Phillies, Utley agree to contract extension
Second baseman Chase Utley has agreed to a two-year contract extension with the Phillies through the 2015 season, Senior Vice President & General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. announced today. The contract includes three vesting/club options.
Entering today's game, Utley has played in 84 games this season and is hitting .277 with 16 doubles, five triples, 15 home runs and 43 RBI. The 34-year-old has a .337 on-base percentage and a .505 slugging percentage. Among National League second basemen, Utley ranks first in slugging percentage, second in home runs, third in extra-base hits and fourth in total bases (152) despite missing a month of games earlier this year with an oblique strain.
"Chase epitomizes everything we expect our Phillies to be," said Amaro. "As we've said before, we see Chase as a true Phillie for life. This contract moves us toward that end. We couldn't be more pleased."
A five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger winner, Utley ranks in the Phillies' all-time Top 10 ranking in doubles, home runs, extra-base hits and slugging percentage. In 2009, he tied Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson and set an NL record for most home runs (5) in a World Series and became just the second player in major league history to have two multi-home run games within one World Series. Utley was originally selected by the Phillies in the first round (15th overall) of the June 2000 First-Year Player Draft.
Utley was honored this week by the MLBPAA with the Phillies Heart and Hustle Award, presented to one member of each of the 30 major league clubs who demonstrates a passion for the game of baseball and best embodies the values, spirit, and tradition of the game. He and his wife, Jennifer, have started the Utley Foundation, which brings awareness to animal cruelty, educates the community in the proper treatment of animals and raises funds that help support the Pennsylvania SPCA. Utley also annually purchases full-season Phillies tickets for children at CHOP and St. Christopher's Hospital as part of his Chase's Champs program, among other charitable contributions.