Jimmy Rollins

1978—

Professional baseball player

As starting shortstop for the Philadelphia Phillies, Jimmy Rollins plays ball with a style and swagger that might seem outsized for a 5-foot, 8-inch, 175-pound infielder. But Rollins, a switch-hitter who goes by the nickname "J-Roll," has the skills and talent to back up his bravado. For his accomplishments on the diamond, Rollins earned the 2007 National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) title, edging out Matt Holliday of the Colorado Rockies and Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers. A true five-tool player, Rollins racked up impressive stats in 2007, becoming the first player in major league history to have at least 200 hits, 30 home runs, 15 triples, and 25 steals in a single season. His 139 runs scored and 88 extra-base hits set National League records, and his 716 at-bats for the season set another league high. All this capped off a season that had begun with Rollins boasting that the Phillies were the "team to beat" in the National League East. Rollins made good on his claim, powering the Phillies in a late-season drive to the postseason and putting himself among baseball's top players.

James Calvin Rollins III was born on November 27, 1978, in Oakland, California, the oldest child of Jimmy and Gigi Rollins. From an early age Rollins displayed an unmistakable talent on the baseball field. As a boy, he played Babe Ruth Little League and Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympics baseball. Then, as an infielder for Encinal High School in Alameda, California—the same school that turned out pitcher Dontrelle Willis and Hall of Fame outfielder Willie Stargell—he broke ten school records, including steals (99) and batting average (.484). In 1996, his senior year, Rollins was selected for the All-USA High School Baseball team by USA Today, was rated the top high school infielder in northern California, and was named a Baseball America First Team All-American.

While many major leaguers started out tossing the ball around with their fathers, for Rollins it is his mother who deserves the credit for teaching him the finer points of the game. Gigi Rollins, a former middle infielder with the Allen Temple Baptist Church women's fast-pitch softball team, made a name for herself in the 1980s as a star player, one with a style all her own. In a 2008 interview with the New York Times, Rollins recalled, "I don't remember my mom ever missing a ball…. Her hitting was good, too. She'd gap some balls and drop it in gear, kind of like myself. She'd always take the extra base; she was far more aggressive than I am." For years, Rollins and his mother argued about who was the better ball player—until 2006, when Gigi finally conceded to her son. "That was the moment for me," Jimmy Rollins told the Times.

Began Pro Career with the Phillies

Rollins was picked by the Philadelphia Phillies in the second round of the 1996 Major League Baseball (MLB) Amateur Draft, and the team signed him to a minor league contract just twenty days later, on June 24. He began playing rookie ball with the Martinsville Phillies, a minor league franchise in the Appalachian League, appearing in forty-nine games that season. Over the next four years Rollins worked his way up in the Phillies farm system, starting the 2000 season with the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons of the International League.

Rollins was called up from the minor leagues by the Phillies late in the 2000 season and made his major league debut on September 17, 2000, starting at shortstop. In his first major league at-bat, he hit a triple against Florida Marlins pitcher Chuck Smith, and scored his first run batted in (RBI) the following day. In 14 games, he made 11 starts, hitting .321 and scoring 5 runs.

Rollins proved himself in his rookie season, 2001, leading the National League in triples (12) and stolen bases (46), the first player to do so since Lou Brock in 1968. Rollins set a Phillies franchise record of 35 consecutive stolen bases, set a team single-season record for steals by a shortstop (passing Larry Bowa's record of 39 in 1974), and shined with two 10-game hitting streaks in April and June and another 12-game streak the following month. That July, he was the only Phillies player named to the National League All-Star Team, and he assumed the team's leadoff spot in the lineup at the end of the month. At the end of the season, Rollins received the National League Cool Papa Award given by the Negro League Hall of Fame and was selected by the MLB managers for the Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team.

Over the next five seasons, Rollins became a mainstay on the Phillies, playing in no fewer than 154 games each year and making the All-Star Team again in 2002 and 2005. Rollins ended the 2005 season with a 36-game hitting streak, breaking the franchise record set by Ed Delahanty in 1899, and then extended his run to 38 in early 2006. The race to break Joe DiMaggio's 56-game streak ended on April 5, 2006, when Rollins went 0-for-4 against the St. Louis Cardinals. He batted .379 during the streak, hitting 22 doubles, 4 triples, and 4 home runs.

