Chase Utley looks back on two key moments from the 2008 World Series
As the Phillies gear up for Game 3 of the World Series tonight, former 2nd baseman Chase Utley sat down with Major League Baseball and looked back on two special plays from the 2008 World Series run.
WATCH: Chase Utley talks 2008 World Series
Originally tweeted by MLB Europe (@MLBEurope) on November 1, 2022.
“Something you look up to as a kid. I was shaking, my knees were trembling…Scott Kasmir throws me a fastball that was supposed to be away, and I remember just telling myself…don’t strikeout”- Utley’s on his Game 1 HR
Chase Utley hit just .167 in the 2008 World Series but logged a .500 slugging percentage, homering twice with four total RBIs in 18 ABs. His ’08 playoffs as a whole were a success, especially the NLCS vs. the Dodgers, slashing .353/.522/.647 with an OPS of 1.169.
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As the World Series came back to Philadelphia, Utley’s defense was on full display. Chase would make the best defensive play I’ve ever seen, completely outsmarting the entire Rays team, the third base coach, and Jason Bartlett in a crucial seventh inning in Game 5.
“It was 3-3 with a runner on 2nd. I was shifted towards first; of course, he hit it up the middle…I realized in my time clock that I didn’t have enough time to catch it and throw him out. I decided to fake the throw just for fun, and Jason Bartlett decided to round third and continue to go home. I felt like I had an eternity to make a halfway-decent throw.”
“That was probably the coolest defensive play I was ever a part of.”
Utley played 159 games in 2008, slashing .292/.380/.535. He cracked 33 HRs and 104 RBIs, tallying 177 hits, the second most hits of his career in one season. Chase Utley posted a career .282 average in 13 years with the Phillies, cracking over 200 HRs and 900 RBIs.
Chase Utley is now a Major League Ambassador over in London, where his job is to grow the game of baseball across the world. Many 2008 players have made an appearance at a few of the playoff games at CBP, and many people are hoping for a surprise first pitch from Chase over the next three games. Although Games 3 and 4 are already planned, Game 5’s first-pitch selection has not been announced yet.
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