The Los Angeles Dodgers announced on Friday morning that 39-year-old Chase Utley would be holding a press conference at Dodger Stadium in the afternoon.
Many speculated that this meant that Utley is announcing his retirement as he has struggled at the plate a bit this season, hitting .231/.313/.331 with one home run and 14 RBI through 57 games. He also spent time on the 10-day disabled list.
It appears that the announcement does have to do with his retirement, although it won’t be effective immediately. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the plan is for Utley to hang up his cleats at the conclusion of the 2018 season:
I have been told plan with Utley is to announce he is retiring effective at the end of this season (he has a contract for next year). #Dodgers
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) July 13, 2018
With the Dodgers’ visit next week Citizens Bank Park, the place Utley called home for so many years as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, this is a fitting time for him to announce that he intends to retire.
Utley will assuredly receive the ovation from Phillies fans that he so rightfully deserves. They showered him with applause during the Dodgers’ games in Philadelphia in 2016. It marked Utley’s first return since being traded.
If this is the end of the line for Utley, then it will be the end of a great, potentially Hall-of-Fame career. He was named an All-Star six times in his 16 years in the big leagues, won four Silver Slugger Awards in addition to a World Series in 2008 with the Phillies.
The Dodgers fell just short of getting Utley his second championship last season when they lost in Game 7 of the World Series, so they will look to get him that this year in what looks to be his final season.
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