The Chase of a lifetime

Wednesday, March 4, 1998

The Chase of a lifetime

BASEBALL: Though he turned down Dodgers to come to UCLA, Utley
is happy with choice

By Vytas Mazeika

Daily Bruin Staff

Chase: ‘chas verb — to follow rapidly: to pursue.

Somehow, UCLA’s Chase Utley doesn’t seem to live up to his name.
His favorite TV show is ESPN’s "Baseball Tonight." His favorite
song is the traditional "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." The most
famous person he’s ever met is former Los Angeles Dodgers head
coach Tommy Lasorda. He was even drafted in the second round of the
major league draft by the Dodgers.

And although he sees himself playing professional baseball in 10
years, Utley has chosen not to pursue that specific dream right
now. Instead he has decided to turn down a rumored six-figure offer
from the Dodgers to attend college.

"His mother and I attempted to paint both sides – the pros and
the cons either way," his father David Utley said. "But ultimately
the decision was his. We weren’t going to have it hanging over our
heads if he felt like he made the wrong decision. But from what I
can tell, he’s convinced he made he right decision."

His dad, who also says Utley was hooked on baseball ever since
he chucked his son whiffle balls when he was four or five, is right
about how his son feels.

"I was pretty close to signing (with the Dodgers)," Utley said.
"It was kind of a last-minute decision not to sign … but I don’t
have any regrets for not signing."

By the way, there is something else you should know. Utley
hasn’t entirely given up his favorite past-time – he has merely
chosen to spend at least the next three years (college players
cannot be drafted again until after their junior year) refining his
baseball skills while studying at UCLA.

Utley, who stands in at 6 feet 1 inch and 175 pounds, is the
Bruins’ starting shortstop and No. 6 hitter. As of Sunday, Utley
had a .314 batting average, with three homers, 13 RBIs, 10 runs
scored, seven walks, 18 strike-outs and was one for three in
stolen-base attempts.

While at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, Utley batted .525
with 12 home runs and 48 RBIs his senior season. He succeeded in 12
out of 13 steal attempts and had a mind-boggling 16 walks compared
to only two strikeouts.

He was named an All-American by Collegiate Baseball, Baseball
America, the American Baseball Coaches Association and the National
High School Baseball Coaches Association. Utley is also only one of
three Bruins (along with pitchers Chad Cislak and Rob Henkel) to
participate in Team USA Fall Trials.

With attributes like these, one would have to believe that Utley
has the potential to become another of a great line of young,
power-hitting shortstops entering Major League Baseball right now –
a list including Alex Rodriguez (Mariners), Nomar Garciaparra (Red
Sox) and Derek Jeter (Yankees).

"They’re great players, and I think anybody would love to play
like them," Utley said. "But not everybody can, and hopefully I can
have some of their success and go from there."

Other factors that may contribute to success at the next level
for Utley are his approach at the plate and his attention to the
details of the game. Not only is Utley a left-handed hitting
infielder (very rare), but he’s also very patient – as his
eight-to-one ratio of walks to strikeouts his senior year in high
school indicates.

Also, Utley doesn’t rely on co-captain Eric Valent (a junior
outfielder) for advice. But Utley is astute enough to play close
attention to how pitchers handle Valent because of their
similarities as hitters. Since both of them are left-handed hitters
with adept power, pitchers tend to approach Utley the same way as
Valent.

The one thing that prevents scouts from giving Utley an
unanimous seal of approval as a future major league shortstop is
his defense. Utley has committed 15 errors in only 18 games this
season and is a liability on defense when chasing ground balls.

"Even the Dodgers – and I talked to a lot of the scouts –
weren’t so sure that he was going to be an infielder that could
play shortstop," UCLA head coach Gary Adams said. "Half the scouts
I talked to after we signed Chase were saying, ‘You’re not going to
play him at short, are you?’ That was a very common approach."

As a hitter, Utley has a chance to be one of UCLA’s all-time
best. As for his defense, Adams says that Utley is where most
freshman shortstops are when they begin their careers at UCLA.
Adams, though, never had any doubts Utley would play shortstop once
he became a Bruin.

"I see him as being more like a Mike Gallego as a defensive
player – which is about the best compliment I can give anyone,"
Adams said. "There is a guy that’s got 15 years in the big leagues
as a second baseman and shortstop. But I see him being a much
better hitter than Gallego."

Adams truly believes Utley can be a capable shortstop at the
major-league level because of his work ethic. Utley has only played
short since his junior year in high school and needs to work a lot
on his defense.

A positive sign for Adams is Utley’s commitment to improve
himself. Utley is one of those rare players who are automatically
willing to work hard in order to get better – he doesn’t need
anyone else to motivate him. In fact, he’s always asking teammates
to hit more ground balls to him so that he can improve his
fielding.

"I think I can be a major league shortstop," Utley said.
"(Adams) is working hard at making me a better infielder, so I
gotta work hard with him … I love to play shortstop. Shortstop is
my favorite position. I just have to work on it a little bit more.
I’m not quite there right now."

Utley will be the first to admit his defense needs work. But he
always keeps a positive attitude on the field no matter what. Utley
and junior second baseman Jack Santora often find themselves joking
about anything and everything in between pitches. This laid-back
approach has allowed Utley to concentrate on the big picture and
forget about his on-the-field blunders.

"I don’t get down on myself," Utley said. "Maybe at that moment
I get a little mad, but there is nothing I can do about it. The
play already happened. Next time I get a play like that I’ll try
not to make the same mistake I made before. If you get mad at
yourself, you’ll just start making more errors."

For now, everything is looking good for Utley. Although the
Dodgers were wonderful and very professional while courting him,
Utley feels signing with the Dodgers was the most important error
he didn’t commit.

Baseball powerhouses like Oklahoma, Cal State Fullerton and Long
Beach State recruited him and made him scholarship offers.

Long Beach State was actually the only school to recruit Utley
during the fall, because Utley was injured during what his father
calls the "Area Code" games – summer exhibitions where coaches and
scouts come out and rate the top high school players.

But Utley didn’t accept the only offer available to him during
the fall because he believed other offers would come – and they
did.

"I remember how he had so much confidence in his own judgment to
turn down a scholarship offer at a major baseball school in
November when there was nothing else out there," David Utley said.
"So we were happy that he had some quality choices, but I tell you,
as soon as UCLA called, I think that was about it for him –
although he has never said so.

"I don’t think that he ever imagined he would get a call from
UCLA. I think he still pinches himself."

Maybe three years from now, when Utley is once again available
for the major league draft, the pursuit of his dream will come to
an end. Utley may then sign with a professional club and pinch
himself once again just to make sure he knows his chase is
finished.

CHARLES KUO/Daily Bruin

Top-notch freshman Chase Utley postponed entering the majors to
play Bruin baseball.