perhaps Tom McCarthy was reminiscing about when the Philadelphia Phillies ran the National League East. Perhaps it was because the Phillies were playing in Los Angeles (Anaheim), where Chase Utley was born and raised and finished his major league career with the Dodgers.
Whatever it was, the Phillies’ play-by-play voice had an all-time slip of the tongue Wednesday, as he referred to Philadelphia’s second baseman Bryson Stott as “Utley.” If Stott can have a career half as good as Utley in the City of Brotherly Love, he’ll be a folk hero for years to come. But there’s no comparison there. It was merely just a slip.
McCarthy, who’s in his 17th season in his second tour of duty with the Phillies, covered Utley from the get-go. But Stott has immersed himself as one of the better second basemen in the NL, and last season accounted for the best bWAR season (4.3) by a Phillies’ second baseman since Utley in 2010.
For some reason, when Stott “gobbled” up a grounder off the bat of Angels outfielder Mickey Moniak — a former Phillies himself — McCarthy thought (not on purpose) to call him Utley. With a little laugh, McCarthy immediately acknowledged his mistake as he reminded himself that it was Stott and not the six-time All-Star who had last played for Philadelphia in 2015.
And John Kruk, the NBC Sports Philadelphia analyst who’s the perfect complement to McCarthy in the booth, made sure to have fun with it, joking that Utley (Stott) threw it over to Ryan Howard at first base.
“Chase is somewhere. I don’t know where he is,” said McCarthy, fighting back a couple of laughs. “He’s not in Anaheim. Although, maybe he is—Silver Fox.”
