CLEARWATER, Fla. – This summer, Chase Utley will be inducted into the Phillies’ Wall of Fame.
In 2027, he could be headed to Cooperstown, N.Y.
Phillies owner John Middleton on Thursday morning announced that Utley will be honored by the Phillies with a bronze Wall of Fame plaque on Aug. 7 at Citizens Bank Park. It was only a matter of time. Utley is the greatest second baseman in Phillies history and a key cog in one of the greatest eras in franchise history, which included the 2008 World Series championship, the 2009 NL pennant and five consecutive NL East titles from 2007-11.
“It will be a special moment,” Utley said during a press conference at BayCare Ballpark. “As players, we don’t play the game to get recognized, to get awards. But now that we have the ability to kind of sit back and reflect on your career, it’s special. It will be an honor to be part of this special club with the Phillies. The Phillies are my family.”
Some of Utley’s Phillies family were there on Thursday. Middleton introduced Utley, of course. Cole Hamels and Ryan Howard are in camp as guest instructors. Jimmy Rollins will be here soon. Charlie Manuel and Larry Bowa have been in camp all spring. So has Hall of Fame general manager Pat Gillick.
“We keep in pretty close contact over the course of the year, so we definitely have not lost touch,” Utley said. “But as far as coming to Clearwater … it does bring back some pretty special memories. I was chatting with Cole last night and I was kind of going down history lane with all the good times that we had during Spring Training. At times, you can forget about them and then you can get in a room and those memories come back, and they’re pretty special. We had, obviously, some amazing players, amazing personalities and people. I think that’s a true reason why we were so successful.”
Asked where those trips down memory lane typically go, Utley paused.
“I think it all revolves around Pat Burrell,” Hamels joked.
Utley might need to prepare two speeches in the next 16 months: one for the Wall of Fame and one for the Hall of Fame. Utley received 59.1 percent of the vote in his third year on the Hall of Fame ballot, a jump from the 39.8 percent he got in 2025. If he makes a similar jump in 2027, he will cross the 75 percent threshold necessary for induction.
To put Utley's 59.1 percent into perspective, Andruw Jones (78.4 percent) got just 19.4 percent in his third year on the ballot in 2020. Carlos Beltrán (84.2 percent) got 46.5 percent.
Both will be inducted this summer.
“One step a time,” Utley said. “But yeah, obviously you can’t help but pay attention to it. I’m humbled and honored to even be a part of the conversations. We’ll see how that unfolds, but I’m excited to kind of see how it tracks.”
Utley’s double-play partner, Rollins, got 25.4 percent of the vote in his fifth year on the ballot. Rollins, who has five years of eligibility remaining, hasn’t risen as quickly as Utley the past couple years, so there is a chance Utley makes it and Rollins does not.
Utley made his case for his friend on Thursday.
“There’s not many people that have done it better, in my opinion,” Utley said. “The way that he was able to control the hardest position on the field at shortstop and make it look easy. I know it gets talked about, but I don’t know how much it’s emphasized – how good of a shortstop he was. He made the difficult play look [easy]. Me, as a second baseman, I was extremely grateful that he was on my team, on my side, just working with him, recognizing that we both had a similar mindset of we’re going to figure out a way we’re going to win that particular day.
“He was a student of the game. I just hope people recognize it.”
Rollins got on the Phillies’ Wall of Fame last summer. Howard, Hamels and others from the ’08 team will not be far behind.
“We’re all now officially grown up,” Utley said. “And we feel really honored and extremely lucky to be a part of this organization.”