Perhaps a pair of homers off CC Sabathia last night will end Chase Utley’s reign as the most underrated player in baseball, although even his big night was overshadowed by Cliff Lee’s complete-game victory.
Despite playing for a highly successful big-market team Utley’s excellence has somehow managed to fly under the radar, as many media members and fans seem to think of him as merely a very good player rather than a truly great one.
However, his combination of big batting averages (.295 career), excellent power (30 homers and 40 doubles per 600 at-bats), strong plate discipline (.379 on-base percentage), efficient baserunning (23-for-23 on steals this year), and outstanding defense at an up-the-middle position is extremely difficult to find and makes him one of MLB’s elite all-around players.
Runs Above Replacement (RAR) is a stat that combines offensive and defensive contributions to calculate the total number of runs someone was worth compared to a replacement-level player at the same position. This season Utley ranked second in the NL with 76.7 runs above replacement, trailing only Albert Pujols and his 84.3 RAR. And it’s been a similar story in past seasons:
2009 RAR 2008 RAR 2007 RAR Albert Pujols 84.3 Albert Pujols 89.2 David Wright 86.6 CHASE UTLEY 76.7 CHASE UTLEY 81.0 CHASE UTLEY 82.2 Hanley Ramirez 73.2 Chipper Jones 76.7 Matt Holliday 80.5 Ryan Zimmerman 70.7 Hanley Ramirez 75.7 Albert Pujols 78.5 Prince Fielder 67.1 David Wright 74.3 Chipper Jones 71.9 2006 RAR 2005 RAR Albert Pujols 79.5 Andruw Jones 87.0 Ryan Howard 72.4 Albert Pujols 77.3 Carlos Beltran 72.2 Derrek Lee 74.1 CHASE UTLEY 70.8 CHASE UTLEY 73.8 Miguel Cabrera 69.8 Jason Bay 63.6
In his five full seasons Utley has ranked second, second, second, fourth, and fourth among all NL position players in RAR, yet he’s never finished higher than seventh in the MVP balloting while two of his Phillies teammates have won MVPs. Pujols and Utley are the only players to rank among the NL’s top five in all five of those seasons, and if you value things like on-base percentages, positional adjustments, and defense there’s a clear case for Utley being the second-best player in the league during that time.
In fact, during that time there’s a pretty good argument for Utley being the second-best player in baseball, regardless of league. Runs Created is a relatively widely used stat that measures, quite simply, how many runs a player produced offensively. For some context, this season the NL leader was Pujols with 165 and the AL leader was Joe Mauer with 138. Not coincidentally, they figure to be the MVPs when the awards are announced next month. Here are the Runs Created leaders from 2005-2009:
Albert Pujols 764 Alex Rodriguez 661 Mark Teixeira 645 CHASE UTLEY 641 Miguel Cabrera 641 David Ortiz 622 Matt Holliday 617 David Wright 613 Ryan Howard 598 Lance Berkman 594
Pujols obviously stands head and shoulders above the pack, but Utley is within spitting distance of the No. 2 spot and you’ll notice that he’s the only guy in the top 10 who plays an up-the-middle position defensively. Getting that kind of offensive production from a Gold Glove-caliber second baseman is extremely rare and hugely valuable, which is why even after last night’s heroics Utley is probably still the most underrated player in baseball.
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- Valerie Levicoff - Oct 29, 2009 at 1:23 PM
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I totally agree! Thanks for such astute observations re: Chase Utley. He deserves some kind of special award. We should invent one.
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- GimmeSomeSteel - Oct 29, 2009 at 1:36 PM
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Utley can’t be the best at his position. It is Unchallengeable Known Fact that the Yankee at any position is the best, and Utley’s not a Yankee.
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- Mike - Oct 29, 2009 at 1:49 PM
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Utley is such a low key guy. He doesn’t like the spotlight. In fact, you’ll have a better chance of finding him at an animal shelter with his wife than a bar or club. The media always overlooks the quiet guys, even if they produce otherworldly numbers.
