John Kruk almost convinced Chase Utley his first MLB home run didn’t count

"I should have known better. There’s no way they would put Kruk in charge or in any responsible job whatsoever," Utley said on a podcast with Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins.

From left: Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard in 2007.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer / Staff file photo

by Gabriela Carroll

Published Aug. 8, 2024, 3:51 p.m. ET

You might’ve already seen the video of John Kruk’s famous prank on Chase Utley.

After Utley’s first career home run, Kruk, pretending to be a member of the MLB Rules Committee, sat him down and told Utley he was ineligible.

The rookie prank is a staple of the major league experience. Nowadays, rookies are going to Starbucks in full uniform at Wrigley, or wearing costumes on the plane. But Kruk went a different route, and for Utley, the prank was just nerve-racking, he shared on the 6-1-1 Podcast with Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins.

He’d just hit a grand slam the day before, and Kruk was asking him about whether he’d flown or driven to Philadelphia and in Scranton (where the Phillies’ triple-A affiliate was located at the time) and telling him he was ineligible.

“Think about that. I’m 24 years old. I get to the big leagues. I hit a grand slam and I’m so excited,” Utley said. “I get calls from everyone and then the next day, they tell me that my home run didn’t count, the Phillies get fined, forfeit the games. Like, what is going on? But looking back on it, I should have known better. There’s no way they would put Kruk in charge or in any responsible job whatsoever.”

Kruk agreed.

“You know what the biggest problem is with this whole thing?” Kruk asked Utley near the end of the prank. “Do you honestly think that Major League Baseball would make me a member of the Rules Committee?”

But despite the minor trauma, Utley said the prank was an important part of his welcome to the team and to the major leagues.

“It definitely made me feel more a part of the team,” Utley said. “We were all pretty lucky to be in the Phillies organization, the front office, the coaching staff. They were real baseball players, but at the same time good humans. I think poking fun at people and making jokes in life is important, especially over the course of a 162-game season.