Philadelphia Phillies fans are notoriously tough on opponents, but they made some exceptions on Monday.
The fans in attendance at Citizens Bank Park in Philly gave ovations to Manny Machado and Chase Utley before Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The ovation for Utley was so prolonged that he had to emerge from the dugout to acknowledge the fans:
And here’s the intro for Chase Utley. @Phillies fans on their feet. Even Larry Andersen had to cheer pic.twitter.com/K2FCXYGsBU
— Cindy Webster (@CindyWeb94) July 23, 2018
Machado didn’t get anywhere near the length of applause, but he did receive a nice ovation.
So why the applause for Machado? He will be a free agent after the season, and the fans were making their recruiting pitch. The team is said to have heavy interest in him.
As for Utley, the reasons are much more straightforward. He played for the Phillies from 2003-2015, making six All-Star teams and reaching two World Series, winning one of them. He especially showed up in the playoffs, clubbing seven homers in the two World Series.
Utley said earlier this month that he would be retiring after the season. Utley said part of the reason for his announcement was to let Phillies fans know it would be his last time playing at the park.
