Ten years later, Chase Utley is getting candid concerning the play that made him infamous in Flushing.
Utley, the previous Phillies and Dodgers second baseman, joined Barstool Sports’ “Pardon My Take” on Wednesday when he was asked about his 2015 NLDS Game 2 slide that took out Ruben Tejada and fractured his right fibula.
Utley — who was fiddling with Los Angeles in the course of the series — expressed some regrets about how the entire situation played out.
He said on the show that he went in hard at second base in that fateful seventh inning, but he had no intention to harm Tejada, whom Utley expected to leap when he caught the ball on the second base bag off a feed from Daniel Murphy.
As a substitute, Tejada turned and didn’t get high enough, resulting in the violent collision that knocked Tejada out for the remaining of the postseason.
“There was zero intention to F anybody up on that play,” Utley said. “I’ve all the time gone in hard, and that was no different. Obviously, the consequence was different than other slides that I’ve had. I didn’t anticipate actually hitting him nearly as hard as I did. I used to be anticipating him jumping up within the air due to the way in which it unfolded, and as you possibly can imagine, it’s happening pretty quick. As he took the feed, I’m pondering, ‘OK, he’s going to hit the bag, stand up off his feet, and check out to throw it.’ I’m attempting to slide a bit bit with my body higher so I can clip a leg and get his throw off. But as an alternative, he spun, which I used to be definitely not anticipating.”
Utley then said he didn’t feel great about all of it shook out, going as far to say he “felt terrible” concerning the situation.
“And searching back on it, I didn’t be ok with it,” Utley said. “I actually felt terrible about it. I had no intention of wounding him in any respect.”
The six-time All-Star said he attempted to apologize to Tejada, who apparently wanted no part in that, which Utley said made total sense.
Utley was initially suspended two games by MLB, but appealed and was allowed to stay energetic within the series, getting booed mercilessly by the Citi Field crowd in the course of the Game 3 introductions before another at-bat in Game 5.
The league eventually dropped the suspension entirely but modified the foundations to make it clear about how a runner should slide into second base. Not long after in 2016, the Mets’ Noah Syndergaard threw behind Utley when the 2 teams met in Queens the next season, resulting in a viral ejection and argument from then-Latest York skipper Terry Collins.
Utley, at the top of his response, said he’d do things in a different way now knowing the consequence for Tejada, who played just 83 more big league games.
“If I could return in time and knowing the consequence that happened, after all I’d’ve done it in a different way,” Utley said. “I’d’ve realized that he’s not going to leap, he’s going to spin, and I could’ve disrupted his throw in a different way.”
