It was announced this week that Chase Utley would be awarded with the 13th annual Roy Campanella Award, presented each year by the Dodgers to the player who best represents the pride and spirit of the legendary ballplayer.
Chase Utley is the best mentor the Dodgers could ask for. This season, Utley has sat out of more games than his talent should allow. However, his ability to step up and be a veteran presence in the dugout for the young guys still figuring it all out in the big leagues speaks volumes to Utley’s true value and intelligence.
Chase Utley has batted an uncharacteristic .219 average on only 160 at-bats in 2018. Utley has appeared in 82 games for Los Angeles this season after agreeing to a smaller workload, and being sidelined by injury for a few weeks in the midst of the long baseball season.
Utley’s ability to lead from behind the star players of the team is an ability that calls back directly to the likes of Roy Campanella. After announcing his retirement following this season, it became clear to Dodgers fans, Phillies fans, and baseball fans all across the world that the old-school, hard-nosed talent that Utley has possessed and displayed his entire career would be missed. The willingness to take one for the team and win by any means necessary is a characteristic that not many baseball players have, but Utley does, and it’s a beautiful thing to watch that sort of determination.
Congratulations to Utley on earning this award. He is truly one of the baseball’s greatest, and it’s a special thing to see his work recognized in such an honorable way.
Thank you for this final season, Chase!
Arrick Joel has covered the Dodgers since 2017, and for Dodgers-LowDown since 2018. Follow @ArrickJoel and @DodgersLowDown on Twitter for more.