Just two years ago, Chase Utley was arguably the best second baseman in the game, a perennial All-Star and MVP candidate for a Philadelphia Phillies team that relied on a heavy dose of offense to win games.
Now?
Things couldn’t have reversed more. Utley has missed significant time to injury in the past two seasons and seems to have aged dramatically. While he’s still a great player (when healthy), he can no longer be counted on to start 150 games and hit .300 with 25 home runs.
News broke this past spring training that Utley was dealing with a bout of patellar tendinitis, an injury that never really goes away for a professional athlete, especially one who plays the game as aggressively as Utley. Utley made it onto the field much sooner than initially expected, making his season debut on May 23 against the Cincinnati Reds.
Utley’s return was monumental for a Phillies team that saw little to no offensive production from Wilson Valdez, Pete Orr, and Michael Martinez while Utley was inj...
Original Story:
