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Former Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley has opened up about his infamous 2015 slide that broke the leg of New York Mets’ shortstop Ruben Tejada. While appearing on the Pardon My Take podcast, Utley was asked by a Mets fan about the infamous moment and showed a fair amount of candor and remorse.
As Utley explains it, he had no intention of hurting Tejada as he thought the Mets shortstop was going to jump as he tried to complete a relay to first base. Instead, Utley says, Tejada spun and the pair collided.
In the collision, Tejada fractured his right fibula and Utley was suspended for two games, although he appealed and the suspension was revoked.
“There was zero intention to F anybody up on that play. I’ve always gone in hard, and that was no different. Obviously, the outcome was different than other slides that I’ve had,” Utley explained.
Chase Utley shows remorse over infamous leg-breaking slide on Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada
While Utley has previously admitted to apologizing to Tejada personally, this is the first time the former All-Star has shown this much contrition in a public forum.
“I didn’t anticipate actually hitting him nearly as hard as I did. I was anticipating him jumping up in the air because of the way it unfolded, and as you can imagine, it’s happening pretty quick. As he took the feed, I’m thinking, ‘OK, he’s going to hit the bag, get up off his feet, and try to throw it.’ I’m trying to slide a little bit with my body higher so I can clip a leg and get his throw off. But instead, he spun, which I was definitely not anticipating.”
“And looking back on it, I didn’t feel good about it. I actually felt terrible about it. I had no intention of hurting him whatsoever,” he added. “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.”
One of our resident Mets fans confronted Chase Utley about his infamous slide @PardonMyTake pic.twitter.com/3l27o9Nd9R
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) July 23, 2025
While the Mets would go on to win the series and then advance to the World Series (where they’d lose to the Kansas City Royals), Tejada’s career was never the same, as he was released by the Mets the following spring and bounced around the MLB for the remainder of his big league career, which ended in 2021.