During his prime with the Phillies -- before all those nasty knee injuries -- Chase Utley was one of the best defensive second basemen. He didn’t have the best range or the strongest arm, but the Phillies positioned him well and he had good instincts. While age has further deteriorated Utley’s range and arm, the instincts are still as good as they have ever been and he illustrated that during Thursday night’s game against the Rockies.
With a runner on first base and two outs in the top of the fourth inning, opposing pitcher Tyler Chatwood hit a weak ground ball to Utley that skipped up his glove and bounced off of his chest. Utley had to turn his back to pick up the ball and, in doing so, flipped the ball behind his back to Adrian Gonzalez to get the out. The play was so impressive that broadcaster Vin Scully exclaimed, “Wow!” Scully has seen a thing or two, so getting him to exclaim is saying something.
UNREAL. pic.twitter.com/xWfFbaYz4L
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 23, 2016
