Chase Utley was UCLA baseball’s All-American starting second baseman from 1998 to 2000 before he left school early to go pro. Utley played in the MLB from 2003 to 2018 with the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers, putting up over 250 home runs and 1000 RBIs with a .275 batting average over his career. Utley retired from baseball at the end of last season, now taking on a special assistant role with the Dodgers. The six-time All-Star sat down to talk with Daily Bruin Sports about his memories of Westwood, this year’s top-ranked team and the lifelong relationships he forged in college.
Daily Bruin: How did you choose UCLA over other schools when you were getting recruited out of high school, and how did you eventually choose the Bruins over the Dodgers when you were drafted?
Chase Utley: There were a number of different reasons. I guess one of them, obviously would be the UCLA athletic program is one of the best in the country. You know, I grew up in Long Beach, so it was close enough to home but just far enough away that you really get that true college experience. I heard great things about the baseball program, Gary Adams, the head coach. The year prior, they went to the World Series; they were going to have me play shortstop. All of those factors played into my decision. And obviously choosing UCLA instead of going to play for the Dodgers was more, it wasn’t anything against the Dodgers, it was more that I wanted to go to college. I wanted to do my education and try to develop into a better baseball player. I felt like if baseball was meant to be for me, then I was going to have an opportunity after college.
DB: Did you live on the Hill when you first got here?
CU: Yeah we, I lived in, was it Sunset (Canyon)? I lived in the dorms at Sunset (Canyon), they were fairly new at the time. There were a handful of us baseball guys that were staying up in that area.
DB: Any fond memories there, or did you prefer apartment living?
CU: Well for my freshman year, I was in the dorms, then I was in the apartments the next two years. I thought it was (an experience), staying in the dorms, meeting other students, other athletes, you know, in that area. In the dorms … you have the ability to meet new people, whereas if you’re off campus, you wouldn’t necessarily have that same experience.
DB: What was your schedule like on a day-to-day basis when you were here, and did you ever have trouble balancing baseball and class?
CU: Yeah, it took a little time to figure out how to juggle everything. Obviously, school was extremely important, but so was getting my work in at the stadium, so it took a little time to kind of balance out what worked for me. I think that’s probably fairly common for any freshman going into a four-year university. You’re living now on your own and you just, it’s a learning experience that I feel like I benefited from a lot.
DB: Guys like Josh Rosen, Troy Aikman and Earl Watson have come back to get their degrees this year – is that something you’ve looked into too now that you’re retired?
CU: It’s in the back of my mind. I still probably have a little bit over a year left. While I was playing, I felt like it was a little bit too much on my plate. Now that I’m not, it’s in the back of my mind, I haven’t really made a decision on what I want to do. I know I want to spend more time with my kids, and I have been, but it’s something I’m thinking about.
DB: Do you have any favorite classes – major-related or general education – that you remember taking?
CU: I was a history major with a couple other baseball guys. There were a few history classes that I really enjoyed. Nothing in particular though.
DB: Can you tell me about your relationship with coach Adams, both when you were here and since you guys have both moved on past UCLA?
CU: Yeah, Skip and I, I thought, had a very good relationship during the time when I was there. He was an instrumental part in my development. He pushed us, worked us extremely hard. I just think he did a really great job of developing his players for professional baseball. Extremely positive, but at the same time, would whip us into shape. And I still keep in contact with him, I see him. He would come out to see Dodgers games, Phillies games here. And he’s just a great man, which I imagine a lot of his former players would say.
DB: You helped take UCLA to the Super Regionals in 2000, and it looks like this year’s team is on track to make it there too. Do you have any advice to help them succeed in the postseason? What do you think their title chances are?
CU: I’ve been keeping track of them – they’re playing great baseball. They’re pitching really well and they’re swinging the bats with the best of them. So, I mean, at this point, I really like their chances. (As for) advice, really just keep doing what they’ve done, continuing to work and try to improve, and trust that the process they’re going through is the right one.
DB: And your UCLA teammates, how many have you kept in touch with over the past 20 years?
CU: Early on it was pretty easy when none of us had families. We all kind of hung out in the LA area. Now that we’re all either married, have kids, moved away, it’s been a little bit more difficult to stay in touch. But there’s still a handful of guys that I talk to once a month or so and check in and see how they’re doing. It’s always nice to keep track of them now that we’re parents and we’re all going through similar things.
DB: Who have you stayed the closest with?
CU: Early on it was Garrett Atkins. He went on to play for the (Colorado) Rockies and we worked out a lot together in the offseason. Bill Scott was my roommate for a couple years in college and we kept in contact. Bobby Roe, Jon Brandt, those guys come to mind first off.
DB: And Dave Roberts, you two didn’t overlap in Westwood, but did that UCLA connection come up at all when he was your manager with the Dodgers?
CU: Of course it did, it came up on a daily basis. We were proud to be Bruins, we were proud to play for Gary Adams. Yeah, we had that definite bond right away, even though we didn’t play with each other.
DB: Can you tell me about your current role with the Dodgers, how you’re shaping it and what your plans are with the organization in the future?
CU: You know, I really enjoyed my time as a player here. Now that I’ve retired, I’m currently in a special assistant role, trying to help them in any way possible. So I’ve been spending some time with them when the team’s at home. The main thing is, I’ve been playing so long that we’ve done so much traveling. Now that I have a family with two young boys, I want to be around them a lot more, so one thing I didn’t want to do is travel a lot. The Dodgers have been great, they’re allowing me to come and go as I please, troubleshoot stuff when needed, and so far it’s going well.
DB: You have another UCLA Night at Dodgers Stadium coming up Friday. Obviously you’ve been through a few of them before, but how do you expect this one to be different for you now that you aren’t on the field anymore?
CU: This year is a definite transition for me, not being on the field. I’m enjoying my time so far, enjoying my time with my family. I’m enjoying just a little downtime, if you will. I’m not quite sure how it will be different other than just not playing that night.
Dodgers Stadium is hosting its annual UCLA Night on Friday at 7:10 p.m. in the series opener versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. Student ticket packages are available online and include a free lightweight hoodie and a postgame fireworks show.