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Dodgers All-Access: Chase Utley Dyed Hair After Losing Home Run Bet To Corey Seager

Matthew Moreno
2 Min Read


When the Los Angeles Dodgers traded for Chase Utley last August the expectation was he would serve as another positive influence in the clubhouse. Utley’s veteran presence became of more value once Corey Seager joined the club from Triple-A Oklahoma City.

The two went in opposite directions, with Seager usurping Jimmy Rollins as the starting shortstop, and Utley struggling to make an impact. Despite that, Utley was re-signed to a one-year, $7 million contract during the offseason.

He’s put together a strong 2016 campaign, but perhaps more importantly, continued to mentor Seager. Their lockers are side by side in the Dodgers clubhouse.

While the pupil and his understudy have grown close and connected over a constant desire to help the Dodgers win at any cost, a friendly bet between the two came to life, at Seager’s persistence.

“Corey has been asking me for the last few months to dye my hair like I was 25 again,” Utley explained during an appearance at the third annual “Dodgers All-Access” at Dodger Stadium. “And I’m not really that interested in doing that at this point.

“So he finally got me to agree to a bet that if he hit two home runs in that particular game, that I would dye my hair. ‘Corey, sure. Go ahead. If you hit two homers, I’ll dye my hair.’ Well, he hit a home run in his first at-bat and he was extremely excited.”

Utley sensed Seager was on his way to hitting a second home run, so he negotiated an out. By hitting a home run himself, Utley negated Seager’s homer. However, the 22-year-old shortstop responded with the second home run.

“Then he hit another home run and he rounded the bases with a big smile, the whole dugout is going crazy because at that point they’ve all got wind of it,” Utley recalled. “I honored the bet, so I dyed it a few weeks ago.”

Matthew Moreno is a journalist from Whittier, Calif., who is a credentialed reporter and is currently the Managing Editor of DodgerBlue.com and LakersNation.com. In addition to covering Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angels Lakers, Matthew has a strong passion for keeping up to date with the sneakerhead culture. It began with Michael Jordan and Air Jordan shoes, and has carried over to Kobe Bryant's signature line with Nike. Matthew previously was the lead editor and digital strategist at Dodgers Nation, and the co-editor and lead writer at Reign of Troy, where he covered USC Trojans Football. Matthew graduated from California State Long Beach University with a major in journalism and minor in communications. Contact: matt@mediumlargela.com