The New York Yankees are headed back to the Bronx with a 3-2 lead in the 2009 World Series.
Utley and the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies are still alive after the four-time all-star clubbed two more homers in an 8-6 win Monday night to stave off elimination for at least another two days.
Philadelphia has two wins so far in the series and Utley has played a big part in both. He hit two home runs in the series opener off Yankees ace CC Sabathia as the Phillies took game one, 6-1 at Yankee Stadium.
For the series, the 30-year old Utley is hitting .333 with six hits — all for extra-bases — and scored six runs.
His fifth homer tied Reggie Jackson’s epic 1977 World Series performance that helped earn him his “Mr. October” moniker for delivering clutch hits in the postseason.
It is this kind of historic performance that could catapult Utley into rare air — where the Most Valuable Player of a championship series comes from the losing team.
How rare is it? It’s happened once since baseball began handing out the World Series MVP in 1955.
Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson took home the 1960 World Series MVP despite a Game 7 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off home run.
In the NBA and NFL, it has happened exactly one time too. Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers took home 1969 NBA Finals MVP honors despite a 4-3 series loss to the Boston Celtics. It was the first year the award was handed out.
Dallas Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley was the 1971 Super Bowl MVP even though the Baltimore Colts won the game, 16-13, on a last second field goal.
Since 1965, the NHL has seen five Conn Smythe (MVP) winners come from players on the team that was defeated. Four were goaltenders and the most recent came in 2003 when the then Mighty Ducks of Anaheim goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere won it.
The difference between this trophy and the others from the major American sports is that it is based on the playoffs as a whole and that’s why there are more recipients from the runner-ups.
It even means that two of the winners’ teams were swept in the Finals. Forward Reggie Leach’s Philadelphia Flyers were swept by the Montreal Canadiens in 1976, but Leach tallied 19 goals and 24 points in 16 playoff games. Hall of fame goalie Glenn Hall’s St. Louis Blues were swept by Montreal in 1968 but Hall’s 8-10 playoff record was somehow enough to garner the award.
The last two winners — Giguere and Ron Hextall in 1987 — came from teams that lost in the seventh and final game, which brings us back to Utley.
For Utley to win, a number of things still need to happen. First, the Phillies could win the next two games and then his only competition would be his teammate Cliff Lee. If the Yankees go on to win, he will need some help.
The series almost has to go seven games. If the Phillies lose in six, it will be nearly impossible to quantify how valuable a player is whose team came up two games short.
He also needs a variety of Yankees to produce and not one guy to have a huge game or two. With a win Wednesday night, New York starter Andy Pettitte could get his second win of the series. A game seven win for Sabathia could give him two wins as well although he took the loss in game one.
A couple more clutch hits from Johnny Damon or Alex Rodriguez could also put Utley’s candidacy in serious doubt.
Regardless of what happens, Utley has had a magical Fall Classic. The Phillies are two wins away from defending their title but just one loss from coming up short.
With a little more pop, Utley could slug his team into a champagne celebration, but if the Phillies fail to topple the Yankees, his heroics to this point could still land him in the history books as a remarkable, once-in-a-generation type footnote.