Had Star Season in 2007

It was 2007, though, that would be Rollins's star season—and the year that would mark the Phillies' first postseason appearance in fifteen years. During the preseason, Rollins made the bold claim that the Phillies were the "team to beat" in the National League East, not the favored New York Mets or Atlanta Braves. Rollins did his part to make that prediction come true, stepping up with his bat and glove when teammates Chase Utley and Ryan Howard were sidelined with injuries.

In a key series against the Mets in September—with the Phillies in shouting distance of the postseason—Rollins hit .346 with 6 home runs and 15 RBIs. Rallying in the final days of the season, the Phillies clinched the National League East division title and their first playoff berth since 1993. Unfortunately, they went on to lose three straight games to the Colorado Rockies in the first round of the playoffs, ending their year.

At a Glance …

Born James Calvin Rollins III on November 27, 1978, in Oakland, CA; son of James and Gigi Rollins.

Career: Philadelphia Phillies, shortstop, 2000—.

Memberships: Negro Leagues Baseball Memorial Fund, honorary chair; Easter Seals, honorary chair; Philadelphia Action Team.

Awards: All-USA High School Baseball Team, USA Today, 1996; Baseball America First Team All-American, 1996; National League Cool Papa Bell Award (corecipient), Negro League Hall of Fame, 2001; Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team, 2001; National League All-Star Team, 2001, 2002, and 2005; National League Gold Glove (shortstop), 2007; National League Silver Slugger, 2007; National League Most Valuable Player, 2007; Most Outstanding Pro Athlete, Philadelphia Sports Writers Association, 2008.

Addresses: Office—c/o Philadelphia Phillies, One Citizens Bank Way, Philadelphia, PA 19148-5249. Agent—Beverly Hills Sports Council, 131 S. Rodeo Dr., Ste. 100, Beverly Hills, CA 90212-2439. Web—http://www.jimmyrollins.com.

Rollins ended the season on a high note, though, earning the National League's MVP Award, as well as Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards. He became the first major leaguer to have at least 200 hits, 30 home runs, 15 triples, and 25 steals in a single season. Overall, he finished the year with a .296 batting average, putting in a major-league record of 716 at-bats and collecting 212 hits, 38 doubles, 20 triples, 30 home runs, 94 RBIs, 139 runs scored, and 41 stolen bases.

Rollins reflected on winning the MVP: "It's exciting. I've always said that I never thought about being an MVP player," he told reporter Ken Mandel for MLB.com in November of 2007. "Winning the Gold Glove to me was winning the MVP for shortstop, and that's as far as I went. But to be blessed with the 2007 MVP…."

Envisioned Life after Baseball

A year before becoming the National League MVP, Rollins had made another bold prediction, announcing his intention to become the "black Donald Trump" in his life after baseball. In an interview with USA Today in 2007, Rollins said, "[Baseball] is what I do…. It's what I've always done. But I know I can't do it forever. I intend to be part of something great, not just in sports but in life." To that end, Rollins put his energies into the music business, presiding over his own entertainment company, Rollins Entertainment, and music label, Bay Sluggas, Inc. He was also an early investor in the A&E television show Flip This House.

Rollins has maintained an active civic life as well. In 2003 he served as honorary chair of the Negro Leagues Baseball Memorial Fund, and in 2004 he was an honorary chair for the Easter Seals in Philadelphia. He also participated in the Philadelphia Action Team, an initiative of the Major League Baseball Players Association that promotes voluntarism in the community, and hosted the annual Celebrity BaseBOWL Tournament benefiting the Arthritis Foundation. Plans were under way in 2008 for the launch of the Jimmy Rollins Foundation, which will work with inner-city youth in Philadelphia and encourage African-American boys to participate in baseball.

Sources

Books

Spatz, Lyle, ed., The SABR Baseball List and Record Book: Baseball's Most Fascinating Records and Unusual Statistics, Scribner, 2007.

Periodicals

New York Times, April 13, 2008.

Sports Illustrated, September 10, 2007, p. 50.

USA Today, August 24, 2007, p. 6C.

Online

"Jimmy Rollins," Baseball-Reference, http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/rolliji01.shtml (accessed July 9, 2008).

Jimmy Rollins Official Web Site, http://www.jimmyrollins.com (accessed July 9, 2008).

Mandel, Ken, "Rollins Nabs NL MVP Award," MLB, November 20, 2007, http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071120&content_id=2304717&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb (accessed July 9, 2008).

"Player File: Jimmy Rollins," Philadelphia Phillies Official Web Site, http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=276519 (accessed July 9, 2008).

—Deborah A. Ring