Phillies second baseman Chase Utley wasn’t in Saturday’s lineup against the Mets with lefty Jon Niese on the hill. He has been in the starting lineup just once in his team’s last four games, a result of him batting .099/.175/.198 in 103 plate appearances to begin the 2015 season.
Former Phillies third baseman and Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt knows how quickly a player can lose it. He famously hit .117/.247/.167 over 73 plate appearances in May 1989 before announcing his retirement in between tears. He doesn’t see that same fate awaiting Utley, though. Via ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick:Mike Schmidt said he doesn’t see anything drastically wrong with Chase (9-for-91) Utley. Thinks Utley can turn it around soon.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) May 9, 2015
“I put money on him being player of the month (next month),’' Schmidt told reporters. “It can turn around that fast.’'
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) May 9, 2015
Utley has degenerative conditions in both knees and is 36 years old. There’s no question his better days are behind him. However, he also has a .079 batting average on balls in play. Even if he’s completely lost it at the plate, we should still see a much higher BABIP than .079. There’s likely some truth in Schmidt’s optimism.
