He is a six-time All-Star, won a World Series with the Phillies in 2008, and was chosen as the second baseman on the Sports Illustrated All-Decade Team for the 2000s.

[2] Utley was considered by fans to be a team leader of the Phillies, alongside Rollins and Ryan Howard,[3] and he has been noted for his leadership qualities with the Dodgers.

[4][5][6] Utley was known for his quiet understated demeanor, instead setting an example for teammates with his exhaustive preparation in the video room and the batting cage.

[34] Despite out-playing Polanco for much of the season, he remained on the bench despite Phillies fans and media commentators questioning why he was not playing more.

[15] In June 2005, the Phillies traded Polanco to the Detroit Tigers for pitcher Ugueth Urbina and infielder Ramón Martínez.

[15] He was selected by the Philadelphia chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America as the co-recipient of the 2005 Mike Schmidt Most Valuable Player Award.

[39] In November, he traveled to Japan with other major league stars to compete against Japanese All-Stars in an exhibition tournament.

[47] However, on July 26, Utley was hit by a pitch thrown by Washington Nationals pitcher John Lannan; he broke the fourth metacarpal bone in his right hand.

[49] Utley returned to the lineup on August 27, hit a home run and an RBI double, went 3 for 5, and drew a curtain call from the hometown crowd.

[50] Utley finished the season with a .332 batting average, 22 home runs, 103 RBIs and 48 doubles (second in the National League).

[52] He had two hits in 11 at-bats as the Phillies were swept in three games by the Colorado Rockies in the 2007 National League Division Series.

[55][56] Though his bat cooled a bit in May (his monthly average was .259), Utley still hit eight more home runs in the month, breaking the Phillies franchise record for home runs before June – Cy Williams (1923) and Ryan Howard (2006) shared the previous mark of 18[citation needed] – and knocked in 26 RBIs.

[60] Utley hit the first in a set of back-to-back-to-back Philadelphia home runs in a 20–2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on June 13, along with Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell.

[66] On the 25th, Utley broke out of his skid with a 4-for-5 performance – his first four-hit game of the season – in a 4–0 shutout over the Oakland Athletics.

During the seventh inning of Game 5, Utley faked a throw to first, then threw Jason Bartlett out at home for the third out in a play later described as having saved the Series for the Phillies.

The expletive was broadcast live on multiple Philadelphia television stations, which had not placed the celebration on tape delay.

He was voted into the All-Star Game as the starter at second base (for the fifth consecutive year), but was unable to play due to injury.

[83][full citation needed] During spring training, Utley left camp in mid-March to meet with a specialist regarding treatment of conditions in both knees, including cartilage damage.

On August 7, 2013 it was announced that Utley and the Phillies had agreed on a two-year, $27 million contract extension with multiple vesting options.

"[88] Despite a poor spring training, over the first two weeks of the season, he was "the hottest hitter in baseball", and as of April 13, possessed a 1.314 on-base plus slugging (OPS) average.

On July 6, MLB announced that Utley was voted in by the fans to start at second base in All-Star Game, which took place at Target Field in Minneapolis.

[15] On August 19, 2015, Utley was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Darnell Sweeney and John Richy.

[94] MLB subsequently dropped Utley's suspension on March 6, 2016, with Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre stating "There wasn't anything clear-cut to say that play violated a rule.

"[95] Tejada, whose career never fully recovered after that game, said in 2016 that what bothered him most about Utley's hit was that it came from a fellow middle infielder.

A runner will be specifically prohibited from changing his pathway to the base or utilizing a 'roll block' for the purpose of initiating contact with the fielder."

[101] On July 6, during a 14-inning 6-4 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, Utley had a career-high six hits and became the third-oldest player to accomplish such a feat.

[106] In Game 4 of the 2016 NLDS against the Washington Nationals, Utley hit a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 5-5 tie and lead the Dodgers to an eventual 6-5 win.

[116] Utley was left off of the Dodgers’ postseason roster, but continued to travel and practice with the team as they lost the 2018 World Series to the Boston Red Sox four games to one.

[125] Utley appeared on behalf of PETA in their "Adopt Don't Buy" video, encouraging people to find companion animals at shelters.

[128] On team charter flights, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts noted that Utley "has the really pressed white shirts, the European-cut pants, the black shoes and the hair.