2011 MLB Free Agents: How Jimmy Rollins’ Value Decreases Outside of Philadelphia

“I don’t like you” was one of the initial greetings Jimmy Rollins received during his first few days at a big league Spring Training.

That was over a decade ago, back when the Fightin’s played their home Spring games at Jack Russell Memorial Stadium.

That was also before he was “J-Roll.” Then he was just James Calvin Rollins. He had not accomplished anything, was just another prospect who was drafted out of high school in Northern California. There were no stolen base titles, no hit streaks, no franchise records and certainly no MVPs.

He had the swagger of one that had accomplished these feats despite being an early-20s rookie. And that’s how John Vukovich, the man who didn’t (initially) like Rollins saw him.

Vukovich was the Phillies’ third-base coach, a longtime staple in the franchise as a player, coach and even a manger for nine games.

“Vuk,” who by that point had earned his own nickname, did not like Rollins because of his cockiness and attitude toward the game at which he was so new. That did not mean he would never like him, though. He just had to earn his red pinstripes.

Jimmy Rollins spent the next decade earning those stripes, as well as his accolades, awards and achievements. Along the way, he also received his nickname from Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas. “J-Roll” did seem fitting, as the next decade demonstrated how the team would often roll just as J did.

J became the face of the franchise and the leader of one of the 2000s’ most successful teams.

Five full seasons through his career, Rollins had earned three All-Star selections, the franchise’s longest hit streak, stolen base and triple titles and, most importantly, the eyes and ears of all in the organization.

Former Phillies general manager Pat Gillick sent Bobby Abreu to the New York Yankees before the 2006 trade deadline, and it cleared the way for Rollins to become the Phillies’ leader.

Rollins went on to have a strong finish to the ’06 season, his first opportunity in his new role. He would hit close to .300, hit 13 home runs and score 49 runs in the season’s final two months (57 games).

He acknowledged the difference of the Abreu-less lineup, where the team could no longer sit around and way for Bobby to save them. He took ownership of the team and the lineup.

More importantly, the team responded to his lead.

Though they could not overcome an awful start to the season, the Phillies made a strong push for the 2006 NL Wild Card before falling short on the second-to-last day of the season.

In previous years, they had crumbled down the stretch. With Rollins as the lead, the team responded.

Then, the following offseason, Rollins issued one of the most publicized quotes in Philadelphia Phillies history in the most popular interview of the offseason.  

“I think we are the team to beat in the NL East—finally,” the shortstop said. “But, that’s only on paper.”

Rollins had everyone’s ears at that point. Everything about the organization changed, from the front office down to the players that special 2007 season. In the final month of the season, they played like the team to beat, and everyone was responsive to Rollins.

They found success everywhere, from the rotation to the powerful offense and through the back end of their makeshift bullpen of J.C. Romero and Brett Myers that season. None more than the short stop position, where the Phillies’ spokesman had his finest season.

It was one of the best ever by a National League shortstop, and included in it was reaching the 30-30 mark and nearly 100 RBIs from the leadoff position, as well as a Gold Glove.

He played every game that season and was just as good in the last game as he was in any other. Rollins was rewarded with an NL Most Valuable Player award following the season.

If it wasn’t already, his resume was officially sufficient enough to have everyone’s ears in all moments he spoke. He also was officially J-Roll, as the team would roll with his lead.

To see where he took them rolling on his lead, look back on the 2008 championship season. The playoff run is very telling of not only his leadership, but of how much respect his teammates have for him.

In the first two rounds of the playoffs’ clinching games, games which the Phillies look the case, he hit leadoff home runs. Rollins led off Games 3 and 4 of the World Series—the two games the Phillies used to gain control of the series—with hits, and he scored first-inning runs. He set the tone in each of those games, and his teammates followed.

Game 5 of World Series was his best example of just how much leadership he displays and how much his teammates listen to him.

After nearly 48 hours of the game being suspended and play resuming, the Phillies were set to kick off the bottom of the sixth. Geoff Jenkins was chosen to lead off the resumption as a pinch hitter. It felt like a leadoff the game spot, due to the long hiatus between play.

Who better to get leadoff advice from than the man who has occupied that spot in the Phillies’ lineup for a majority of the 21st century?

Rollins was due to bat second that inning, so he spoke with Jenkins about what was taking place.

“It’s not the bottom of the first, it’s the bottom of the sixth, so act like it,” Rollins would say to Jenkins.

He mentioned that if Jenkins hit a double, he would bunt him over to third base.

Sure enough, Jenkins led off the sixth inning with a double. He had one of the greatest reactions you’ll see from a baseball player that included a series of fist pumps. His reaction was that it was the bottom of the sixth, not the bottom of the first. He did exactly what Jimmy told him to do.

