Mac's Chase Utley Dream In It's Always Sunny Came True In Real Life
"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" isn't really the kind of series known for making dreams come true, but in 2019, series' creator Rob McElhenney got to make his character Mac's dream come true... in the real world! The series has crossed into the real world before when the gang featured in an online video game that they then played in the episode "Charlie Rules the World," but things got taken up a notch when McElhenney was invited to help Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley throw the ceremonial first pitch at Utley's final Phillies game. The two reunited in the season 16 episode "The Gang Gets Cursed," and things didn't go as well for Mac in the "Sunny" universe as they did in the real one.
McElhenney is a pretty big sports fan, co-owning the Wrexham A.F.C. soccer club with Ryan Reynolds and creating several episodes of "It's Always Sunny" that revolve around Philadelphia sports teams. The gang have tried out to join the Philadelphia Eagles, got stuck in a closet during the Phillies playing in the World Series, and even met beloved mascot Gritty in a bathroom, but McElhenney getting to catch a ball thrown by Utley on the grass at Citizen's Bank Park has to take the cake.
The origin story
All the way back in the season 5 episode "The World Series Defense," Mac revealed that he wants to have a catch with Chase Utley more than just about anything. Mac has a horrible relationship with his father and views Utley as a surrogate father (despite Utley being younger than Mac). Dee (Kaitlin Olson) makes fun of Mac's letter and it goes without saying that Mac doesn't get that game of catch in the episode, but he never forgot about it.
Utley got in on the silliness pretty soon after, with the Philadelphia Phillies posting a "mail bag" segment on YouTube where he read Mac's letter and responded to it as if Mac were a real person and not just an insane character on an FX comedy series. He even tells Mac to be nicer to his dad, which is pretty terrifying if you know anything about Mac's murderous, drug-dealing dad. Then again, I doubt Utley's dad ever tried to get him to sneak heroin into jail in his rectum, so how could he possibly be expected to understand? Thankfully, Utley and McElhenney got on a lot better in real life.
Two Philly legends collide
In 2019, Utley played his final game with the Philadelphia Phillies after 12 years as second baseman before moving to play with the Los Angeles Dodgers. At the beginning of the game, Utley threw the ceremonial first pitch and McElhenney was there to catch it, "in character" as Mac. It was a beautiful moment that united two Philly legends, captured by TV cameras and fans at the game alike for posterity. But did the moment enter into the "It's Always Sunny" canon? Sadly (and hilariously), no.
McElhenney is a huge Philly sports fan who got an amazing, unforgettable opportunity, but in the series, Mac was still trying desperately to get that game of catch in season 16. He even pretended to have a sick, dying son who wanted the game of catch in order to lure Utley in. In the end, Utley stole Mac's magical monkey's paw and ran off, reminding fans that the world of "Always Sunny" is somehow even crueler than our own.