So, for a non-Phillies fan (and maybe even compared to many Phillies fans, since so many of them seem to prefer Ryan Howard for some unfathomable reason), I'm one of the biggest Chase Utley fans around. He's a great defensive second baseman, he's one of the best hitters in the league, he's one of the best-hitting second basemen we've ever seen, he says "F**k you" on national television...I don't understand what there is not to like about Utley. For several years now, he's been probably the second-best player in the National League after Pujols. I know all these things, or at least really believe them. But here's the thing: I've been underappreciating him.Take a look at his numbers (through Monday) since becoming a full-time player: 

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/22/2009.

For one thing, that's kind of freakish consistency, right? Usually right around 100 runs, 40 doubles, 5 triples, 30 homers, 100 RBI, 15 steals, 60 walks, 100 Ks, a .300 batting average, a .380 OBP, and a .530 SLG. And by "right around," I mean right around, with a few outliers in each case. After the jump (click "Read more"), there's lots more to love about Utley.

Anyway, those are otherworldly numbers for a second baseman. Among all second baseman with 3000+ plate appearances since 1900, Utley's career 130 OPS+ ranks 6th, behind five inner-circle Hall of Famers (Hornsby, Lajoie, Collins, Morgan, Jackie). I know, he hasn't had his decline phase, etc., but he seems poised to have at least a couple more huge seasons, which would raise him even further before that decline phase begins (his OPS+ the last three seasons is 141). And the decline phase for second basemen is usually very short -- more like a freefall than a "phase," actually -- so I'd bet on him ending up higher than 130, not lower.He's also got three of the thirty 30+-homer seasons by second basemen in history; only Hornsby and Alfonso Soriano (who was only technically a second baseman) have managed to hit that mark three times.

For another thing, Utley, while probably not the most valuable defensive player in the league (it's really hard for a second baseman to be more valuable than a good shortstop, because the position is just so much more important), is better at fielding his position than anyone else in baseball is at fielding any other position. Over the past three seasons, by UZR, Utley has saved more runs over the average than any other player, fully nine runs better than all-world 3B Ryan Zimmerman and fifteen better than the next-best second baseman, Brandon Phillips (it should be said that plus-minus really likes Mark Ellis and Aaron Hill, while UZR does not, so Utley still leads all 2Bs under that stat, but it's much closer).

And as if that weren't enough -- 22 steals, 0 CS. If he doesn't attempt another steal, he'll hold a record: most stolen bases in a season without ever being caught (at least since 1951, the year both leagues finally started tracking CS data for good). Kevin McReynolds stole 21 with 0 CS in 1988, and Paul Molitor 20 with 0 CS in 1994; Utley would be the first to steal 22 with 0 CS. He's only got 93 career attempts, but his 88% career success rate would be historic (Beltran is generally recognized as the all-time leader with a reasonable number of attempts, and he's at a little over 88%).

So, I like guys who do it all (isn't everybody supposed to? Seriously, why don't more people like Utley?). He hits for average and power, he can draw a walk, he's a great baserunner (not just basestealer -- his equivalent base running runs are second in the NL, albeit a very distant second to Michael Bourn), and he's the best defender in the majors at an important position. He's not the greatest player playing right now, but he's one of them, and he's having one of the greatest stretches anyone at his position has ever had.

Maybe this year he'll even get more MVP votes than that one good-but-vastly-inferior teammate of his.