Jimmy Rollins’ Moral Dilemma: Win the World Series or Stay in Philadelphia

As the rain falls in New York, there is time to think about the team that will actually win the World Series: the Philadelphia Phillies. With 7-to-4 odds to win the ring, the champagne is already popping on Broad Street. But all is not roses in this city just 2,400 miles from Pasadena, especially for the native Californian and the beloved shortstop Jimmy Rollins.

He is probably being tortured tonight before the playoffs begin with a moral dilemma: if the Phillies win the World Series he will probably be gone from the only professional team he’s ever suited up for, and if the Phillies lose, he will probably be asked to stay on with an extended contract.

The Phillies are built to win, and Jimmy Rollins was the first piece to this championship team that has become a Goliath in MLB. During his reign in between second and third, the Phillies have gone from being known as the first team to lose 10,000 games to the team who has become a perennial favorite to contend for the Series.

With already five straight division titles and World Series appearances in two out of the last three, the best team may still be in the next couple of years, especially with the emerging John Mayberry and the coming of Hunter Pence. But the all-encompassing question is: Will Jimmy be around for the rest of the good times?

Jimmy Rollins’ stats belie his role as the leader and catalyst of this team. Though his playoff batting average is about 50 points under his regular season, his on-base percentage and slugging is stellar for the pressure of October. Not only that, but an avid Phillies fan has seldom been disappointed by Jimmy’s big hits in crucial moments in the playoffs.

You do remember the 2009 hit against Jonathan Broxton at home. It has been written correctly and ad infinitum that the Phillies will go as far as the pitching, but if any hitter is as important to a parade come November, it will be No. 11.

And there is the crux—Jimmy’s batting average of .270 is just not enough to warrant the long-term deal that he deserves. The Phillies are going to have to feel desperate, and losing the World Series will do just that.

There is no leader on the team like Jimmy Rollins. His experience and bravado to challenge and express his emotions propel the team to reach its potential. The Phillies will be forced to keep this dynamic and quixotic piece of the lineup for continuity, as the fear of getting a new shortstop and lead-off hitter will take time the organization feels it just doesn’t have.

Jimmy Rollins could suffer the same fate as Pat Burrell of the 2008 championship team. Without a whimper, the Phillies parted ways after they won because they had created some breathing room. Jimmy’s moral dilemma is, if he wins the World Series, he will to lose his position on the most desired team in baseball. For Jimmy, if the Phillies win the last game of the year, it will be his last game for the organization he made a winner.

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