Chase Utley was the No. 2 trending MLB player in 2015
Chase Utley had the worst statistical season of his 13-year career in 2015, but controversy made him quite popular on the Internet this year.
As we near the beginning of a new year, Google recently released its lists for the top trending items of the past 12 months, and among all MLB players, Utley ranked second in search volume, falling just behind Chicago Cubs ace and 2015 NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta.
While the veteran infielder was traded to a different team for the first time in his career in 2015, being acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers from the Philadelphia Phillies on a waiver claim, it's no mystery as to what skyrocketed searches for Utley this past season.
Utley's hard takeout slide of Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada in Game 2 of the NLDS stirred plenty of controversy and outrage amongst Mets fans, and will likely spark rule changes protecting middle infielders from vicious slides.
The most popular queries regarding Utley, who turns 37 on Thursday, were "Chase Utley slide," "Utley slide," and "Chase Utley Tejada," with the highest volume of search traffic coming from Pennsylvania, adjacent states New Jersey and New York, the District of Columbia, and California.
The full top 10 trending MLB players in 2015 are as follows:
Utley, who recently re-signed with the Dodgers, can only hope that his name will be trending for different reasons in 2016.
