceremony for Philadelphia Phillies icon Chase Utley was pretty special.
Utley, who retired following the 2018 season, is universally considered to be the greatest second baseman in Phillies history and one of the 10 greatest players in Phillies history, at the very least. A 2002 first-round pick out of UCLA, “The Man” was a six-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger Award winner and one of the faces of the greatest stretch in Phillies history.
Between 2007 and 2011, the Phillies won five consecutive National League East titles, made three NLCS appearances, won two National League pennants and a World Series title in 2008. The Phillies fell short in their quest to repeat as World Series Champions in 2009, falling to the New York Yankees in six games. But Utley tied a World Series record with five home runs in the series.
Considering his popularity in Philadelphia – and that this was the first time that he was back as a representative of the Phillies since his trade in August of 2015 – it’s no surprise that Phillies fans took their time to express their thankfulness for Utley’s time with the club.
If you missed any of Utley’s retirement ceremony, you can watch it below:
You can watch Chase Utley’s retirement speech here: https://t.co/SDD1mmhIwq
— Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) June 21, 2019
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