When looking back at the Los Angeles Dodgers stretch of eight consecutive National League West titles, one player that immediately stands out for his contributions in the clubhouse is Chase Utley.
The Pasadena, California, native and former UCLA Bruin joined his hometown team in a midseason trade with the Philadelphia Phillies in August 2015, improving the organization’s infield depth and providing a professional at-bat off the bench.
Although he didn’t contribute offensively at the level he did earlier in his career, Utley quickly became a beloved member of the Dodgers clubhouse and parlayed that into three more seasons with the team.
He positively impacted several players, but perhaps none more than Kiké Hernandez, who regularly sought advice from Utley and tried to follow his lead.
Despite Utley now being retired and Hernandez having moved on from the Dodgers, the two remain close to this day. They recently shared how their friendship came about, via Peter Gammons of The Athletic:
“I was 37, he was 25,” Utley says. “He has a big personality, really likable, genuine, but I’m not that way. But what was obvious was that he was really talented. He had power. He plays defense so easily, and, believe me, defense is not easy. He also plays at that high level with that ease at almost every position.”
As the 2016 season opened, their interactions began. “He followed me around,” says Utley, with a laugh. “He had that curiosity about the game. He’d say he was trying to find his way in the big leagues. He was constantly picking my mind, watching video, talking about pitchers. He’d sit with me during games and watch everything together. He wanted to understand the way I do things, he’d ask questions about how he could become a better player.”
“It was,” says Hernandez, “like going to school.”
Hernandez previously credited Utley for helping him evolve in his career on many occasions before, including after a career 2018 season in which he hit 21 home runs over 145 games.
“I had probably the best season of my career so far,” Hernandez said at the time. “And obviously I’m not going to say that I didn’t have like my talent, my ability didn’t have anything to do with it, but I give most of the credit to Chase, because the work ethic that I created by being around him was what allowed me to have a pretty solid season and contribute a lot to the team.
“If he doesn’t play ever again, he already played his last game of his career and here we are today, we got here at noon and we worked out like if he was active, like if he was ready to start a game tonight. So I’ll never be done saying thank you to Chase Utley.”
Zaidi made case for Utley trade
Playing a pivotal role in the organization’s decision to trade for Utley was former Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi, who penned a 3,000-word piece on the benefits of acquiring him.
Zaidi cited Utley’s defense, baserunning and baseball IQ for justifying a trade, and his instincts proved to be correct, as the six-time All-Star helped the Dodgers improve in all of those areas.
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