Chase Utley has been a star with the Philadelphia Phillies since before he was in the regular starting line-up. Called up to the majors for a short while in early 2003, he got his first major league hit in his first major league start. And the hit was a grand slam. Not a bad start.

After a return to the minors, Utley was called up to the majors again in August 2003. He was not a regular for a while, though, because Placido Polanco was the Phillies’ second baseman. Early in the 2005 season, the Phillies traded Polanco to the Detroit Tigers. That opened up the second base slot for Utley. In his first season as a regular in the line-up, he batted .291, with 28 home runs and 105 RBI’s. And he proved he was fast, stealing 16 bases, while being caught stealing three times.

In 2006, Utley continued to excel. He was selected for the All-Star team and won both the Gold Glove Award and the Silver Slugger Award for being the best-hitting second-baseman in the National League with a .309 batting average. He also hit for 35 games, in the second-longest batting streak in Phillies history. The longest batting streak belongs to his team-mate, Jimmy Rollins, who hit for 38 consecutive games over the course of the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

In 2007, Utley helped to lead the Phillies to the National League East Division championship and a role in the play-offs for the first time in 14 years. He finished the season with a .332 batting average, hitting 22 home runs and batting in 103 runs. And he did that despite being out of the line up for some time with a broken bone in his right hand. He was selected for the All-Star team for the second time and won both the Gold Glove and the Silver Slugger Award for the second time each.

And now, in 2008, the hits just keep on coming. Literally and figuratively. Utley batted .292 with 33 home runs and 104 runs batted in for the season. He was selected to the All-Star team for the third consecutive season. His stats helped his team get back to the playoffs for a second time in two years. And this time, they won the National League pennant and continued on to the World Series.

Does it surprise you that the guy who hit a grand slam for his first MLB hit also hit a two-run homer in his first World Series at-bat?

The Series continues.

Utley was born on December 17, 1978 in Pasadena, California. He grew up in nearby Long Beach, California.

Utley bats left and throws right. He wears Phillies jersey number 26. His career batting average is .298 and he has hit 130, driven in 492 runs and stolen 60 bases.