Skip to main content

"Chase Utley, you are the man!"

Harry Kalas' famous quote is being used an awful lot these days. Even Kalas, himself, is saying it.

Utley continues to make a serious bid for himself to become the Phillies' 3rd straight National League Most Valuable Player. For the second time this season, Chase has hit homers in five consecutive games. That feat has only been accomplished by three other major leaguers in the history of the game.

Statement to ponder: Chase Utley could very well hurt his chances at being a league MVP by acting like a humble shy guy.
While Utley's outstanding talent increases his popularity each day (Utley leads all ML'ers in votes for All Star voting), I can't help but feel he could be far more adored. Is it too much to ask for Utley to pump a fist, or tell the guys on Daily News Live that he's excited about this team's chances and how he's been playing? I want personality and I know I am not alone. I don't need a "hot dog" the likes of Manny Ramirez, I just want a star player who will celebrate a game winning homerun (remember all the fun Ryan Howard used to have with Rick White over the phones and with Chris Roberson & Smooth-Roll in the dugout in 2006?)...or a guy who will clap his hands and give a wink toward his team in the dugout (recall how Jimmy Rollins constantly did this sort of thing in 2007?). Showing some emotion, certainly wouldn't hurt a player's chances to win such high recognition.

Comments

mark evans said…
Mr. Ballz,
Your commentary is well written, and well noted. However, I personally find Utley's humility on and off the field to be a breath of fresh air in the all too common "me first" world of professional sports. And I may not be alone in this feeling- or is it merely coincidence that he's leading the pack in all-star voting?

Popular posts from this blog

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

Ring-a-ling

This week I heard old news about how when the Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl, they gave former Colt Edgerrin James a championship ring. "Edge" had been a Colt for seven years, and even though he was gone when they won the big one, the team and the coaching staff felt as though James had contributed in building the team that won it all, so they awarded him a ring. This got me wondering which people, in an extended Phillies phamily , would be deserving of a 2008 World Series Champions ring. I heard an interview with Mike Schmidt, in the days that followed the Series, and when asked if he thought he'd get a ring, he said, "They have my (ring) size." Schmidt, the Hall of Fame thirdbaseman , was a long time Phillie, a one time coach of the single-A Clearwater Threshers (where he managed World Series MVP Cole Hamels ) and appears as a guest hitting instructor in Phillies spring training every year. With all those things in mind, of course Mike Schmidt shou...

All in the Family

22-year-old pitching prospect Nick Hernandez's father helps him stay fit during the off-season Phillies pitching prospect Nick Hernandez spent much of the 2010 regular season on the disabled list with an injury to his throwing shoulder. The 6'4", 215 pound lefty, who was named a mid-season South Atlantic League all-star with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws, attempted comebacks twice during the season, making rehab outings for the rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies, but experienced setbacks that curtailed his return to the mound and kept him from helping his teammates lock down a second consecutive league championship for Lakewood. In 8 starts with the BlueClaws last season, the 12th round draft pick from 2009 posted a 3-1 record with a 1.61 ERA and averaged 7 innings per start. Hernandez's strength is throwing a lot of strikes and he owes some of his success to his father, also named Nick (Dad's full first name is spelled Nicolas, while son's name is spell...