Philadelphia--The San Diego Padres were in town this past weekend for a four-game series against the first place Phils. The Fightin's took three of four from the Fathers and extended their lead in the division in the process.
At 14.5 games out of the top spot the Padres are mostly playing the games because they are contractually obligated to do so. Given a choice between subjecting themselves to scorching Midwestern and Northeast record heat wave temperatures during recent road trips or heading for the links of SoCal, most on the club would not hesitate to arrange an early morning tee time.
One Padre, however, was thrilled to be in South Philly, a date he circles on his calender minutes after the upcoming season schedules are released--San Diego third baseman Chase Headley. No, Chase Headley is not a native Delaware Valley resident. No, he wasn't snubbed by the Phillies in a long ago draft. Chase Headley is a big fan of ... Chase Utley.
"I'd be in the minors and look to see that another Chase had made it to the big leagues and this was very inspiring to me," said Headley, a Colorado native and valedictorian of his high school graduating class. "Then, even more inspiring, was that his last name also ended in -ley. I mean, what were the chances. If Chase Utley could do it, well, by God, then Chase Headley could do it."
That's the entire connection, plain and simple. They're not friends or family or have ever met outside of the baseball diamond. Chase admired Chase because they share the same first name and have very similar sounding last names.
After the 2008 season a perfectly healthy Chase Headley had hip surgery simply because an ailing Chase Utley had hip surgery. In early 2010, Headley dropped the f-bomb (like Utley at the World Series victory celebration) at a San Diego charity event raising money for sick children where he was the keynote speaker. He told the young audience that someday soon "the Padres would be world f-ing champs. Count on it f-ers." The parents stared at the stage in disbelief, while the player quietly returned to his table and began to eat the rest of his semi-warm chicken cordon bleu.
At one point, the outfielder-turned-third baseman was adamant that he needed to play second base in order to succeed in the league. Several heated confrontations with coaches and managers were reported by the San Diego media but never confirmed.
Then, Headley soon began to copy Utley in other ways beyond what the Phils' second baseman did with regards to baseball. Family and friends became concerned, when, several years ago, Headley began to strongly encourage his girlfriend to volunteer with local animal shelters.
"Chase came to me out of the blue one day and wanted me to work at a dog shelter in San Diego," said Cheryl Hughs, Headley's wife. "That's great except for two things: I'm alergic to dogs and I don't particularly care for them. It's not that I dislike them."
Jen Utley, Chase's wife, is deeply involved in and passionate about protecting and finding homes for abused dogs in the Philadelphia region.
Headley also went from clubhouse clown to serious, low-key and somewhat reserved. "We didn't know what was going on until he began telling people that he went to UCLA and was from Long Beach, CA," said Headley's father from his home in Colorado. "We sat Chase Headley down and told him that he was not Chase Utley. You need to snap out of this funk, son. I'm not afraid to say that I slapped him with a batting glove."
Utley had this to say about the situation: "I think he's got a real cool first name. I want to see all Chase's do well."
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