Chase Utley will retire from baseball at the end of this 2018 season, after a 16-year-long career that included winning a World Series championship with the Philadelphia Phillies. Utley, who currently plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers, said he plans to spend more time with his wife and his two children.

Utley admitted it was a difficult decision but that it’s one he is comfortable with and that he can “go into the last chapter of my baseball career with enthusiasm, excitement, but most of all a clear mind.”

The baseball star and his wife Jen are both devoted animal activists who started The Etana Fund to Stop Cruelty Against Animals, which raises funds in order to help Humane Law Officers crack down on cases where animals are being mistreated. In 2011, SJ Magazine sat down with the 39-year-old player and his wife to talk about the work he does with animals. Read the full interview and see more photos from our cover shoot with the pair.

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