NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
Playing second base, hitting left, throwing right – that’s just what people named Chase Utley do.
It is not uncommon for parents to name their children or pets after an athlete, but it is extremely rare to have the exact same first and last name as a professional athlete.
Chase Utley was born in Alabama 10 months after Philadelphia Phillies legend Chase Utley helped lead the team to a World Series title in 2008.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
Chase Utley, left, poses for a photo on a baseball field in Mobile, Alabama, February 2026, and Chase Utley, right, of the Philadelphia Phillies on August 15, 2015. (Courtesy of the Utley family; John Konstantaras/Getty Images)
The elder Chase Utley played 16 seasons in the big leagues batting left, throwing right-handed and playing second base, and was just named to the Phillies Wall of Fame. Junior Chase Utley hopes his baseball career ends with similar recognition.
The younger Chase Utley’s parents, Brian and Amanda, came to name their son Chase in different ways.
For Brian, he is a huge baseball fan and knew who Chase Utley was before he named his son Chase.
“I grew up a huge baseball fan. Followed the game very closely and of course I knew who Chase Utley was and I’ve followed his career,” Brian told Pakinomist Digital in a recent interview. “To date, our Chase was born in August 2009, so that would have been (during) the second World Series run for the Phillies, so that was pretty much it. The name just kind of rolls off the tongue when your name is already Utley. It was something I wanted. I definitely had to be sensitive to my wife’s wishes.”
Amanda Utley thought of the name Chase independently of the Phillies great. When she suggested the name to her husband, she was informed of the coincidence and was turned off by the name.
“I didn’t know there was a Chase Utley, and I just thought of the name Chase and thought it sounded good. I’ve always liked that name. And then when I suggested it, (Brian) said, ‘Well, actually,’ and he tells me all about Chase Utley. And then, I was like, ‘Oh, never mind.’ You know, it’s weird. I don’t think we’re going to name him after anybody,” Amanda told Pakinomist Digital in a recent interview.
DODGERS PITCHER’S WIFE SURVIVES ‘BITTER SWEET’ OPENING DAY MONTHS AFTER INFANT DAUGHTER’S DEATH
Chase and Brian Utley pose for a photo at a baseball field in Mobile, Alabama, February 2026. (Courtesy of the Utley family)
But as she went through the whole pregnancy, she probed Brian about the person Chase Utley is.
“The more we went through the pregnancy, I couldn’t find another name that I liked better. And then I was kind of like, ‘Well, is Chase Utley a good guy? Is he a good leader? Is he a jerk in the locker room?’ You know, all the things. He said: ‘No, he’s a great guy and he would, he’s a great role model. He’ll probably be in the Hall of Fame one year.’ I said, ‘Well, are we going to be laughed at if we do this?’ And he said, ‘No, I don’t think so.’ So that’s where it came from for me. I just really liked the name,” Amanda said.
So the couple settled on Chase.
Senior Chase Utley said he has met a handful of kids named after him, but never one with the exact same name.
“But honestly, at least the last name, I’ve never met another person named the last name Utley besides my family members. So putting them both together is extremely unique. And the fact that a young baseball player plays the same position that we mentioned, I think it’s very cool and very unique,” the elder Chase Utley told Pakinomist Digital in a recent interview.
The elder Chase Utley is no stranger to people naming their children after him. He has been told that families have named their pets after him.
“I actually met several kids or parents who mentioned that they named their son or their dog or their cats or their bird. There is, I think there was a fish that was named after me,” Utley said.
GUARDIAN’S ROOKIE HAS HISTORIC TWO-HOMER STRIKE IN REGULAR-SEASON DEBUT: ‘HE’S NOT FROM THIS PLANET’
Former Phillies second baseman Chase Utley during a pregame ceremony against the Chicago White Sox at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on August 4, 2019. (Eric Hartline/USA Today Sports)
Junior Chase Utley thinks it’s “super cool” to be named after the World Series champion.
“Well, obviously I was born a little bit at the peak of his career. I was born in 2009 when they were, they went on that two World Series run. So it took me a minute to understand that,” the younger Chase Utley told Pakinomist Digital.
“But when I kind of realized it and I really got to know and learn about the player that he is and the great leader and great competitor that he was, I think it’s super cool to be named after a player like that, especially a player that’s fun to look up to and model a game after. It’s great to be named after him.”
Junior Chase Utley chose not to bat left-handed, throw right-handed and play second base solely because of his name. He also plays shortstop and is listed as a right-handed pitcher on Perfect Game’s website. Perfect Game is the largest and most comprehensive scouting organization in youth baseball.
