Five alternatives players could consider instead of thanking fans in a newspaper

Chase Utley played more than 1,550 games in a Phillies uniform. He was worth 61.5 WAR over 13 years in Philadelphia, represented the team in six All-Star Games and helped win a World Series in 2008.

Naturally, Utley took out an ad in the Philadelphia Daily News, thanking fans for being so hospitable and enthusiastic during his tenure with the Fightin's before heading off to Los Angeles to join the Dodgers.

Chase Utley took out a full page ad in today's @PhillyDailyNews to thank Philadelphia: pic.twitter.com/VNVb7usa7k

- Ryan Lawrence (@ryanlawrence21) August 24, 2015

Utley's thank you note is kind and sweet and all that, but it got us thinking: Shane Victorino, Roy Halladay, Jimmy Rollins and Cole Hamels all did the same thing within the last handful of years. Maybe it's time to try something new?

So, in an effort to save the art of thanking fans after being traded/leaving via free agency/retiring, we cooked up five innovative concepts that might breathe new life into the ritual.

Viral Video: Hear us out. We know that you've seen your fair share of viral proposal videos, viral birth announcement videos, viral dog-owner reunions and pretty much every other kind of viral video the geniuses at the viral video factory have cooked up. But what about the viral "thanks-for-rooting-for-me-for-the-last-decade-but-now-I've-got-to-play-for-another-team" video?

Imagine Chase Utley waltzing through Philly's Washington Square Park in a live-reenactment of that scene from "(500) Days of Summer" with Hall & Oates and the cartoon birds.

YEAH! Get Hall & Oates to appear in the video, too. There's no way this doesn't break the Internet. That Jeter commercial did -- why not do the same thing, here?

Happy Hour: Baseball is a job for these guys. And, if you've ever worked in an office, you know what happens when someone announces that they're leaving the company: All of their co-workers get together and make awkward small talk over a few drinks at the local food and beverage establishment that is least likely to conjure a groan from the potential attendees and is geographically closest to the office.

This is the standard goodbye in the professional world, and Utley and his fellow ballplayers shouldn't be deprived of such a ritual just because their "office" is a stadium that sits 40,000+ screaming fans.

Breakfast: We hear it's the most important meal of the day and fans L-O-V-E when players give it away. Just ask Josh Harrison or the rest of the Pirates.

Or Doug Fister, who doled out free coffee via Twitter as a holiday gift to his fans. Newspaper ads cost money and generate media coverage. But, if that money were spent on coffee/pastries, wouldn't it generate media coverage, thank the fans and help fans start the day off on the right foot with a balanced breakfast?

Commemorative T-Shirts: There's an old adage warning that one should never underestimate the power of a free T-shirt. What if -- after being traded to the Dodgers -- Utley worked with the Phillies to offer a spontaneous promotion for the first Phillies home game without Utley on the roster? We'd all absolutely cherish our "I went to the first Phillies game without Chase Utley and all I got was this T-shirt" T-shirts.

Mixtape (Playlist?): Much like the mid-range jumpshot, making a solid mixtape for someone has become a lost art in 2015. But that doesn't mean that mix CDs, playlists and old tapes don't help people get through a breakup. 

Instead of purchasing an ad in the paper, Utley could have curated a playlist and published it through any popular music streaming service to help Phillies fans properly grieve his departure. It could start out with a little Boyz II Men:

And work through all the stages of grief until Phils fans are fully rehabilitated and looking forward to a new beginning. Like Don Draper at the end of "Mad Men." 

The ad is a nice start, but it's going to be a long road to recovery, as Utley was a once-in-a-generation player for the Phillies. Here's to hoping the Maikel Franco dingers can help soothe Phils fans in Utley's absence.