Former UCLA Baseball player Chase Utley to retire from the game
It was announced today that Los Angeles Dodgers’ second baseman and former UCLA baseball player Chase Utley is retiring at the end of the season, ending an illustrious career.
It is an end of an era. Chase Utley, former UCLA baseball player and soon to be former Los Angeles Dodger, will be retiring at the end of the 2018 season.
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Utley has had a career that most ball players could only dream of. But that is coming to an end as the 6-time All-Star and Would Series Champion (with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008) announced that he is retiring from the game.
Utley is a Los Angeles-area product who was born in Pasadena and grew up in Long Beach. The slugger made a name for himself as a standout in high school at Long Beach Poly. His skills got the attention of the Dodgers who drafted him in 1995, but Utley decided to go the college route before becoming a professional.
The Dodgers are thrilled to be part of the final chapter of Chase Utley’s remarkable career. His work is not done yet, as he seeks to help the Dodgers bring a World Series title to LA in 2018! pic.twitter.com/dHPmAadXKK
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 13, 2018
For three seasons, he played with the UCLA Bruins, making a huge impact in his junior (and final) season. That season he batted .382 and had 22 homers for the Bruins, eventually helping them to reach the NCAA Super Regionals.
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In 2003, he finally made it to the big time with the Philadelphia Phillies, playing in the city of Brotherly Love for the next 12 1/2 seasons.
In 2015 he came home. That year he was traded to the Dodgers and for the next four seasons would help L.A. build themselves into one of the top teams in the MLB. Last season, Utley helped the Dodgers make it back to the World Series for the first time since 1988. Unfortunately, they lost to the Houston Astros.
This season, the Dodgers struggled to get going early, but have made it back to the top of the NL West, putting them back in the hunt for another penant and a championship.
With this season being his last, the Dodgers are looking to try and get him another title. If that were to happen, it would be the perfect end to an already wonderful career. Congratulations, Chase. Go Bruins and Go Dodgers.