So a while ago I was looking into some the former stars that are on the cusp of retiring and analyzing Hall of Fame cases, most recently of one Chase Utley and before anything I was reading his career achievements to see what he won and how that paired with other HOF second basemen, and I noticed he never won a Gold Glove, didn`t think too much of it, I never really heard anything about his defense, so I decided to dig in and see how he faired defensively in his career, and one year caught my attention, 2008.
In 2008 Chase was in the prime of his career, coincidentally or not, the year he won the World Series, in that season he finished with 8.2 WAR, that year the Gold Glove winner in the NL on 2B was Brandon Phillips, now here`s why that`s an utter disgrace and a testament to the stupidity of some people.
By DRS(Defensive Runs Saved), Chase Utley was number 1, not just among 2B, not just among NL players but number 1 in all of baseball with 30 DRS, Phillips had 13.
By UZR(Ultimate Zone Rating), Utley was number 2 in baseball with 18.3 second only to Randy Winn and far superior to Brandon`s 12.2
Just for some perspective, Andrelton Simmons the defensive wizard had 32 DRS and 15.5 UZR.
Obviously, Phillips was a very good defender that year, but do I even need to say it.
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