Jimmy Rollins Belongs In The Hall Of Fame
Hall of Fame voting for Baseball has been underway for several weeks now. And while there are still a lot of ballots that have not become public, one thing is clear. Jimmy Rollins will not get into the Hall of Fame this year. There just are not enough ballots with his name on them. Chase Utley has a shot, if not this year, definitely in future rounds of voting. But Jimmy is polling under 20%, putting his chances to get into the Hall at all in major jeopardy.
The problem is the advent of Advanced Stats. More and more baseball writers, and Hall of Fame voters, rely heavily on new-age stats. And those stats can be incredibly useful. But if all you do is look at a spreadsheet with those stats, Jimmy Rollins HOF case looks weak. His OPS + and wRC +, two numbers stat guys will throw out a ton, are not on par with other Hall of Famers. But for those of us who actually watched Jimmy Rollins play, and sometimes look away from their computer, we know the truth. Jimmy is a Hall of Famer.
Elite In The Field
Let’s start with his glove. Rollins won 4 Gold Gloves in his career. More than any other NL SS in his era. Mind you he was going up against Omar Vizquel in some of those seasons, who won 11 Gold Gloves at SS in his career. He was also beating out Troy Tulowitzki, who won 2 Gold Gloves. Was he Ozzie Smith with the glove? No, because few are. But he was still elite in the field. Anyone who watched him play can tell you that. He had fantastic range, a great arm, and kept his errors in the single digits in several of his seasons.
Unmatched Power Speed Numbers
In MLB history there are 7 players with at least 200 HRs and 450 steals. There are a few active guys who will probably get there too, but right now, there are only 7. 4 of them are in the Hall of Fame. Barry Bonds would be in the hall if it wasn’t for steroids. The other two are Bobby Bonds and Jimmy Rollins.
To be honest, that should be the only argument you need. I know counting stats are out of vogue, and people would much rather use predictive stats. But while those may be more useful for predicting future production, Jimmy Rollins’ career is over. You don’t have to predict what he will do, he already did it. And he put up power-speed numbers very few players have matched.
People love to ignore that as just being a side effect of longevity. But why is longevity something we discount? Is it not a good thing to play for a long time? Is staying healthy for most of your career and playing at a high level not a good thing? Are there some players who can build a Hall of Fame case over fewer seasons? Yes. But there is absolutely something to be said for sticking around a long time and playing well while doing it.
What SS Was Better Than Him In His Era?
Derek Jeter for sure was better. Miguel Tejada had better numbers, but his career was tainted by his connection to steroids, so he won’t get into the Hall of Fame even if his production warrants it. But who else was better from that era? Tulo? No, he couldn’t stay healthy and played all of his good seasons in Coors Field. Hanley Ramirez? His peaks were better, but he was too inconsistent and didn’t last long enough. Andrelton Simmons had an elite glove but was nowhere near the offensive player Jimmy was.
Jimmy was among the best Shortstops in the league for his entire career. Usually, if you are an elite player at your position over a whole decade, it is a good sign you belong in the Hall.
In One of The Rarest Clubs In MLB History
What is better than being in a club with only 10 people? being in one with only 4 people. In the 144 MLB seasons, only 4 guys have ever had 20 HRs, 20 steals, 20 doubles, and 20 triples. Frank Schulte, Willie Mays, Curtis Granderson, and Jimmy Rollins. That is what Jimmy Rollins did in his MVP season. One great year is not enough to get you into the Hall on its own. But as we already established, he had many great years. But having that type of elite season, on top of the rest of his resume, should be enough to put him over the top.
Conclusion
For whatever reason, a lot of people are anti-Jimmy Rollins. Two local guys with Hall of Fame votes, Kevin Cooney and Rob Maadi, both put Jimmy on their ballot and got blowback from the same people who will pull out their spreadsheet when having these debates. But the case for Jimmy is clear. We didn’t even mention him leading the Phillies in hits, having more hits than Mickey Mantle, or him being the team leader of a World Series team.
Sometimes you need to put away the calculator and the spreadsheet, and just actually watch the games. The eye test says Jimmy Rollins is a Hall of Famer. He probably won’t get in via the standard vote. Jimmy will likely have to wait until the Veteran’s Committee votes him in. Which is a shame, because if anyone from that Phillies team deserves to be in, it is Jimmy.
Listen To Or Watch ‘The Best Show Ever?’ Live On The 97.5 The Fanatic And On NBC Sports Philly From 2 To 6 p.m. every Weekday
Every Number The Phillies Have Retired, and 3 They Should
#15- Dick Allen
The most recent name to go up there among the retired numbers at Citizens Bank Park. As of now, Allen is the only Phillies player to have his number retired to not be in the Hall of Fame. But that is the MLB’s mistake for not inducting him yet. Allen is definitely deserving of being there. Allen has 351 HRs, 1,119 RBIs, an MVP Award, and 7 All-Star Appearances. The fact that the MLB has continued to snub Allen from the Hall of Fame played a big decision in John Middleton retiring his number 15 in 2020.
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
#32- Steve Carlton
Carlton has a strong case to be the best Left-handed Pitcher ever. 4 Cy Youngs. He was the first pitcher to ever accomplish that. He is also one of the rare cases of a trade actually going well for the Phillies. He and Schmidt helped break the Phillies curse and win the first World Series in the history of the franchise. And now no one will ever wear his number 32 again for the Phillies.
(Photo by Chris Gardner-Pool/Getty Images)
