The Official Site of Chase Utley

Wed, Jun 11th 2008, 11:31

Utley deals with celebrity status

The conundrum for a private person in a public profession is obvious: The more success he has, the more difficult it is to draw the line between the relentlessly encroaching demands that will inevitably crowd his personal space.

Chase Utley, for example. The Phillies’ second baseman is off to the best start of what already has been an excellent career. The alluring notion that he could be the team’s third MVP in as many seasons has been in play almost since Jimmy Rollins won the award last fall. His headfirst style of play appeals to hardcore hardball fans, his matinee-idol looks make women of all ages swoon.

The world is his smorgasbord, an existence in that rare air where his bold-faced name could be as ubiquitous in the gossip columns as in the daily box scores.

Except that it isn’t.

He seems to instinctively understand that celebrity can be a voracious beast and has so far managed to tame it, to deal with it on his own terms. And if you think that’s easy, just remember Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears or any number of entertainers who were burned by the white heat of the spotlight they once craved.

Utley grew up in celebrity-drenched Southern California. He attended UCLA, in Westwood, just off Sunset Boulevard. That may or may not have influenced his outlook – he says it didn’t – but the fact remains that he had a curiosity about How Things Work almost from the moment he arrived in the big leagues.

Phillies media relations manager Greg Casterioto has had several in-depth discussions with him on the topic.

“He does want to know, absolutely,” Casterioto said. “First of all, he’s an LA guy. And I always say the LA guys, because of where they grow up, they know the whole celebrity thing. They know it.

“There was a time a few years ago when we did talk about how the whole thing, certainly not because he’s looking to raise his profile. Just because he’s an all-encompassing guy. He wants to know what’s going on. He wants to be as prepared as possible.

“This is no different than when he goes on the field. You’ll have guys in our clubhouse tell you that there’s nobody more prepared for a game. This is the same thing. He wants to be prepared. He doesn’t want to be caught off-guard. And he’s the same on the field as off the field.”

That seems to get to the heart of the matter. Utley was a baseball rat growing up and success on the field remains his priority. All that comes with it is secondary.

“I’m a fairly private person. But I’ve always been that way. And I like it like that,” he said during the Phillies’ last homestand, standing in the hallway between the clubhouse and dugout at Citizens Bank Park.

“I’m still learning how to deal with everything. But it’s true. The more success you have, the more people tug at you from different directions. For me, you’ve got to keep it in perspective and remember what got you here and what’s keeping you here and you have to stay focused as much as possible. You can’t take this game for granted.”

Continue reading….