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Chase Utley has been hiding a deep, dark secret for nearly his entire life, a baseball disability no one could ever know. Chase Utley's secret? He is left-handed.
It’s articles like these that separate bloggers from real journalists. Thing is, I have absolutely no evidence to back up my claim. I searched far and wide and came up blank. In fact, one story shows that Utley would probably be batting right-handed today if it wasn’t for his dad’s laziness.
But hear me out…there is still good reason to believe that Chase Utley is naturally left-handed.
Proof (OK, just guesses) why Chase Utley is a lefty
Just look at the way Utley throws. It’s weird, right? There is no reason why a man with such physical gifts should be such an awkward thrower. I contend that it makes more sense that Utley is so physically gifted, he’s able to look fairly normal throwing with the wrong hand. Try it sometime and you'll know what I mean.
It also takes Utley way too long to release the ball to first on a routine play and he double pumps on nearly every grounder. Chase doesn’t look like the kind of guy who is willing to take any play for granted like that. So why does he do it? Because he needs to send a signal to his brain before he can throw. Throwing should require no conscience thought whatsoever, but Chase needs to remind his brain if he wants his arm to cooperate.
Then the 2009 World Series exposed him for what he really is. Chase hid his illness quite skillfully during his career, but World Series pressure finally exacerbated the issue. In pressure situations, the best therapy is generally to rely on your natural ability and instincts. Unfortunately, Utley’s instincts told him to use the other hand!
The question begs to be asked: why didn’t Chase throw left-handed to begin with? Glad you asked.
Why does Utley throw right-handed?
A hard nosed, intense player like Utley wants to be in the middle of the action as much as possible, meaning he has three choices: catcher, shortstop, or second base. My guess is that his speed eliminated catching, so he was left with shortstop and second. Problem is, lefties can’t play middle infield because they need to pivot in order to throw to first and it takes too long.
So Utley had to fake it.
He obviously tried shortstop, the quarterback of the defense, first. Surprisingly enough, that lasted all the way through high school. But Utley was such a tremendous athlete, he made it work and he’s been fooling people ever since. Well, you don’t fool me, Chase.
I would bet if you followed Chase around you would see him write, draw, paint, and eat with his left hand. He probably even, ehem, wipes with his left hand. He can keep knowledge of that last one to himself. |