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- Sean - Oct 29, 2009 at 1:55 PM
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GimmeSomeSteel -
The Yankees especially looked like the best at every position last night. The best fans too with the way they started clearing out of the stadium after the 7th inning. Hahahahaha
PHILS in 5!
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- Sean - Oct 29, 2009 at 1:58 PM
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Also, the article doesn’t say anything about Utley being the best at his position. It is about him being underrated. Did you even read it?
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- John - Oct 29, 2009 at 1:58 PM
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It was the Utley & Lee show last night and yet leading up to the WS virtually all of the sporting press focused their attention on the tandem of A-Rod & CC. HA!
If Utley can make the Yankee “Ace” look foolish just think what he’ll do to AJ & Pettite!!!
PHILLIES IN SIX!!! MARK MY WORDS!!!
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- downsouth - Oct 29, 2009 at 2:04 PM
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They have certain words for people like you. Clueless and clown.
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- huh? - Oct 29, 2009 at 2:27 PM
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Seriously, do you even watch baseball? Utley is not underrated by people who KNOW baseball. Clink the link on my name for career stats. Since ’05 when he became a start he’s a .290+ hitter with a .332 season thrown, 30 hrs, 100 RBI, OBP of .370+ every year. Watch baseball. He’s not underrated, he’s understated because he is a low-key guy.
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- Bub - Oct 29, 2009 at 2:35 PM
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Very methodically, very quietly, under the radar. That’s Chase Utley’s formula for excellence. But it’s not surprising, because it mirrors that of his team in general, the best team in baseball only getting better, very methodically, very quietly, under the radar. Out of the way, pretenders, frauds and low-lifes (AKA the New York Yankees and their moronic fanbase), the NEW Red Machine is taking over!
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- comeonman - Oct 29, 2009 at 3:59 PM
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I HATE UTLEY, HE DAMAGES THE METS EVERYTIME THEY PLAY AND I’AM LEFT TO WONDER WHERE IS OUR CHASE UTLEY,CHIPPER JONES.THIS GUY IS AWESOME
SOMEHOW I KNEW HE WOULD WIN A GAME FOR THE PHILLIES AFTER THE ERROR THAT COST THEM THEIR ONLY LOSS TO THE DODGERS.LIKE I SAID I HATE THIS DUDE – IN A PHILLIE UNIFORM, TRADE HIM TO THE METS- USUALLY IT IS THE QUIET GUY’S WHO JUST COME IN AND SAY NOTHING AND DO THEIR JOB.BIG MOUTH JIMMY BUTTER ROLL IS A DRAMA QUEEN, YOU CAN DROWN HIM FOR ALL I CARE.WERTH IS A SOLID GUY, THE FLYIN HAWIIAN-VICTORINO, I LIKE HIS SPARK PLUG MANTALITY, RUIZ BEHIND THE PLATE, FRANSISCO AT THIRD.ALL SOLID QUIET GUY’S THE PHILLIES HAVE A GOOD CORE JUST LIKE THE YANKEES HAD WITH THEIR CORE FOUR, JETER, POSADA, RIVERA, PETTITE.BUT DON’T GET IT TWISTED, I GOT THE YANKEES IN 6 OR 7, THEY ARE AWESOME AND A NEW YORK TEAM. GO YANKEES.
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- Bob - Oct 29, 2009 at 4:03 PM
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Cliff Lee pitches a gem and all of sudden the yanks are done?
Such yankee hate its pathetic…
Is cliff lee pitching every game?
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- comeonman - Oct 29, 2009 at 4:04 PM
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forget your MEDICATION again…………..
wow, the yankees fan base and new yorkers in general somehow
are the only craZy people, yeah right.
opinions are like toilet paper, after you use it, you flush it.
