Baserunning speed is generally not something that is associated with a 36-year-old veteran baseball player and, in fact, is not necessarily one of recently acquired second baseman Chase Utley’s strongest suits. But what Utley lacks in speed he more than makes up for in smarts.

Dodger fans watching Friday night’s exciting 4-1 win over the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium – Utley’s first game at Dodger Stadium since being acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies on August 19 – saw something that they haven’t seen all season – good baserunning; this from the 36-year-old, 13-year MLB veteran.

“Without bad-mouthing anybody else, [Chase Utley] just has an awareness of how to run the bases – an aggressive style but also running with some smarts” said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly after Friday night’s game. “I think it’s one of the areas that we’ve honestly been lackadaisical and hopefully this aggressiveness he kind of brings just kind of helps all of us.”

It goes without saying that baserunning has not been one of the Dodgers’ strengths this season. Could 36-year-old Chase Utley bring about a change in this area of weakness for the team?
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Mattingly recognizes that his team’s baserunning woes to this point haven’t necessarily been speed related but rather the result of poor decisions once his players get on base.

“A lot of it’s not just speed,” Mattingly said. “Like we talk about, some of our mistakes offensively – base[running] wise – it’s been just bad decisions.”

In Friday night’s game, another absolutely brilliant pitching performance by Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, Utley hit what was initially scored as a double but subsequently changed to a triple to the gap in right-center field. Believing that Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler would most likely attempt to throw out Dodgers shortstop Jimmy Rollins at the plate, the veteran second baseman guessed correctly and never broke stride as he aggressively took third base on the throw – hence the official scoring change from a double to a triple.

New Dodgers third base coach Ron Roenicke congratulates new Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley after the 13-year MLB veteran aggressively turned a double into a triple on Friday night.
(Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA – Click on image to view video)

Mattingly wasn’t the only one who had high praise for Utley’s baserunning skills. Winning pitcher and defending 2014 NL MVP and Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw had this to say about his new teammate:

“It was awesome. Baserunning has kind of been a point of weakness for us this year,” Kershaw said. “Just an amazing job by him. He’s a gamer, he’s been doing that his whole career. [He had] some good swings tonight – he lined out, hit a [triple] in the gap – a big run for us right there.”

Whether or not Utley’s baserunning prowess rubs off on the rest of his new teammates remains to be seen, but even if it does not, at least the Dodgers now have one guy with some baserunning “smarts.”

…and not a moment too soon.