The younger Utley said it all fell into place that way and credited his father with shaping him into the player he is.
“Well, from a young age my dad has been my coach and my dad has been a great teacher and coach to me and he kind of shaped me into the player that I am. He kind of kept me on the tee on the left side every time I started hitting and it was obvious that I got a lot of athleticism from him and always worked on being a great young athlete with him,” Chase Utley said.
“It sets me up well to be a good center fielder. So yeah, it all just kind of fell into place, where I was a lefty and a righty, playing both shortstop and second base, and yeah, so yeah, it all kind of fell into place, and it’s amazing to even play the same position that he did.”
ROGER CLEMENS DENYS WHY PRESIDENT BUSH’S ‘PERFECT STRIKE’ AFTER 9/11 MADE HIM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN
Chase Utley in action on a baseball field in Mobile, Alabama, February 2026. (Courtesy of the Utley family)
Perfect Game’s vice president of scouting, Jered Goodwin, told Pakinomist Digital that the younger Utley is on track to become a Division I college baseball player. Goodwin praised his hitting ability and looks forward to his maturing process.
Goodwin said the younger Utley’s athleticism caught his attention.
“One thing that caught my eye, and through the conversations I’ve had and what I got to see last summer, he’s athletic enough to be versatile, go out and have a role at a four-year school, just because he can play multiple spots. He swings from the right side of the plate and he hits,” Goodwin told Pakinomist Digital in a recent interview.
Younger Chase Utley is not only eye-opening with his play at baseball tournaments, but has wreaked havoc at baseball tournaments just for his name alone.
Umpires have approached Brian Utley at baseball tournaments, confusing him for the older Chase Utley.
“There was one instance where I was playing and my dad was coaching and we had two games earlier in the day and then we took a break for lunch. We come back and maybe it was started by an umpire or a parent, but there was a buzz like a rumor around the ballpark that Chase Utley was there and he was coaching his son while his son was playing like me and my dad Chase Utley,” said Chase Utley, my dad.
“And there have been other instances where refs have walked up to my dad thinking he was Chase Utley and he was coaching his son and talking to him about his career and everything.”
The younger Chase Utley said he is often asked throughout the baseball season by opponents if he is named after or related to the older Chase Utley.
Brian Utley said every time his son is announced as hitting, it creates a stir in the crowd.
“We had a game last night and uh, as he comes up to bat, you hear it. Hey, now batting number four, Chase Utley. And I always recognize a little bit of a discussion or I can always see it in the stands every time he comes up for the first time, usually because the name is called,” Brian said.
CUBS WORLD SERIES CHAMPION, BRAVES STAR JASON HEYWARD ANNOUNCES MLB RETIREMENT
Chase Utley in a dig in Mobile, Alabama, February 2026. (Courtesy of the Utley family)
Brian Utley said he is often asked if he intentionally named Chase after the older Chase Utley, which he confirms. Amanda Utley said she had a friend who had known their Chase for years and one day saw a baseball player on TV named Chase Utley and wondered if Brian and Amanda were aware of the other Chase Utley.
“Most of the time when people ask, ‘Do you know that?’ the follow-up is: ‘Did you do it on purpose?’ And that’s kind of the way it is,” Amanda said.
While Brian knew who Chase Utley was, he is not a Phillies fan. He grew up a Kansas City Royals fan in the 1980s, and the family’s favorite team is the Royals.
The family named their dog Slugger after the Royals mascot.
While the Royals are the Utleys’ favorite team, they root for the Phillies. Junior Chase Utley called them his second-favorite team.
Senior Chase Utley said he was at spring training in Clearwater, Fla., when a family came up to him and told him they were naming their son after him.
The Utleys had not reached out to the elder Chase to let him know they were naming their son after him.
“We haven’t had that kind of nerve,” Brian said with a laugh.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pakinomist APP
Chase Utley of the Philadelphia Phillies stands at second base after being called out at second base in a pickoff play by the Brewers at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 15, 2015. (John Konstantaras/Getty Images)
Although they have not yet met, there are plans to meet in the future. Elder Chase Utley said they will meet in person in the next few months, perhaps after a Zoom for their first introduction.
The former ballplayer said he is looking forward to facing the younger Chase Utley.
“I would love to shake his hand and have a good conversation. I, hopefully we can talk a little bit of baseball and second base and hopefully have some good questions that I can, hopefully I can give him some good answers. But yeah, just to meet somebody, with the exact same name, that doesn’t happen very often, at least for me. So it’s going to be a great experience,” senior Chase Utley said.
