The friendship baseball made

Utley, Atkins now aren't rooting for each other much

Gerry Fraley, Special to the Rocky

Friday, October 5, 2007

PHILADELPHIA - Before the National League Division Series started, Philadelphia's Chase Utley tried to arrange a dinner date with the Rockies' Garrett Atkins. Utley would take Atkins out on his town and introduce him to a favorite restaurant.

"And I'll try to drug him," said Utley, the Phillies' All-Star second baseman.

Utley was kidding.

We think.

The playoff series between the Rockies and Philadelphia offers an interesting subplot. Two thick-as-thieves friends are trying to keep each other from advancing to the World Series.

Atkins and Utley have been close friends since fall 1997, when UCLA coach Gary Adams had the pair of incoming freshmen infielders room together. In the decade since, as their bond has strengthened, Atkins and Utley have prodded each other to succeed.

"If he can do it, I know I can do it," said Atkins, the Rockies' third baseman. "And it's the same way with him."

Said Utley: "I think we do push each other."

Hitting it off

Adams grew up with a twin brother, Gene. They fought and played and showed a wide competitive streak. Every game on the playground became a contest.

The Adams boys took to baseball, forming a double-play combination that lasted through a career at UCLA.

The Adams boys always competed with each other as much as they did opponents.

Gary Adams remembered when he was recruiting a pair of infielders from Southern California - Atkins out of Irvine, Utley from the high school powerhouse Long Beach Poly.

They were alike: reserved kids who wanted only to be on a baseball field. They were the Adams twins redux.

"I kept thinking of my brother and what we were like together," Adams said.

That gave Adams an idea. Adams would tell each player he was recruiting the other, too. He wanted them to come to UCLA aware of each other and ready to measure themselves against each other.

It worked. The pairing clicked.

"We have similar interests and both love baseball," Atkins said. "And we're both hard to get to know. We hit it off all right after a few months or so."

On the field, they excelled.

Utley hit .342 with 174 RBI in 177 games at UCLA and was an All-American as a junior. Adams said Utley has to rank among the best second basemen in the history of college baseball.

Atkins was UCLA's first three- time All-American and ranks second in school history for career average at .369.

They were inseparable. When it came time to play in a summer league, they signed up with the same team in the Cape Cod League.

Utley always had the higher profile, dating to the Los Angeles Dodgers selecting him out of high school in the second round of the 1997 draft.

The scouts held to that position for the 2000 draft. Philadelphia took Utley in the first round with the 15th pick overall. The Rockies added Atkins in the fifth round with the 137th choice.

Rockies scouting director Bill Schmidt looked at Atkins and saw another UCLA player who went in a fifth round: Eric Karros, who had a long and successful major league career because of his bat. Atkins had similar skills with the bat, but his defense needed work. Adams constantly pushed Atkins to think of his glove, too.

"I'm proud of both of them," Adams said. "I have five daughters, and I'd be proud for any of them to marry either one of those guys."

Bragging rights

This was a landmark season in the Atkins-Utley relationship.

Atkins had 25 homers, three more than Utley. It marked the first time since they met that Atkins had more homers than Utley. There was the small matter of Utley missing one month in the second half because of a broken right hand, but Atkins playfully said that does not matter.

"We don't need to talk about that," Atkins joked.

"I have more home runs than him, and that's all that really matters."

In truth, Atkins has been chasing Utley since they turned pro.

Utley reached the majors first as a full-time player in 2004, one season ahead of Atkins.

Utley already has made two All-Star teams and signed one big contract, while Atkins continues to establish himself.

Utley helps him make that happen. Utley and Atkins go through grueling offseason workouts together.

Knowing Utley will be there every morning helps Atkins keep the commitment.

"We held each other accountable," said Atkins, the best man in Utley's wedding in January. "It helped us work harder, to get that extra push you need."

Utley served as a beacon of hope this season.

Atkins started slowly, hitting .227 with three home runs and 20 RBI in the first two months of the season. It was the most trying stretch of his career.

In the same span, Utley hit .299 with nine home runs and 43 RBI. Atkins used his friend's showing as motivation to find a way out of the hole.

"He was having a big year, and that helped keep me going," Atkins said.

"I told myself that I could do what Chase was doing. That's what we try to: to make each other better."

Now comes the big test. For the first time, each of the friends stands in the other's way.

It is not as if Utley is pitching to Atkins, or vice versa. But each is capable of making a game-changing play. And when this series ends, one friend will be a step closer to the World Series, the other friend will be heading home.

"It's pretty easy to balance it," Utley said. "I want to win, and I imagine he wants the same thing."

Said Atkins: "I hope he doesn't get any hits that mean anything, and I'm sure he feels the same way about me. But if he moves on, I'll be happy for him and rooting for him to go to the World Series. He'll be the same for me."

There will be no hard feelings over trying to beat each other's brains out, they promised. All's fair when best friends compete.

Friendly rivals

The regular-season competition between Rockies third baseman Garrett Atkins and Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley.

Utley Atkins

Average .332 .301

Home runs 22 25

RBI 103 111

On-base pct. .410 .367

Slugging pct. .566 .486

Fielding pct. .985 .963