Chase Utley, Ryan Howard thank Phillies fans during Philly Sports HOF induction
Phillies legends Chase Utley and Ryan Howard were back in their old stomping grounds on Thursday night to receive a special honor.
Utley and Howard were inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame during a ceremony at Live! Casino in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex across from Citizens Bank Park. Phillies longtime public address announcer Dan Baker was on hand to introduce Utley and Howard.
Utley and Howard are part of the class of 2024, which also includes Saint Joseph’s University men’s basketball legend Jameer Nelson, Flyers great and current Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour and sports talk radio host Angelo Cataldi.
Utley, who is familiar with Cataldi’s antics, cracked a joke at his expense at the beginning of his acceptance speech.
“I would like to thank the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame for including me in this amazing group of athletes, difference makers — and obviously Angelo,” Utley said.
The former Phillies second baseman thanked the man who drafted him, former Phillies GM Ed Wade, as well as his first big league manager Larry Bowa and current Phillies managing partner John Middleton, who was a minority owner in the club during Utley’s time as a player.
Utley concluded his short speech with a message to the Philadelphia fans.
“Most importantly, I’m thankful to the city of Philadelphia for bringing me in as part of your family, asking the most out of us and pushing us to strive to be our best,” Utley said.
Howard, who spoke later in the night, thanked former Phillies scouting director Mike Arbuckle and his signing scout Jerry Lafferty among others.
“Jerry used to say all of the time, ‘Well Ryan, it was great visiting with you man, but I gotta get back on the road and find your replacement,’” Howard said. “And I said, ‘Jerry, when you find him, you bring him and we’ll see who is still left standing over here.’”
Howard, who endured his share of praise and criticism in his 13-year tenure with the club, reflected on the impact playing in Philadelphia has had on his life.
“I had two kids born here in Philadelphia,” Howard said. “My wife is from Philadelphia. We’re kind of tied together, Philadelphia.”
Howard summed up the Philadelphia experience perfectly.
“Philly is known as what? The city of brotherly love,” Howard said. “You fight with your brother. You hate your brother. You yell at your brother, but at the end of the day, you love your brother.”
Utley and Howard played together on the Phillies for 10 seasons from 2005 to 2015. Howard, one of the best power hitters in the game during the mid to late 2000s, won the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 2005 and MVP in 2006. Utley, who was second only to Albert Pujols in FanGraphs WAR from 2005 to 2014, is entering his second year of Baseball Hall of Fame eligibility in 2025 and has a legitimate chance of earning election within the next few years.
Utley and Howard join other Phillies greats such as Bowa, Charlie Manuel, Mike Schmidt and teammate Jimmy Rollins in the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. Both Utley and Howard, along with their double-play partner Rollins, are locks to one day be inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame. If Middleton decides to one day loosen the club’s informal policy of only retiring numbers of former players who have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, Utley, Rollins and Howard should eventually have their numbers retired.
Phillies Nation’s Ty Daubert contributed to this story.
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