Mac Moves on From Chase Utley in New ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ Phillies Sketch

After years of stalking Philadelphia baseball legend Chase Utley, Rob McElhenney has set his sights on a new target for his latest letter-writing campaign. This one is sure to be a real home run.

Among Ronald “Mac” McDonald’s many eccentricities on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, his arguably funniest and certainly most restraining-order-worthy quirk has long been his obsession with a certain former Philadelphia Phillies second baseman. And, to a certain degree, it’s understandable that Mac is so enamored with Utley — or Chase, as Mac feels he can call the Phillies legend. After all, Chase had lovable hair, he runs fast and he helped to deliver Philadelphia its second-ever World Series victory in 2008 in a Game Five win that Mac and his pals missed for reasons that are now a part of the court record.

However, in the 2024 MLB season, Utley is long-retired and the Phillies hold the best record in baseball. So, with brutal Philly fans eyeing another championship, McElhenney has a new fixation in star first baseman and two-time National League MVP Bryce Harper — oh shit, there’s stickers.

Thirteen years after Utley made his first appearance in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia during the Season Six episode “The Gang Gets Stranded in the Woods,” in which Dennis and Charlie got to spend an evening with Utley and his teammate Ryan Howard while Mac, Frank and Dee toiled in the forest, Mac finally got to meet the object of his affections/obsessions in last year’s episode “The Gang Gets Cursed.” In his return to the show, Utley sniffed out Mac’s dark plan to trick the former Phillies star into having that long-awaited catch by convincing Utley that the many creepy letters sent to him were actually written by Mac’s since-deceased son.

Sadly, Mac didn’t get to impress Utley with his speed, and the two grown men never shared that catch that Mac had been conniving to secure since 2008. Maybe, if Utley just tossed the ball around for a couple minutes with his biggest fan, Mac wouldn’t have moved on to harassing Harper with his childish letters, leaving the second baseman feeling spurned.

Still, since Utley is so superstitious, maybe he can admit that it’s a good sign that Mac’s found a new baseball star on whom he can fixate — last time Mac started stalking a Phillies player, it ended in a World Series victory parade through the streets of Philadelphia. Hopefully, Mac doesn’t spend this one trapped in a closet — linen or otherwise.