That Balls Outta Here
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Phillies: Comparing each 2008 star to a current MLB player

By Jason Reed

PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 24: Gold Medal Olympians Carli Lloyd, Heather Mitts, Jordan Burroughs, and Susan Francia pose for a picture with Philadelphia Phillies Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Cole Hamels after the Olypians threw the first pitch before the game against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park on August 24, 2012 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brian Garfinkel/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 24: Gold Medal Olympians Carli Lloyd, Heather Mitts, Jordan Burroughs, and Susan Francia pose for a picture with Philadelphia Phillies Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Cole Hamels after the Olypians threw the first pitch before the game against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park on August 24, 2012 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brian Garfinkel/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Miles Kennedy/Philadelphia Phillies/Getty Images) – Philadelphia Phillies
(Photo by Miles Kennedy/Philadelphia Phillies/Getty Images) – Philadelphia Phillies /

There are plenty of beloved Philadelphia Phillies players from the late 2000s run that resulted in the 2008 World Series Championship. Of them all, the Mount Rushmore of that team is undoubtedly Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels.

The 2008 season was not the best season of any of those four’s careers but the collective effort, along with their teammates, led to the first World Series title since 1980.

We can find some similarities between the core four from the 2008 season and some MLB stars of today. While it is not a perfect comparison, we thought it would be a fun exercise to compare each of the 2008 stars (and their 2008 seasons) to 2021 players and their seasons.

Comparing each 2008 Philadelphia Phillies star to a current MLB player:

Jimmy Rollins: Wander Franco

Again, this mostly has to do with the 2008 and 2021 season. Of course, there is going to be some similarities as they have to play the same position and have similar traits, but we are not comparing Rollins’ fantastic MLB career to Wander Franco’s rookie season.

Franco’s rookie season does look a lot like Rollins’ 2008 season, though. In 2008, Rollins hit .277 with a .786 OPS, 11 home runs and 47 stolen bases. He also played great defense at the shortstop position, although he did not win a Gold Glove in 2008.

Franco’s similarities to Rollins are deeper than him being a switch-hitting shortstop. Franco is hitting .270 this season with a .782 OPS, six home runs and two stolen bases. Rollins certainly has the advantage in stolen bases but the game is also much different now than it was in 2008. Franco has the speed to steal more bases, it just does not go with the analytics.

Franco hits home runs at a higher rate but the slugging percentage is similar. Franco’s slugging percentage this season is only 13 points higher than Rollins’ in 2008 while Rollins’ on-base percentage was 17 points higher than Franco’s is today.

Franco is also a solid defender, although not quite to Rollins’ level yet. Franco has a 122 OPS+ plus this season (meaning he is 22% better than league average) while Rollins had a 104 OPS+ in 2008.

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