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Utley powers himself into elite company

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Jon Paul Morosi

Jon Paul Morosi is a national MLB writer for FOXSports.com. He previously covered baseball for the Detroit Free Press and Seattle Post-Intelligencer. He began his journalism career at the Bay City Times in his native Michigan. Follow him on Twitter.

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Updated Nov 3, 2009 2:32 PM ET
     
 

PHILADELPHIA

Before the World Series, the yarn of Chase Utley's 2009 postseason went something like this:
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He had a great division series against Colorado. Then he batted .211 in the National League Championship Series. He also committed two throwing errors. Some people thought Utley had a case of the yips. Mitch Williams, the closer-turned-analyst, believed he had an injured foot. Then came the comparisons to last year's World Series, when Utley hit .167 ... before undergoing a hip surgery that explained the steep production decline. But now? As we learned from Alex Rodriguez, it only takes a few swings to rewrite the history of a player. Or a team. Or a World Series. After a memorable Monday night in South Philly, Utley stands alongside one of the great October performers in baseball history. More importantly, his Phillies will play another game in 2009. Utley's team was one loss away from winter, on the brink of relinquishing their crown at home, before he sent two keepsakes into the jubilant right-field stands at Citizens Bank Park. In the first inning, with the memory of a sour Game 4 still fresh, he brought hope with a three-run thunderclap off starter A.J. Burnett. In the seventh, he offered security by sending a solo shot to the same neighborhood, on a 3-2 fastball from reliever Phil Coke. The Phillies hung on for a stomach-turning 8-6 victory, despite terrible turbulence in the eighth and ninth innings of Game 5. If it hadn't been for Utley, players would be boxing up their Philadelphia apartments today. Instead, right fielder Jayson Werth could talk about how Utley — more than any other Phillie — is responsible for making this team move. "The epitome of even-keel," Werth said. "You know exactly what you're going to get. Charlie (Manuel) is the same way. Those two really set the tone for the whole place, rain or shine. Chase is the same person every day." "He's a great player," Raul Ibanez said. "He grinds. He fights. He battles. He scratches. He claws. He does whatever he can do to help the club. He never quits. His mental toughness is top-notch." What lies before the Phillies — Game 6, Yankee Stadium, Wednesday night — is immensely important. But the history Utley made Monday is too rich to ignore. Utley's five home runs in this World Series have tied Reggie Jackson for the most in a single Fall Classic. Mr. October accomplished the feat in 1977, punctuated by his epic three-homer display in Game 6, the last swing moving Howard Cosell to declare, "Oh, what a blow!" Jackson, who grew up outside Philadelphia, currently works as an adviser to the Yankees. The Hall of Famer has attended games in this World Series. He has been there in recent weeks to watch A-Rod build his own postseason legacy. But Jackson probably didn't count on Utley joining him atop the record books. "Obviously, it's great company," Utley said afterward. "At some point — not right now — maybe I'll look back on it and see what kind of special moment it is. Right now, our goal is to win two more games." For all we know, Utley might break Jackson's record in Game 6, across the street from where the history happened 32 years ago. But no one who has watched Utley take an at-bat will wonder if the second baseman might swing for individual achievement on Wednesday night. He cares too much about his teammates, cares too much about winning, cares too much about the Phillies to let that sort of thing to happen.
"Probably the ultimate professional," reliever J.A. Happ said. Utley is very talented, very gritty and (usually) very unexciting in interviews. And that's fine. Utley's pregame routine is "quiet and intense," Ibanez said, meaning there isn't much time in his schedule for self-promotion. Even on nights like Monday, when it might be warranted. "It's not my favorite part," Utley said wryly, when asked about the media attention. "My favorite part is playing the game. "You kind of learn how to deal with it as you grow. I'm getting a little bit more used to it. But I'd rather just go out and play, yeah." The Phillies don't need Utley to stand before the cameras and offer bold predictions. His double-play partner, Jimmy Rollins, fills that role quite capably. And at this stage of the season — still one loss from elimination, still facing the best team in baseball, still needing to win twice at Yankee Stadium — maybe it's best that the team's mentality be a little more Utley and a little less Rollins. Utley led the majors with 24 hit-by-pitches this year, so the notion of self-sacrifice isn't new to him. But one night after Rodriguez was plunked for a third time in the World Series, the Yankees never buzzed the Phillies' No. 3 hitter. When asked if he expected to see some inside pitches, Utley quipped, "My game plan wasn't expecting to get hit." Whatever the Yankees' approach was supposed to be, it failed to make him uncomfortable at the plate. And we all saw the result. "He's very short to the ball," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said, "and you don't see him chasing a lot of bad pitches, either." It sounds so simple, doesn't it? Swing quickly and swing selectively. But a lot of people who can otherwise do great damage to a baseball — including most hitters in the major leagues, even many All-Stars — have not mastered that dual approach. Utley has. Joe Mauer has. Albert Pujols has. Ichiro Suzuki has. Derek Jeter has. If you can think of some more names, please let me know. But I believe the list stops short of double digits. Utley's first three homers in this World Series came against CC Sabathia, who will start Game 7 in New York if there is one. Utley and Sabathia have been towering figures in this series. But only one of them will have a say in which team wins Game 6. And he's going to be ready to hit in the first inning — just like he was on Monday night.

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