Phillies: Top five moments of Jimmy Rollins’ career
Jimmy Rollins was one of the top players in Phillies franchise history. Here are his top five moments in a Phillies’ uniform.
With Jimmy Rollins showing his broadcasting skills this week in the booth with Tom McCarthy and John Kruk, could there be a new career in the making for Rollins? Before contemplating that possible scenario, we take a look back at the top moments of Rollins’ career in a Phillies uniform, which spanned from 2000 to 2014.
No. 5: 38-game hitting streak
Already a two-time All-Star by the beginning of the 2005 season, Rollins did well enough in the first half to earn his third All-Star berth. It wasn’t until the second half of the season that Rollins began an improbable run.
On August 23, Rollins had a modest 1-for-5 game in a 10-2 win over the Giants in San Francisco. Hitting .261 at the time, Rollins began a hitting streak which lasted through the rest of the season, totaling 36 games. During the streak, Rollins had eight two-hit games and eight three-hit games. The streak coincided with a Phillies run for a postseason appearance, which came up a bit short.
Rollins raised his average to .290 for the season, but he wasn’t finished as MLB rules state that the hitting streak would be recognized at the start of the 2006 season. Waiting months to see if the streak would continue, the Phillies were home on Opening Day against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Phillies were getting pummeled in the game on a cold, wet day and Rollins was without a hit heading into the eighth inning. He kept the streak alive with a double and proceeded to get two doubles in a 4-3 loss the next day. The hit streak ended at 38 after going 0-for-4 on April 6.
All told, Rollins’ streak was the longest in franchise history and eighth longest of all-time behind Joe DiMaggio, Willie Keeler, Pete Rose, Bill Dahlen, George Sisler, Ty Cobb, and Paul Molitor.
No. 4: 20-20-20-20 club
Jimmy Rollins started the 2007 season with a bang, proclaiming the Phillies “the team to beat” in the National League East. He proceeded to do his part all season long, winning the NL East during the final game of the season, winning the NL MVP and accomplished one of the rarest feats in baseball.
Rollins had already had a career season regardless of what happened in the regular season finale. Heading to the last at-bat of the season, Rollins was a triple shy of 20, which would put him into a club that only two players in league history had done at that point. The elusive 20-20-20-20 club was there for the taking.
Rollins ripped one off the right-field wall and away from that Washington’s Austin Kearns. Not hesitating a bit out of the box, Rollins was going to make the Nationals execute flawlessly to throw him out at third base. After a head-first slide that just beat the tag, Rollins accomplished the improbable.
Rollins finished the season with a .296 average, 38 doubles, 20 triples, 30 home runs, 94 RBI, 139 runs scored and 41 stolen bases. He won the National League MVP award with 16 of 32 first-place votes and a total vote share of 79%. Rollins was the second straight Phillie to win the award after Ryan Howard won it the year prior and just the fifth in franchise history.
To top it off, Brett Myers recorded the last out with a strikeout to seal Jamie Moyer‘s 14th win and the Phillies winning their first NL East title since 1993.
No. 3: Phillies all-time hits leader
In his 15th season with the Phillies, Jimmy Rollins was already a four-time Gold Glove award winner, three-time All-Star, 2007 NL MVP and 2008 World Series Champion. He started the season with 2175 hits in Phillies uniform, fourth All-Time behind Mike Schmidt, Richie Ashburn and Ed Delahanty.
By the third week of May, Rollins was hitting a robust .275 and had already surpassed Delahanty and “Whitey” Ashburn and had his sights set on Schmidt’s mark.
On June 14, Rollins came to bat in the fifth inning against the Cubs’ Edwin Jackson needing a hit to pass Schmidt. He stroked a solid single to right field on a 3-1 pitch to set the club mark for most hits in a career with 2235. Schmidt, who was an analyst for home games on Sundays, came out out Phillies’ dugout in a Phillies jersey, picked up Rollins’ bat and congratulated him at first base.
At the time of the hit, Rollins was one of only 19 players in league history with 400 or more doubles, 100 or more triples, and 200 or more home runs. He was also fourth in league history in leadoff home runs with 46.
Rollins finished the season with the Phillies before moving on to the Dodgers and White Sox before retiring in 2016. Rollins finished with 2306 hits in a Phillies’ uniform and ranks first in doubles, third in runs and triples and second in stolen bases in team history. His 2455 career hits rank 115th in MLB history.
No. 2: NL East-clinching double play
After winning the NL East in 2007, the Phillies were in the position to do the same entering the second to last game of the 2008 season. The Phillies entered the game with a 90-70 record, while the Nationals were among the league’s worst, at 59-100.
Jamie Moyer was on the mound for the Phillies and shut the Nationals out through four, but Washington’s John Lannan had done the same through three. The Phillies got on the board first in the home fourth when Chase Utley scored on a Pat Burrell sacrifice fly. The Phillies got another on a Carlos Ruiz sacrifice fly and led 2-0.
Anderson Hernandez doubled home Roger Bernadina in the top of the fifth to cut the Phillies lead to 2-1. However, the Phillies got that run back in a hurry on a Jayson Werth bomb to deep right field.
The Phillies maintained a 3-1 lead into the eighth when the Nationals cut it to 3-2 on a sacrifice fly by Lastings Millage off Ryan Madison. Like the Phillies seemingly did many times in 2008, they got the run back in the bottom of the eighth on a double by Pedro Feliz, scoring Shane Victorino.
Brad Lidge entered in the ninth, having converted all save opportunities this season. After already scoring a run and the bases loaded, Ryan Zimmerman stepped to the plate with only one out.
Here is where Jimmy Rollins saved the day and perhaps the season. A ground ball hit by Zimmerman appeared off the bat to be single to center. However, Rollins made an incredible diving stop, flipped to Utley, who fired to Ryan Howard to turn the double play. The play won the National League East for the Phillies, who went on to win their first World Series title since 1980.
No. 1: 2009 NLCS walk-off double
Coming off the 2008 World Series, the Phillies weren’t done. They had a team in place to make a run at another one or more titles. The 2009 regular season was even better for the Phillies, winning 93 games and another NL East title.
After a first-round victory over the Rockies in four games, the Phillies faced the Dodgers for the second consecutive season in the NLCS. Leading in the series two games to one, the Phillies looked to take a commanding lead in the series.
They got on the board first with a two-run home run by Ryan Howard off of former Phillies lefty, Randy Wolf, scoring Rollins.
Joe Blanton shut the Dodgers down through the first 3 2/3 innings before RBI singles by James Loney, and Russell Martin tied the game at 2-2.
The Dodgers pulled ahead in the fifth on a Matt Kemp solo home run and increased their lead to 4-2 on a Casey Blake single in the sixth. Chase Utley cut the deficit to one in the bottom of the sixth on a line drive single to right, scoring Shane Victorino.
The score remained 4-3 into the bottom of the ninth, and the Phillies needed a comeback to avoid a shift of momentum in favor of the Dodgers. After Jonathan Broxton got Raul Ibanez out, Matt Stairs walked, and a pitch hit Carlos Ruiz. After Greg Dobbs lined out to third, it was up to Rollins to keep the game alive.
Rollins came through in the clutch, ripping a 1-1 pitch into right field for a double, scoring pinch runner Eric Bruntlett and Ruiz to win the game for the Phillies.
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The Phillies went to on win the series, 4-1 and advance to the World Series, where they would fall to the Yankees in six games.