MVP Profile: Jimmy Rollins, 2007

 Shortstop, Philadelphia Phillies

Age:  28

7^th season with Phillies

Bats – Both, Throws – Right

Height: 5’7”    Weight: 175

 

Prior to 2007:

A native Californian who was born in Oakland, Rollins starred at Encinal High School in Alameda, setting school records by batting .484 and stealing 99 bases over four years. Chosen by the Phillies in the second round of the 1996 amateur draft, Rollins passed on a scholarship to Arizona State to turn pro. The 17-year-old was first assigned to Martinsville of the Rookie-level Appalachian League where he hit .238 and stole 11 bases in 49 games. Promoted to Piedmont of the Class A South Atlantic League in 1997, he batted .270 with 22 doubles, 8 triples, 6 home runs, and 59 RBIs while performing well in the field. He was named to the league’s All-Star team. Rollins continued his development in 1998 with Clearwater of the advanced Class A Florida State League where his batting average dropped to .244. It was on to Class AA and AAA in 1999 where he batted a combined .268 with 11 home runs, 56 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases. With Scranton/Wilkes-Barre of the Class AAA International League in 2000, Rollins started off in a slump and ended up hitting .274 with 28 doubles, 11 triples, 12 home runs, 69 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases. He received a late-season call-up to the Phillies where he appeared in 14 games and hit .321. Taking over as Philadelphia’s starting shortstop in 2001, Rollins was an All-Star who batted .274 with 29 doubles, a league-leading 12 triples, 14 home runs, 54 RBIs, and a NL-high 46 stolen bases, while scoring 97 runs and also showing off good range at shortstop. He placed third in league Rookie of the Year voting and became popular with the fans thanks to his evident enthusiasm as well as good play. He had difficulty with his hitting in 2002 as his average fell to .245, although he again topped the NL in triples with 10 to go along with 33 doubles, 11 home runs, and 60 RBIs while stealing 31 bases in 44 attempts. A slow start in 2003 caused Rollins to be dropped in the batting order on his way to hitting .263 with 42 doubles, 6 triples, 8 home runs, 62 RBIs, and 20 steals. Typically batting leadoff in 2004 he improved to .289 with 119 runs scored, 43 doubles, a league-leading 12 triples, 14 home runs, 73 RBIs, and 30 stolen bases. A strong second half capped by a 36-game hitting streak in 2005 led Rollins to bat .290 with 38 doubles, 11 triples, 12 home runs, 54 RBIs, 115 runs scored, and 41 stolen bases. He continued to be productive in 2006, hitting .277 with 127 runs scored, 45 doubles, 9 triples, 25 home runs, 83 RBIs, and 36 stolen bases for the second place Phillies.

 

2007 Season Summary

Appeared in 162 games

SS – 162

 

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

 

Batting

Plate Appearances – 778 [1]

At Bats – 716 [1]

Runs – 139 [1]

Hits – 212 [2, tied with Hanley Ramirez]

Doubles – 38 [20, tied with four others]

Triples – 20 [1]

Home Runs – 30 [14, tied with five others]

RBI – 94

Bases on Balls – 49

Int. BB – 5

Strikeouts – 85

Stolen Bases – 41 [5]

Caught Stealing – 6 [13, tied with nine others]

Average - .296 [20, tied with Jack Wilson]

OBP - .344

Slugging Pct. - .531 [15]

Total Bases – 380 [2]

GDP – 11

Hit by Pitches – 7

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 6

 

League-leading plate appearances were +13 ahead of runner-up Jose Reyes

League-leading at bats were +35 ahead of runner-up Jose Reyes

League-leading runs scored were +14 ahead of runner-up Hanley Ramirez

League-leading triples were +8 ahead of runner-up Jose Reyes

Midseason snapshot: 3B – 10, HR – 16, RBI – 53, AVG - .286, SLG - .518

 

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) vs. Houston 4/23, (in 6 AB) vs. Cincinnati 6/28 – 10 innings, (in 5 AB) at Florida 9/1

Longest hitting streak – 14 games

HR at home – 18

HR on road – 12

Most home runs, game – 2 (in 4 AB) at NY Mets 4/12, (in 5 AB) vs. Detroit 6/15

Multi-HR games – 2

Most RBIs, game – 3 on eight occasions

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

 

Fielding

Chances – 717

Put Outs – 227

Assists – 479

Errors – 11

DP – 110

Pct. - .985

 

Postseason Batting: 3 G (NLDS vs. Colorado)

PA – 13, AB – 11, R – 1, H – 2, 2B – 0,3B – 1, HR – 1, RBI – 4, BB – 2, IBB – 0, SO – 3, SB – 1, CS – 0, AVG - .182, OBP - .308, SLG - .636, TB – 7, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

 

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: BBWAA

Gold Glove

Silver Slugger

 

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Jimmy Rollins, Phila.: 353 pts. - 16 of 32 first place votes, 79% share

Matt Holliday, Col.: 336 pts. – 11 first place votes, 75% share

Prince Fielder, Mil.: 284 pts. – 5 first place votes, 63% share

David Wright, NYM: 182 pts. – 41% share

Ryan Howard, Phila.: 112 pts. – 25% share

 

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Phillies went 89-73 to finish first in the NL Eastern Division by 1 game over the New York Mets, while leading the league in runs scored (892), triples (41), RBIs (850), bases on balls drawn (641), OBP (.354, tied with Colorado), slugging (.458), and total bases (2605). The Phillies chased the Mets all season and trailed by 7 games in September with 17 left to play. Finishing up at 13-4, they clinched the NL East on the season’s final day. Lost NLDS to the Colorado Rockies, 3 games to 0.

 

Aftermath of ‘07:

Early in the 2008 season, an ankle injury sidelined Rollins. He was back in form when he returned to the lineup and went on to bat .277 with 38 doubles, 9 triples, 11 home runs, 59 RBIs, and 47 stolen bases while also receiving another Gold Glove for his play at shortstop. The Phillies topped the NL East and won the NL pennant on the way to a World Series triumph over Tampa Bay. Rollins contributed timely hits in the postseason. Upbeat, talkative, and animated, the player known as “J-Roll” was a popular team leader. The Phillies were a pennant-winning club again in 2009 and Rollins was below average in batting average (.250) and OBP (.296), although he produced 43 doubles, 21 home runs, and 31 stolen bases while scoring 100 runs and continuing to contribute Gold Glove play in the field. He missed nearly half of the 2010 season due to a hamstring injury, hitting .243 in 88 games with 8 home runs, 41 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases. In 2011 he rebounded with 16 home runs, 63 RBIs, and a .268 average while scoring 87 runs and stealing 30 bases. With the Phillies fading in 2012, Rollins dropped to .250 with 23 home runs, 68 RBIs, 102 runs scored, and 30 stolen bases. He spent two more seasons in Philadelphia with declining performance before being traded to the Dodgers in the 2014 offseason. He hit .224 in 144 games for LA in 2015 and moved on to the Chicago White Sox, who released him in June of 2016. He failed to catch on with the Giants in 2017, thus ending his career. In the major leagues, Rollins batted .264 with 2455 hits that included 511 doubles, 115 triples, and 231 home runs. He scored 1421 runs and compiled 936 RBIs and 470 stolen bases. With the Phillies he batted .267 with 1325 runs scored, 2306 hits, 479 doubles, 111 triples, 216 home runs, 887 RBIs, and 453 stolen bases. Appearing in 50 postseason games, Rollins hit .246 with 3 home runs, 15 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases. A three-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove recipient, he led the NL in triples four times. The Phillies honored him with a retirement ceremony in Citizens Bank Park in 2019.

 

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.