Jun 21, 2019; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Former Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley waves to the crowd after his retirement ceremony before the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Phillies principal owner John Middletown was getting anxious.
He admitted he didn't like doing prepared speeches, although he said that after he wrote what he would say when announcing that Chase Utley would be the 51st inductee on the Phillies Wall of Fame on Aug. 7 against Toronto, that he rehearsed it several times.
Middleton got into position before his press conference about 15 minutes early. He started going over what he had written one last time. When it was suggested to him that he just use bullet points and just speak from the heart, he thought about it, but didn't want to divert from his plan.
And then, once the press conference started, Middleton started rattling off Utley's accomplishments as a Phillie — first talking about all the team accomplishments from 2007-11, then about where Utley ranks in franchise history in several statistical categories, then highlighting what he called "indelible postseason moments," such as the heads up defensive play in the 2008 World Series to pump fake a throw to first to then nail B.J. Upton at home plate, to his record-tying five home runs in the 2009 World Series to his seven World Series dingers, most ever by a second baseman.
But as he was about to conclude his remarks he realized he was about to forget the most enduring moment of all.
(Bullet points, John. Bullet points!)
He caught himself though, and made sure to sneak it in.
"There’s one other postseason moment that can’t be forgotten – or perhaps never lived down, depends on your point of view," Middleton said. "That classic moment where he declared we were indeed World bleeping Champions.”
It elicited a chuckle from everyone in attendance, which included Utley himself, and two of his former teammates, Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels, who were in uniform working as guest instructors with the Phillies at Spring Training.
Chase Utley (left), who will be the 51st member of the Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame in August, chats with his former boss (and Phillies Wall of Famer) Pat Gillick in Clearwater, Fla. on March 12, 2026 (Photo: Anthony SanFilippo) It shouldn't come as a surprise that the Phillies waited until a year that ended in 26 to induct Utley into the Wall of Fame.
But even if that wasn't a convenient coincidence, the Phillies all but had to do it this year, because they wanted him on their wall before he gets inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, which could happen as soon as 2027, if not the year after.
And when that happens, Utley will be welcomed back again to get his No. 26 officially retired, even though it already unofficially is, and is not available for another player to wear.
Utley will save his speech for August, but was appreciative of the honor.
"It will be a special moment," Utley said. "As players, we don’t play the game to get recognized, to get awards. But now that we have the ability to kind of sit back and reflect on your career, it’s special. It will be an honor to be part of this special club with the Phillies.
"The Phillies are my family. And we obviously still keep in contact, (I) keep in contact with John. I love seeing [the media], believe it or not. But yeah, it’s going to be a special weekend and I’m happy to share it with everyone."
Utley appeared on 59.1 percent of the ballots from the Baseball Writer's Association of America when voting took place for the 2026 Hall of Fame induction. That's pretty close to the 75 percent needed for enshrinement, which is why many think he can get there in the next year or two.
And Utley is intimately aware of how close he is to that ultimate honor.
Chase Utley talks about a potential call to Cooperstown, and a teammate who had a massive impact on him.
(Via @AntSanPhilly) pic.twitter.com/agPSFZFd0t
“One step a time," he said. "But yeah, obviously you can’t help but pay attention to it. I’m humbled and honored to even be a part of the conversations. We’ll see how that unfolds, but I’m excited to kind of see how it tracks.”
Utley spent 13 seasons with the Phillies and although his counting stats fall short of many Hall of Famers, his peak was arguably the best of any second baseman in baseball history.
From 2005-2014, Utley made named a National League All-Star six times, won three Silver Slugger Awards and finished in the top 15 in MVP voting five times.
In that span he slashed .288/.374/.492 for an .866 OPS. He had 59.7 bWAR, averaging nearly 6 WAR for a decade.
According to a report by Matt Gelb at The Athletic, the Phillies wanted to hire Utley now that he and his family are back from living abroad in London, but Utley chose to take a job instead with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a special assistant to the president.
While choosing where to work could be based on where he wanted to live when he moved back stateside — and being originally from Southern California, working for the Dodgers may have seemed more attractive — he will forever be remembered as one of the Phillies most beloved players of all-time, and he'll be memorialized that way forever at Citizens Bank Park later this summer.
