The eye test, taken by so many of us over the past 16 years, says Chase Utley belongs in the Hall of Fame.
But it isn’t that cut and dried.
Utley’s announcement Friday that he intends to retire at season’s end has prompted the usual conversation whenever a veteran all-star decides to call it quits. It’s premature, of course. Not only does Utley have a few more months with the Los Angeles Dodgers to further enhance his legacy, but his name won’t even appear on a Hall of Fame ballot until 2023. By then, new writers will have joined the voting body, others will be subtracted.