If you do a YouTube search today using the name “Chase Utley,” you get to see a short clip from last night’s Home Run Derby competition, showing Philadelphia Phillies’ second baseman (and top All-Star Game vote-getter) being introduced to that delightful, always warm and friendly New York crowd. Utley jogs out to his spot near home plate, turns, and says to the player next to him (he was wirelessly connected last night), “Boo? F@#k you.” It was meant to be said under his breath, but those new-fangled microphones are pretty powerful little buggers…
Now, if you live here in the Delaware Valley, you’d think that this morning, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have come to an end, that the mortgage crisis was over, that gas was back at , say, $3.00 a gallon. In other words, this obscenity is getting huge play. I don’t make a habit of watching ESPN’s SportsCenter, but I’m sure it’s all over that, too. And the local sports talk radio station. And the sports blogs (and others!).
And, at the risk of sounding too partisan, my response is, who cares?
So, he screwed up. So, he should have been paying a bit more attention to what came out of his mouth, given there was a microphone stuck to him somewhere and that a network TV camera was right under his chin. He’s a pro athlete, he’s a young guy, and he’s a baseball player.
Guess what? As a former (no-hit, good glove, but happy) baseball player, I have a news flash for America.
You ready?
Baseball players curse!
Yes, it’s true. In fact, some of them have some very bad habits. They curse, they spit, they use various smokeless tobacco products, and they scratch themselves on-camera. In fact, having also spent some time around football players, hockey players, lacrosse players, and lots of soccer players, I can tell you from first-hand experience and reams of anecdotal evidence that baseball players are the very best cursers in sports. And I can accept Utley’s explanation that he didn’t intend his remark for the general audience. S#@& happens.
So I think the people who will no doubt be blasting Chase Utley today for his tiny moment of indiscretion need to lighten up and get over their own perfect selves. That goes double for all those lovely New York “fans” who will no doubt cause a seismic event tonight when Utley comes to the plate or takes the field for the first time, as they rock Yankee Stadium with their (sure-to-be G-rated) verbal abuse.
Because we all know how into good manners and polite language they all are up there.
Chase Utley is the best second baseman in baseball. He is a dirty uniform-type guy that other teams would give anything to have, because he plays hard all the time and because he’s just that good. He’s going to the Hall of Fame someday, barring injury. He’s a class act and he does lots of good work in the community around this area. He’s nice to people and he’s humble. Other than this teeny, tiny screw-up, you never hear anything negative about him in the media or from those who have a chance to interact with him personally.
He’s a good guy who talks like a ball player. Get over it.
Filed under: Baseball, Bootlicking Corporate Media, General outrage, Heroes & role models, News & commentary, Philadelphia, Sports & stuff, Summertime and the living is easy
Another wonderful case of the media trying to divert us from what’s important with a handy case of manufactured “moral” outrage.
I agree. Get over it.
Dan Uggla > Chase Utley
Hey, I’d take Uggla, too.
But he’d have to ride the pine…