The next inning, with the game tied again, Pat Burrell was due to lead off the bottom of the seventh. Burrell was having an awful World Series, hit-less in 13 series at bats. He looked so lost that it very well could have been in his head at that point.

He was also in the final year of his contract, playing in what was sure to be the last home game of the 2008 season, and as he often was removed for speed or defensive replacements, he was also set to have his final at-bat as a Phillie.

Jimmy Rollins knew what was happening. In the middle of the seventh inning, Rollins confronted Burrell in the tunnel to the Phillies clubhouse. The two had been teammates since 2000.

In reference to the No. 5 jersey Burrell wore, as well as his Series play, Rollins screamed, “This is not No. 5! Show me No. 5!”

He challenged Burrell.

Burrell listened and showed Rollins and the city one last glimpse of No. 5, smacking a double off the wall that surely would have left the park nearly any other warmer night.

Burrell listened and responded.

This happened in a season in which Rollins broke two team rules and was twice disciplined—once for not running out a pop-up, and another time for arriving late to an early afternoon game.

Still, his teammates listened to him because of what he had already built.

That is the kind of respect Jimmy Rollins has earned in this city and on this team. He got two major-league veterans to not only listen to him, but respond with immediate, big-time results.

Would this have happened in his first year on the team, in 2001 to a veteran such as Scott Rolen or Mike Lieberthal? No chance.

Ever since his “team to beat” statement, even the front office has been responsive.

Each year since the statement, the Phillies have made a trade at the trade deadline to position themselves as the “team to beat.” They now hand out mega contracts to big-time sluggers such as Ryan Howard and aces like Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee.

Before then, a prized free agent pitcher for them would be Jon Lieber, and a big trade would be acquiring Eric Milton. Now, it’s become an annual occurrence for the Phillies to acquire a former All-Star at each trade deadline and in each offseason.

They’re all responses to Rollins’ “team to beat” mantra.

This was supported by the fans beginning to show up at Citizen’s Bank Park. Rollins called them out as front-runners, and they’ve responded by packing Citizens Bank Park.

Their attendance rank among MLB teams rose from fifth in 2008 to third in following year, then to second the next year, and for the 2011 season, it ranked as No. 1.

Again, Rollins received response.

He paid his dues in the city and had earned the ability to lead and get responses.

And that, at this point in his declining career, is his biggest value.

As he sits on the free-agent market, teams assess his monetary value. Would his value work in another team, in another city?

How much of his biggest value can teams outside of Philadelphia expect? Can they represent that type of return in their cost?

It would be tough to do so.

Sure, Rollins is now a veteran of the game, and that does add some merit, but would a new team and a new city be as responsive to him as Philadelphia and the Phillies have been?

He would probably have to start over in the sense that he would have to rebuild his resume and accumulate tenure to receive response.

As an example, in 2009 when Francisco Rodriguez joined the Mets for his first season, he labeled them as the “team to beat.” Rodriguez hardly received any type of response, as the team actually finished much worse than they had before his arrival.

But he got no roster reinforcements from the front office, no change in the way players played, none of that. He had a few problems in the clubhouse and did not receive much support there, either.

And he was coming off of a storied tenure with the Angels, which included a historic postseason run, a few division titles, and the single-season saves record just one year prior to signing with the Mets. 

The example may not be completely transferable, but it does show that you have to reestablish yourself in a new city and on a new team to get any support, let alone responses.

If Rollins were to sign with Milwaukee and he reports to Spring Training with the same attitude he ran around Citizens Bank Park with, how is he received?

What if they have their own version of John Vukovich on the staff or in camp? Not only does he have no chance at getting responses, but he may not even be liked.

Rollins has had a few instances around the league where other players have not supported his actions. In 2001, reliever Steve Kline was walking off the mound, barking at Jimmy Rollins as he rounded the bases on a home run because of an apparent bat flip.

In 2011, the Giants did not appreciate Rollins stealing a base in a six-run game, and threw at Rollins’ teammate and buddy Shane Victorino as a result of it.

If you’re another player and you don’t like a guy, would you be inclined to immediately respond to him? Probably not.

That’s the key to his value at this point in his career—the responses he gets.

Can he call out Ryan Braun, who sports No. 8, and demand him to show Rollins the real No. 8 when he struggles? Chances are he can’t, as it is Ryan Braun’s city and team.

The chances seem even more remote if this is during the same season he doesn’t run out a ground ball and shows up late to an afternoon game at Wrigley Field, home of a division rival.

You can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like if he confronted Nyjer Morgan.

No, he only fits with this group and with this core of Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Victorino. Not another team’s core four. 

He just wouldn’t work as well as he does in Philadelphia, and his biggest value is all but gone the second he puts on another team’s jersey.

The new team no longer rolls with J.

Now, he’s just another player with a lame first initial/first syllable of last name nickname. Just another player from Northern California, but this time with a new organization with franchise records he does not possess.

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