Why Jimmy Rollins Belongs In The Hall Of Fame
One Phillies fan who followed Jimmy Rollins' entire career makes the case for why the shortstop should be enshrined in Cooperstown.
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
. . . In this year’s IBWAA Hall of Fame vote, Jimmy Rollins fell well short of induction and received only 15 percent of the vote. Adrián Beltré and Todd Helton were the only two players this year to receive more than 75 percent of the IBWAA vote. On Ryan Thibodaux’s BBWAA Hall of Fame vote tracker, as of Tuesday evening, Rollins was polling at 13.3 percent of the vote with 43.2 percent of the Hall of Fame ballots revealed.
. . . Rollins’ longtime Phillies teammate, Chase Utley, has received 44.4 percent of the publicly revealed vote in his first year on the Hall of Fame ballot. Over Rollins’ first two years on the ballot, he received 9.4 percent of the vote in year one (2022) and 12.9 percent of the vote in year two (2023).
. . . Rollins is one of five shortstops in MLB history with at least 2,000 hits and 200 home runs. The others are Hall of Famers Cal Ripken Jr., Derek Jeter and Robin Yount, as well as Miguel Tejada, who was a six-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger winner and the 2002 American League MVP.
Leading Off
The Hall of Fame Case For Jimmy Rollins
By Russ Walsh
Next Monday, the Baseball Hall of Fame will announce the results of this year’s voting. Todd Helton will likely get in. Billy Wagner might make it. Adrián Beltré should be a first ballot selection. Maybe even center-fielder extraordinaire Andruw Jones will be elected. One guy who won’t make it is Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins. He should though, if not this year, then the next or the next.
Rollins’ statistics, at least the way we view them now, are borderline, but his intangibles, those things that make a player great beyond the numbers, are off the charts. I watched Rollins play from my seats at Veterans Stadium and then Citizen Bank Park for his entire Phillies career (2000-2014). He was, along with Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Dick Allen, and Mike Schmidt, one of the most exciting players I ever saw take the field. He, along with Chase Utley, were the two most essential ingredients of the great Philly teams from 2007-2011.
The Statistics
As I stated, Rollins’ statistics are borderline. His 47.6 bWAR would be among the lowest of any shortstop in the Hall of Fame, including the only other Phillies shortstop in the Hall, Dave Bancroft (49.9), and more than 20 points below more contemporary Hall of Fame shortstops like Derek Jeter (71.3) or Barry Larkin (70.5). The low bWAR is mostly due to Rollins simply making a lot of outs. His .264 lifetime batting average is nine points below even the light-hitting HOF shortstop Phil Rizzuto.
Rollins, though, has many other stats that support his case. Few shortstops have ever shown his combination of power and speed. Here are his offensive statistics as compared to other contemporary shortstops.*
During his generation, Rollins was the best shortstop in the National League. He is the only shortstop and one of only 11 players in Major League history to hit at least 200 home runs and steal 400 bases. Only four players have had more homers and steals in their careers: Barry Bonds, Rickey Henderson, Joe Morgan, and Paul Molitor.
Rollins’ 81.74% successful stolen-base rate is one of the best. He is one of only four players in the 20/20/20/20 club, meaning 20-plus doubles, triples, home runs, and steals in a season. His 2007 MVP season is one of the greatest offensive seasons ever by a shortstop. Rollins was also a very good and very durable defensive shortstop, who played the position for all but one-third of an inning of his 10,074 total Major League innings.
These statistics may be borderline, but there is plenty of numerical evidence to support Rollins’ candidacy. It is beyond the numbers, however, where Rollins truly shines.
The Intangibles
Rollins is the author of two of the three most exciting moments I have personally observed at Citizens Bank Park. The first moment was the culmination of the Phillies’ rise from improving team to proven winner. The second was a walk-off hit that helped send the Phillies to their second consecutive World Series.
The first moment needs some context. After the Phillies had finished a distant second in the National League East to the New York Mets in 2006, Rollins gave an interview the following February declaring the Phillies “the team to beat” in 2007. Most pundits and certainly most Mets fans scoffed. Rollins then went out and did everything possible to drag his team over the finish line.
In his MVP season, he played every game, hit .296, slugged 30 home runs and 38 doubles, drove in 94 runs, and won a Gold Glove. All seemed for naught on Sept. 12, however, as the Phillies lost 12-0 at home to the Colorado Rockies and fell seven games behind the Mets for the division lead.
The Phillies then went on a furious tear that saw them win 12 of 16 as the Mets faltered. The division title came down to the last day with the Phillies playing the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park and the Mets taking on the Florida Marlins at Shea Stadium. A Phils win and a Mets loss would give the Phillies the division title. Both games were over early, with the Mets falling behind, 7-1, in the first inning and the Phillies getting out to a quick 4-1 lead over the Nationals.
In the sixth inning, the Phillies had extended their lead to 5-1, and backup catcher Chris Coste was on third base when Rollins came to bat. With the Mets on their way to a loss and the Phillies well ahead, the sold-out crowd was in a frenzy of anticipation. Rollins sat on the precipice of a singular achievement, and everyone in the stands seemed to know it. As he stood in, Rollins had 19 triples on the season. He was one triple away from becoming the fourth player in history, along with Frank Schulte (1911), Willie Mays (1957), and Curtis Granderson (2007) to join the 20/20/20/20 club: 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs, 20 steals. He was one triple away from becoming the only man in Major League history to achieve this feat while also getting 200 hits.
Rollins turned on a 3-2 offering from Nationals reliever Luis Ayala and smashed it down the line in right field, over the head of right fielder Austin Kearns. As Rollins passed first base, arms pumping, legs churning in his familiar scampering style, it was clear that he was not going to be content with a double.
As Rollins sped around second base, Kearns retrieved the ball and threw a strike to cutoff man Ronnie Belliard, who spun and made a strong, accurate throw to third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who slapped down the tag a whisker after Rollins’ outstretched hand touched the bag. Umpire Bruce Dreckman emphatically called, “Safe!” and the crowd went insane.
It seemed as if Rollins had willed the 2007 Phillies to the division title.
Rollins and the Phillies won their World Championship in 2008 and were trying to return to the World Series in 2009, when they faced the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. Rollins was ready with another thrill.
In the ninth inning of Game 4, with the Phillies trailing by 4-3, with two out and two men on base, Rollins stepped to the plate and 45,000 fans rose to their feet. Rollins lashed a 1-1 pitch from Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton on a line to right-center field, splitting the outfielders. The Phillies’ baserunners sped around to score easily and, as the crowd went crazy, Rollins’ teammates mobbed him between second and third. The Phillies won the series in a breeze two days later. Rollins’ winning smile seemed permanently affixed to his face.
There have been many great shortstops in the game. There have been a few great shortstops that were better hitters than Rollins. There have been several great shortstops who have been better fielders than Rollins. But no shortstop can really challenge Rollins when it comes to entertainment value. He played the game with great skill, but even more so, he played the game with an infectious joy. For the sheer pleasure he brought to Philly fans, day in and day out for 15 seasons, Jimmy Rollins belongs in the Hall of Fame.
*The stats cited in this article come from “Jimmy Rollins Has a Long Way to Go Before He Gets His Hall of Fame Due.” Buy Mike Martell in Sports Illustrated, December 27, 2022.
Russ Walsh is a retired teacher, diehard Phillies fan, and student of the history of baseball with a special interest in the odd, quirky, and once in a lifetime events that happen on the baseball field. He writes for both the SABR BioProject and the SABR Games Project and maintains his own blog The Faith of a Phillies Fan. You can reach Russ on Twitter @faithofaphilli1