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- comeonman - Oct 29, 2009 at 4:07 PM
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You missed it, they called off the rest of the games
and gave Philly the trophy, Jimmy Butter Roll said it
was the right thing to do.I also fell asleep during
these event’s.
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- comeonman - Oct 29, 2009 at 4:08 PM
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You missed it, they called off the rest of the games
and gave Philly the trophy, Jimmy Butter Roll said it
was the right thing to do.I also fell asleep during
these event’s.
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- John - Oct 29, 2009 at 4:32 PM
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It’s not about hate Bob and no Lee is not pitching every game but unfortunately for New York neither is CC.
To his credit Sabathia gave up only two runs, which was good considering they were both to one player, but then the “vaunted” Yankee bullpen came in to seal the win for the Phillies.
As far as AJ and Pettite neither will pitch as good as CC and when they give out Joe will have no choice but to hand the ball to one of the stiffs out in the Yankee bullpen to add on a few more runs for Philly.
It all equates to the PHILLIES IN SIX!!! MARK MY WORDS!!!
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- Anonymous - Oct 29, 2009 at 5:04 PM
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Is your head in the sand? Utley is highly regarded as the best defensive second baseman in baseball. I bet the Phillies sell more Utley-adorned clothing than any other player.
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- Peter - Oct 29, 2009 at 5:07 PM
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The Phillies have Utley committed to a kind of contract the Twins now wish they’d offered Mauer some years ago…
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- nesta - Oct 29, 2009 at 5:31 PM
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They have certain words for people like you too. Besides “clueless’ and “clown,” they include “Fix your sarcasm detector.”
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- PhillyJohn - Oct 29, 2009 at 5:34 PM
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Not only is Utley a great player, he is a class act too. He reminds me of the 2nd baseman that the Phillies let get away and who is now in the HofF, Ryne Sandburg. Also, there are not many better base runners than Utley in all facets of getting around the bases, steals, going from first to third, turning singles into doubles, etc. The man is like Dykstra the way he plays, but without the bravado. A true TEAM player.
GO PHILLIES !!!
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- steve fallone - Oct 29, 2009 at 5:44 PM
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there are ballplayers and the then there is chase utley. all the glamour boys in new york couldn,t shine the shoes of ryan howard chase utley and cliff lee. baseball should not be played by the size of your wallet but by the size of your heart. thank god that the yankees have one player like that. his name is mr. jeter
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- Gary M - Oct 29, 2009 at 6:05 PM
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The guy hits two home runs in one game and he’s a hero? Get real!
The best performance in a world series was Lew Burdette of the Milwaukee Braves in 1957. He pitched two shutouts (obviously complete games) and won a third game 5-3 (complete) with the Milwaukee Braves beating the New York Yankees in the series 4-3 – Lew won 3 of the four games!
That even surpasses Don Larsen’s perfect game because Lew pitched and won three!
The New York press put this one into hiding because that’s the New York press. Now, Lew is dead and never got the recognition he deserved. As many people say, the only folks who think New York is the greatest city in the USA are New Yorkers.
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- mick-7-1961 - Oct 29, 2009 at 7:01 PM
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Utley underated? He’s Mr. Consistent and is as cool as they come.
Tonight, however, he won’t be getting served volley balls when there’s a two-strike count on him.
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- Rob C - Oct 30, 2009 at 12:28 AM
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The Yankees will win 2 out of 3 in Philly and bring it home to win in 6 because they are the better of the two teams.
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- Fran - Oct 30, 2009 at 1:19 PM
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Yankee fans can’t read…it’s not their fault, they walked out of class when it was time to learn!!
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- Mike - Oct 30, 2009 at 3:19 PM
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Reading these posts drove me crazy…do you even know what underrated means? Yeah, among Phillies fans and people in the “know” in baseball, Utley is recognized as an elite player. Gleeman’s point is that despite Utley’s brilliance he isn’t recognized by the mainstream media as one of the top 3 or 4 players in the game. That is almost the textbook definition of underrated.
