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The 2015 National League Division Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets had a little bit of everything, including one controversial moment that cemented an already fierce rivalry.
Former Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley recently spoke about his slide involving Ruben Tejada on Pardon My Take.
“I've always gone in hard, and that was no different. Obviously, the outcome was different than other slides that I've had,” Utley said.
“I didn't anticipate actually hitting him nearly as hard as I did. I was anticipating him jumping up in the air…it's happening pretty quick. As he took the feed, I'm thinking, ‘okay, he's going to hit the bag, get up off his feet, and try to throw it.’”
Tejada suffered a fractured right fibula as a result. He was ruled out for the remainder of a Postseason run that saw the Mets capture the National League Pennant with the help of All-Stars such as third baseman David Wright .
Utley also noted that he would execute the play differently in retrospect.
“Looking back on it, I didn't feel good about it. I felt terrible about it. I had no intention of hurting him whatsoever,” Utley said.
“I attempted to apologize to him, he wanted no part of it – which I understand.”
“If I could go back in time and knowing the outcome that happened, of course I would've done it differently. I would've realized that he's not going to jump, he's going to spin, and I could've disrupted his throw differently.”
The six-time All-Star was already a longstanding villain in the eyes of many Mets fans. Prior to his time with the Dodgers, Utley spent 13 years with the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East.
Additionally, the Pasadena native seemed to consistently perform well against New York. Across 194 career games against the Mets, Utley mashed 39 home runs, collected 116 RBIs, and posted a .900 OPS.
It’s been almost a decade since Utley’s incident with Tejada, but the scene has not been forgotten.
