Chase Utley: 'I Feel Extremely Fortunate' To Be Loved By Fans
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- As the late-great Harry Kalas coined, "Chase Utley, you are the man."
Friday, live in Clearwater, Florida at Phillies Spring Training, Utley talked about his relationship with Philadelphia on the 94WIP Morning Show. Utley, the inarguable most beloved athlete in Philly, appreciates your love.
"I do," Utley said, when asked if realizes and appreciates the way Philly feels about him. "I feel extremely fortunate to have a passionate fan base support me over the years. I've said it millions of times, but they're the greatest fans in all of sports. They understand baseball, they want their team to win. They will let us know, on occasion, when we're not playing our best baseball and I think that's totally acceptable."
Listen: Chase Utley on the 94WIP Morning Show
That's what six all-star appearances, four Silver Slugger awards, a World Series championship, a "World [expletive] champions" quote at the parade, plays like these, and 11 seasons in one city will do for you.
"Well, I think obviously having a little success can only help me a little bit," Utley said, when asked why he feels the city has gravitated towards him. "I think they [the fans] recognize the fact that I'm out on the field and I'm playing the game hard and I'm playing to win. And they appreciate that and I appreciate their support. It helps me on days when I'm not feeling the best, or I might be a little tired or run down. It helps me that they're behind me kind of pushing me out there."
Photos: 94WIP at Phillies Spring Training
Utley returned the favor. He loves you right back.
"First off, they open their arms and let me in and treated me extremely well," Utley said of the fans. "And obviously the city has changed ever since I've first got here 'til now. The city has developed and changed, I think, for the better. It's a better vibe within the city, cooler restaurants, cooler bars, there's just a lot more going on, a little bit younger crowd. It seems like there's more things to do now. It's very cool and I've enjoyed it. We've lived in Center City, we've moved out of the city now, we've done it all. And it's just a beautiful place to live."
As for this upcoming season, Utley, 36, understands the team is in some sort of transitional phase.
"When I first came up our expectations weren't that high, back in 2003, 2004, and then we kind of built something and we had a pretty good run for awhile and now we kind of have to get back to that," Utley said. "I think we all understand that we haven't played great baseball for the last three years. So, as an organization there's a slight adjustment there and as an athlete we understand to continue to improve you have to make adjustments. So that's where we're at."
