All Star second baseman Chase Utley tied the knot with his fiancee on Saturday.

On Sunday, Utley tied a different kind of knot; $85 Million over 7 years making for domestic bliss for the young newly-weds, free of money problems, and a win/win situation for perhaps the top second baseman in baseball and his club, the Phillies, for years to come.

Ken Mandel of MLB.com reports on the contract terms and background;

A seven-year, $85 million contract that will keep him in red pinstripes through 2013. Though specifics weren’t announced, the deal averages $12.14 million per season.

“We view Chase as not only a great second baseman, but also one of the top 10-15 players in the game,” assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said in a statement. “We couldn’t be happier to lock him up for years to come.”

The deal eliminates the sometimes messy process of arbitration, when teams exchange figures and either agree on a number or have the salary determined by an independent arbitrator. Last week, Utley submitted an amount of $6.25 million, while the Phillies offered $4.5 million, the third-largest gap between player and team.

By agreeing to a pact that had been in the works for some time, the Phillies buy out Utley’s three arbitration years and delay his possible free agency for another four years. Without such a deal, Utley could’ve been a free agent after the 2009 season.

Utley sacrifices some earning potential for the security against injuries or a decline in production. Had he maintained his production level over the next three years, he likely would’ve earned more than this deal’s annual value, but it also could have gone the other way. He’ll be 35 at the end of this contract.

In 2006, Utley emerged as Major League Baseball’s premier offensive second baseman, clubbing 32 homers and driving in 102 runs, while scoring 131 times. He also fashioned a 35-game hitting streak, the longest streak of the season and second-longest streak in team history.

“He’s a hard-nosed, full-throttle player who exemplifies the spirit of Philadelphia,” Amaro said. “He is tailor-made for this city.”

Fans had been talking about Utley since he was a first-round draft pick in 2000, and cheering him since he made his Major League debut early in 2003. He foreshadowed his greatness when he hit a grand slam for his first hit on April 24, 2003, and then he went on from there.

“A lot of people consider Chase a leader, and they’re right,” catcher Chris Coste said. “He leads us on the field.”

That’s why you’ll always see Utley sprinting hard down the line on routine grounders, barreling into catchers and diving for any ball within a mile’s reach. He simply thinks he can get it and is going to at least try. The story about a teenage Utley hitting in a batting cage until his hands bled has been told often. All those hours made him a star at Long Beach Polytechnic High and then at UCLA.

Success hasn’t changed Utley. He simply doesn’t know how else to play. While it’s easy to read a game recap and determine that Ryan Howard’s home run won a game, there are times when it only became possible because Utley beat out a potential inning-ending double play or didn’t give up on an infield hit.

“I don’t understand how not to play hard,” Utley said during the 2006 season. “It’s not a concept I get. By hustling, you make a lot of things happen.”

The Phils want that kind of personality leading their charge, and they will pay him accordingly. With Howard, who will go through the same process next winter, Utley is the embodiment of the aggressive, hard-nosed style that was obvious after the All-Star break.

There is precedent for an agreement such as Utley’s. Entering his first year of arbitration eligibility in 2004, the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols inked a seven-year, $100 million extension, also avoiding the arbitration process. That came a year after St. Louis gave the slugging first baseman a $900,000 pact, a then-record one-year deal for a third-year player.

Howard, the National League MVP, will likely read about Utley’s contract with great interest, as he’s begins this process after the 2007 season. If the Phillies don’t signed Howard to a long-term deal this winter, he’ll still likely break Pujols’ $900,000 mark.

Yahoo Sports’ Ticker reports on the milestones of Utley’s 2006 season which will go into the MLB recordbooks;

Aside from his career-best totals, Utley reached several other milestones in 2006. The starting second baseman for Team USA in the inaugural World Baseball Classic last March, Utley reeled off a 35-game hitting streak from June 23-August 3, the 10th-longest hitting streak in major league history.

Utley also became just the 15th player in history to compile a single season with a .300 average, 200 hits, 30 homers, 100 RBI, 40 doubles and 130 runs.

Sports Illustrated reports an additional milestone from Utley’s 2006 season;

Chase Utley’s 35-game hitting streak last season was the longest for a left-handed hitter since Tommy Holmes’ 37-game streak in 1945.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, January 21st, 2007 at 7:36 pm and is filed under All Time Baseball Highlights, Real-Time Baseball News and Commentary, All Time Hitting Highlights, Off-Season Deals, Trades, Free Agency, Draft. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.