Chase Utley receives standing ovation for making play on his back

Under no circumstances do we endorse a baseball player laying down on the job.

Well, unless that player is Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley. He’s the exception, because apparently laying flat on his back in no way hinders his ability to play defense.

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If you don’t believe us, then you must watch this play from Friday night.

Utley brought Dodger Stadium to its feet when he sprawled out to glove a Ben Zobrist ground ball in the hole between first and second base. From there, Utley rolled over on his back and from a flat position made a strong enough throw to first base to get Zobrist by a step. Let us also note that Utley was at least eight feet into the outfield grass and he saved a run because Chicago had Kris Bryant on third base with two outs.

As many have noted, it’s not often you see Utley crack a smile on the field. He couldn’t help himself here though, and no one could blame him. That was one of the best efforts and all-around best fielding plays we’ve seen all season.

Unfortunately for the Dodgers, Utley’s effort would be overshadowed in the latter innings by Kris Bryant. Chicago’s MVP candidate hit a solo homer in the eighth and then hit a game-winning two-run blast in the 10th. In fact, it was Utley who then stood at the plate as the tying run, but struck out against Aroldis Chapman to end a Cubs 6-4 win.

It was a disappointing ending, but we won’t soon forget Chase Utley doing this.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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