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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Phillies have been around for a long time. They played their first season in 1883, making them one of the oldest franchises in the MLB. And they are the oldest team to keep one name in stay in one city. Other teams, like the Braves, are older than the Phillies but were not in Atlanta that whole time. Then you have the Reds, who have played in Cincinnati longer but used to go by different names.

Unfortunately, being around that long has not led to much winning. Apart from a period in the 80, the 2000's, and now the 2020s, they have mostly been a bad baseball team. They have the most losses in MLB history, and just two World Series in about 140 seasons.

But that does not mean they have not had amazing players. Even when they were perennial losers, they had some true Hall of Fame Level players giving Philadelphians something to enjoy. 32 Phillies have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. They have inducted 47 players managers or broadcasters onto their Wall of Fame. But they, like every pro team, save a special honor for only the best players in team history. Retired numbers.

10 players, 9 of whom played for the Phillies, have their number retired with the team. Including guys who played in 1911, all the way through to someone who played their last MLB game in 2013. Which 10 players were so good they earned that honor? Let's run through those names. And while we are at it, let's look at 3 names who should go up on that wall and have their numbers retired soon.

2,574 hits, 234 steals, 1322 runs, all while playing great defense in Center field. Richie Ashburn was one of a kind. He was the 2nd player to go onto the Phillies Wall of Fame, has a section of Citizens Bank Park named after him, and of course, had his #1 retired by the Phillies. He also went on to serve as the Phillies Color Commentator for years alongside Harry Kalas

Jim Bunning only spent 6 of his 17 seasons with the Phillies. But he made the most of that limited time. Bunning is perhaps best known for his Father's Day Perfect Game. He is one of just two pitchers to throw a perfect game for the Phillies (we will get to the other guy later). Bunning made 9 All-Star teams, is on the Phillies Wall of Fame, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame as well. Now his number 14 hangs up in Citizens Bank Park, and will never be worn by a Phillies player again.

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.

Schmidt is the best player in Phillies history. There are some others guys you could maybe argue for, but none with the resume of Schmidt. He is also the Greatest 3rd Basemen in baseball history period. 12- All-Star Games, 10 Gold Gloves, 3 MVPs, and a  World Series victory, to go with his 548 HRs and 1594 RBIs. There is a very good reason no Phillies player will ever wear the number 20 ever again.

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.

No one spent less time with the Phillies but still had their number retired. Just 4 seasons, only 3 of which went well. But he did more in those few seasons than anyone does in their career. He won a Cy Young, tossed the 2nd Perfect Game in Phillies History, and the 2nd Playoff No-Hitter in MLB History. He sadly passed way before his time, and in the wake of that tragedy, they made the decision to posthumously honor him by retiring his #34.

Robin Roberts pre-dates the Cy Young award, otherwise, he may have a ton of them. He had a 3.41 career ERA, led the league in Complete Games 5 straight times, wins 4 straight times, an strikeouts 2 straight years. He was the first Phillies player to ever go onto the Wall of Fame and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1976. Which explains why the Phillies retired his #36.

Jackie never played for the Phillies. But he became the first and only player to have his number retired by every MLB Team. What Jackie Robinson did was so much bigger than baseball. He was an amazing player, but more importantly, he broke the color barrier in the league. His actions allowed so many more all-time great Baseball players to get their chance. The Phillies have their own shameful role to play in that story. But thankfully now they can join the rest of the MLB in honoring his memory by retiring his number 42. Except on Jackie Robinson Day when everyone wears it.

The Phillies did not adopt numbered jerseys until 1932, with Klein's career already underway. And in his 11 years with jersey numbers, he wore 7 different numbers, including 1 (already retired for Ashburn), and 32 (Carlton). So instead of retiring a number Klein had no real connection to, they just went with the Old School P that the Phillies wore during his time with the team. Klein hit 300 HRs, 243 of which came with the Phillies. He also accomplished the elusive Triple Crown in 1933.

While Klein had too many numbers to pick one to retire, Alexander had no numbers. His entire career came before the Phillies ever wore Jersey numbers. So they had no option but to just put the P there for him. Alexander went into the 3rd ever Hall of Fame Class in 1939. Joining an elite group of players and managers including Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Cy Young, and Connie Mack.

For 5 years, Ryan Howard was as good as any Power Hitter in the league. It is unfortunate his career got a late start, and injuries forced it to end early. But from 2005-2011 he was a force to be reckoned with. His 382 HRs are 2nd in Phillies history, he won MVP and Rookie of the Year, holds the Phillies Single Season HR Record, and of course, helped them win their 2nd World Series. He absolutely deserves to be up on that Wall with these other 10 players.

Jimmy Rollins should be in the Hall of Fame, but that is an argument for another day. What is even less up for debate is his place among the Phillies whose numbers have been retired. Rollins is in the exclusive 20-20-20-20 club, which is for guys who hit 20 Hrs, 20 Doubles, 20 Triples, with 20 steals. The list is him, Curtis Granderson, Will Mays, and Schulte. Even beyond that MVP season, his whole career here was great. Put the man in the Hall, and put him on the Wall alongside Schmidt, Carlton, and Roberts. No one should ever wear the number 11 again.

As Harry Kalas once said, "Chase Utley, you are the man." 259 HRs, 233 of which came with the Phillies. He is the least accomplished of the Phillies trio of players from that era. but he is still more than deserving of having his number retired. The guy became a fan favorite just by quietly doing his job, and occasionally dropping a F-Bomb when he finally does say something. Like with Howard's #6, and Rollins's #11, no one should ever wear Utley's #26 ever again.