Former Philadelphia Phillies’ Jimmy Rollins gives his speech as he is inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame prior to a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Friday, August 1, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
Is the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame next?
By Chris Murray
For the Philadelphia Sunday SUN
If you ever want to talk about the Philadelphia Phillies’ history of success in the 21st century, you will have to start prior to the 2007 season.
In 2006, the Phillies were coming off a year when first baseman Ryan Howard won the National League Most Valuable Player, but the team finished 12 games behind the New York Mets in the National League East.
But shortly before the 2007 season, Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins announced to the world that the Phillies “would be the team to beat” in that upcoming season.
Rollins’ prediction not only came true for the next five years, as the Phillies won five straight NL East titles, two National League Championship Pennants, and one World Series title.
On Friday, before the first game in the team’s three-game series against the American League Central-leading Detroit Tigers, the Phillies honored their former all-star shortstop by placing his plaque on the team’s Citizens Bank Park Wall of Fame.
During the ceremony, which was part of the Phillies annual Alumni Weekend, former first baseman Ryan Howard praised Rollins for setting the bar high for himself and the team.
“A lot of people talk, but Jimmy meant it,” he said. “He backed it up with an MVP and led all of us to greatness.”
Rollins said he felt that confidence to say the Phillies were the team because of the talent assembled by then-general manager Ed Wade, which included Howard, second baseman Chase Utley, outfielder Shane Victorino, and starting pitcher Cole Hamels. Wade was inducted into the Wall of Fame on Friday night as well.
“For years, if you’ve been around Ed Wade, he would say, ‘Wait until this new group gets up. He preached it,” Rollins said. “And we were up … we were competing for years. ’05 we got close, ’06 we got close, the (New York) Mets knocked off the Braves, so to me it was like someone else can win the division, it’s our turn … all the pieces were in place that Ed chose.”
For 15 of his 17 seasons in Major League Baseball, Rollins plied his trade in the city of Brotherly Love and was among the best shortstops in the history of the Phillies.
As a team’s lead-off hitter, Rollins became the Phillies’ all-time leader in hits, at-bats, and doubles. He is one of five shortstops in baseball history with 200 home runs and 2,000 hits. That list includes Hall of Famers like Robin Yount, Cal Ripken Jr., Derek Jeter, and six-time All-Star Miguel Tejada.
Rollins has 2,455 career hits (2,305 with the Phillies) and is a three-time All-Star, a four-time Gold-Glove Award-winner at shortstop. He’s the Phillies’ all-time leader in lead-off homer runs and ninth all-time. He also won the Silver Slugger Award (2007) and the Roberto Clemente Award (2014).
From the beginning of the 2005 season to the beginning, Rollins had a 38-game hitting streak. The fourth longest in MLB history and the third longest in National League history behind Wee Willie Keeler and Pete Rose, who both went on a 44-game hitting streak. Joe DiMaggio, another Bay Area native, holds the all-time streak at 56.
In 2007, the same year he made his bold prediction, and won the National League’s Most Valuable Player Award, Rollins had career-highs in homeruns (30), runs batted in (94), triples (20), and runs scored (139). He also had 41 stolen bases.
During that MVP season, Rollins joined Frank Shulte (1911), Willie Mays (1957), and Curtis Granderson (2007) as the only players in MLB history to have at least 20 doubles, triples, stolen bases, and homeruns in a single season.
Could Cooperstown be on the horizon for the Oakland, California native? There are more than a few baseball observers who think Rollins, who has six years of eligibility left, can have his plaque in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He needs to get support from 75% of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
During his Wall of Fame press conference, Rollins talked about the next great player from Oakland, which has been a building ground for some of the greatest African American baseball players in the history of baseball. Among those players is recent Hall of Fame inductee C.C. Sabathia, Frank Robinson, Joe Morgan, Vada Pinson, and Rickey Henderson.
“With that legacy there, I didn’t want it to end. With the city of Oakland, I think Rickey (Henderson) was the last one. I didn’t want him to be the last one,” Rollins said. “Hopefully, one day I will get that call. That’s what it’s all about.”
“It was chasing those legacies that were set before me and continuing that and not letting it die,” Rollins continued. “If I can be added to that legacy of Hall of Famers, that would be amazing. That was always the inspiration.”
Hopefully, sooner rather than later, J-Roll will get that call.
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