Injuries during the latter half of his prime may keep former Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley from ever being inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but Wednesday night Utley was inducted into a different Hall of Fame.
Along with Adrian Gonzalez, another player who has had a tremendous career but is unlikely to be a Hall of Famer, Utley was inducted in the Arizona Fall League Hall of Fame yesterday evening:
As part of their Hall of Fame induction, both Utley and Gonzalez were presented with a trophy and will have a plaque in their honor placed in the Arizona Fall League Hall of Fame at Scottsdale Stadium. Banners with Utley's No. 29 (Grand Canyon Rafters) and Gonzalez's No. 25 (Peoria Saguaros) were also unveiled just above the right field wall. [MLB.com]
While seeing Utley have the No. 29 retired may feel strange considering he's become so synonymous with the No. 26, the six-time All-Star spoke highly of his time in the developmental league:
"Obviously it's a great honor," Utley said. "So many great players come through this league. I remember playing here, it was a lot of fun, not just the baseball side of it, but meeting the players, other teams' best players, and building relationships that you have your entire career." [MLB.com]
The Arizona Fall League is a developmental league that houses some of the game's future stars as they hope to hone their craft in what would have otherwise been the offseason.
Utley, 37, is currently a free-agent after spending 2016 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Phillies traded Utley to the Dodgers in August of 2015, after parts of 13 iconic seasons playing in Philadelphia.
