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Playing second base, hitting left-handed, throwing right-handed — that’s exactly 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 for them 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.
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Chase Utley, left, poses for a photo on a baseball field in Mobile, Alabama, February 2026, and, right, Chase Utley of the Philadelphia Phillies on August 15, 2015. (Courtesy of the Utley family; John Konstantaras/Getty Images)
Senior Chase Utley played 16 seasons in the Major Leagues, batting left-handed, throwing right-handed and playing second base, and was just inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame. Young Chase Utley hopes his baseball career ends with similar recognition.
Young Chase Utley’s parents, Brian and Amanda, decided to name their son Chase different things.
Brian is a huge baseball fan and knew who Chase Utley was before naming his son Chase.
“I grew up a huge baseball fan. I followed the game very closely and I absolutely knew who Chase Utley was, of course, and I’ve been following his career,” Brian told Pak Gazette Digital in a recent interview. “To date, our Chase was born in August 2009, so it would have been (during) the second World Series run for the Phillies, so it was a big deal. The name just rolls off the tongue when your name is already Utley. It was something I wanted. I had to be sensitive to my wife’s wishes for sure.”
Amanda Utley thought of the name Chase independently of the Phillies’ big name. When she suggested the name to her husband, she was informed of the coincidence and was put off by the name.
“I didn’t know Chase Utley existed, and I just thought of the name Chase and thought it sounded cool. 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 then.’ You know, that’s weird. I don’t think we want to name it after someone,” Amanda told Pak Gazette Digital in a recent interview.
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Chase and Brian Utley pose for a photo on a baseball field in Mobile, Alabama, February 2026. (Courtesy of the Utley family)
However, as the pregnancy progressed, she probed Brian about the person Chase Utley is.
“The further we went through the pregnancy, I couldn’t find another name that I liked more. And then I thought, ‘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 an amazing guy and would be a great role model.’ “He’ll probably be in the Hall of Fame some year.” I said, ‘Well, then, will they make fun of us if we do this?’ And he said, ‘No, I don’t think so.’ So, that’s where that came from for me. “I really liked the name,” Amanda said.
So, the couple decided on Chase.
Senior Chase Utley said he knew a handful of kids who bore his name, but never anyone with his exact same name.
“But honestly, at least the last name, I’ve never met anyone else named the last name Utley other than members of my family. 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 is cool and unique,” senior Chase Utley told Pak Gazette 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.
“In fact, I met several kids or parents who mentioned that they named their child, their dog, their cats or their bird. I think there was a fish named after me,” Utley said.
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Former Phillies second baseman Chase Utley during a ceremony before the game against the Chicago White Sox at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on August 4, 2019. (Eric Hartline/USA Today Sports)
Young Chase Utley thinks it’s “cool” to be named after the World Series champion.
“Well, obviously I was born at the peak of their career. I was born in 2009, when they were in those two World Series. So it took me a minute to understand that,” junior Chase Utley told Pak Gazette Digital.
“But when I realized and really got to know and learned about the player that he is and the great leader and great competitor that he was, I mean, 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, model my game after. It’s awesome to be named after him.”
Young Chase Utley didn’t choose 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 the Perfect Game site. Perfect Game is youth baseball’s largest and most comprehensive scouting organization.
The younger Utley said everything fell into place that way and credited his father for molding him into the player he is.
“Well, from a very young age, my dad has been my coach and my dad has been a great teacher and coach to me and he kind of molded me into the player that I am. He put me on the left side tee every time I started hitting and obviously I got a lot of athleticism from him and I’ve always worked to be a great athlete with him,” junior Chase Utley said.
“That sets me up to be a good middle infielder. So yeah, everything fell into place when I was a left-handed hitter and a right-handed pitcher playing both shortstop and second base and yeah, so yeah, everything fell into place and it’s cool to even play the same position as him.”
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Chase Utley in action on a baseball field in Mobile, Alabama, February 2026. (Courtesy of the Utley family)
Perfect Game vice president of scouting Jered Goodwin told Pak Gazette Digital that the younger Utley is on the trajectory of becoming a Division I college baseball player. Goodwin praised his hitting ability and is looking forward to his maturation process.
Goodwin said the younger Utley’s athleticism caught his attention.
“One thing that stood out to me and through the conversations I had and what I saw last summer, he’s athletic enough to be versatile and go out and have a role at a four-year school simply because he can play multiple positions. He swings from the right side of the plate and he does hit,” Goodwin told Pak Gazette Digital in a recent interview.
Young Chase Utley is not only opening eyes with his play in baseball tournaments, but he has also caused chaos in baseball tournaments just because of his name.
Umpires have approached Brian Utley at baseball tournaments, mistaking 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 went on a lunch break. We came back, and it could have been started by a referee or a parent, but there was a buzz like a rumor going around the stadium that Chase Utley was there and he was coaching his son while his son was playing like me and my dad is Chase Utley,” junior Chase Utley said.
“And there have been other cases where referees came up to my dad thinking he was Chase Utley and he was coaching his son and talking to him about his career and all that.”
Junior Chase Utley said he is often asked by opponents during baseball season if he is named after or related to the elder Chase Utley.
Brian Utley said every time it is announced that his son is going to bat, it causes a stir in the crowd.
“We had a game last night and when he comes up to bat, you hear him. Hey, now the number four hitter, Chase Utley. And I always recognize a little bit of discussion or I can always see him in the stands whenever he first shows up, usually because the name is said,” Brian said.
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Chase Utley at a shelter in Mobile, Alabama, February 2026. (Courtesy of the Utley family)
Brian Utley said he is frequently asked if he intentionally named Chase after Maj. Chase Utley, which he claims. Amanda Utley said she had a friend who had known Chase for years, and one day she saw a baseball player named Chase Utley on television, and she wondered if Brian and Amanda knew the other Chase Utley.
“Most of the time, when people ask, ‘Do you know?’ the follow-up is: ‘Did you do that on purpose?’ And that’s pretty much it,” 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 Royal pet.
While the Royals are the Utleys’ favorite team, they do support the Phillies. Junior Chase Utley called them his second favorite team.
Senior Chase Utley said he was at spring training in Clearwater, Florida, when a family approached him and told him they had named their son after him.
The Utley family had not contacted the elder Chase to let him know that they had named their son after him.
“We haven’t had that kind of courage,” Brian said with a laugh.
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Chase Utley of the Philadelphia Phillies stands at second base after being called out at second base on a Brewers pickoff play at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on August 15, 2015. (John Konstantaras/Getty Images)
Although they have not met yet, there are plans to do so in the future. The elder Chase Utley said they will meet in person over the next few months, perhaps after a Zoom for their initial presentation.
The former player said he hopes to meet young Chase Utley.
“I’d love to shake his hand and have a good conversation. I hope we can talk a little bit about baseball and second base, and I hope I have some interesting questions that I can, I hope I can give him some good answers. But yeah, meeting someone, with your exact same name, that doesn’t happen very often, at least for me. So it’s going to be a great experience,” said senior Chase Utley.
