page_title: Jimmy Rollins
section_title: 2001–2004
hierarchical_section_title: Jimmy Rollins / Professional career / Philadelphia Phillies / 2001–2004
caption_attribution_description: Baseball, Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies, 2004, by Rick Dikeman 14:07, 16 September 2004 . . Rdikeman . . 360×540 (52,423 bytes)
context_page_description: James Calvin Rollins, nicknamed "J-Roll", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, who played in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Chicago White Sox.
  After growing up in Alameda, California, and attending Encinal High School, Rollins was drafted by the Phillies in the second round of the 1996 MLB draft. After spending most of five seasons with Phillies minor league teams, he made his big league debut on September 17, 2000.
  At the MLB level, it wasn’t long before Rollins earned recognition as an excellent defensive shortstop. In 2001, he became the Phillies' leadoff hitter, a role he retained for almost ten years. Rollins made three All-Star Game appearances in his career. While with the Phillies, he compiled a 38-game hitting streak, which spanned the end of the 2005 season and the start of the 2006 season, the longest in team history. Rollins was named the National League Most Valuable Player in 2007, as the Phillies won their division in the first of five consecutive seasons. He was also a key component of the 2008 World Series champion team that defeated the Tampa Bay Rays.
context_section_description: Rollins switched uniform numbers from 29 to what would be his permanent uniform number 11, despite wearing number 6 for the 2003 season only. Rollins spent the entire 2001 season with the major league Phillies and hit his first MLB home run on May 2 off of Brian Bohanon of the Colorado Rockies. He achieved several statistical milestones, including a "quadruple-double" (double digit doubles, triples, home runs, and stolen bases). Moreover, he led the National League in triples and stolen bases, becoming the first rookie to do so since 1951, as well as leading the NL in at bats. He was a member of the NL all-star team in the 2001 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the Phillies only representative. In July, he took over from Doug Glanville as the Phillies' leadoff hitter, a role he maintained for nearly a decade. At the conclusion of the season, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum named him the co-winner of the Cool Papa Bell Award, given to the stolen bases leader; MLB managers voted him to the Topps Major League Rookie All-Star team; and Baseball America named him the fifth-best rookie in MLB.
  Entering the 2002 season, despite his youth, Rollins sought to be a leader in the Phillies' clubhouse; an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer said, "Rollins, even at just 23 years old, may now have the clout needed to be a stern voice that makes a difference in the clubhouse and on the field." Rollins' season was characterized by a strong first half, and a "sophomore jinx" at the plate that plagued him in the second half of the season. For his performance in the early months of the season, he earned his second consecutive selection to the MLB All-Star game, in doing so becoming the first Phillie and first MLB shortstop ever to reach the game in each of his first two seasons. After the all-star game, however, he struggled at the plate, striking out frequently and chasing many high pitches that were out of the strike zone. Ultimately, Rollins finished the season among the NL leaders in defensive statistics – he compiled a .980 fielding percentage (second in NL), 695 total chances (third in NL), 504 assists (fourth in NL), and 226 putouts (fifth in NL). Meanwhile, offensively, he regressed from his 2001 campaign, batting .245/.306/.380 with 11 home runs, but still leading the NL with 10 triples; he stole 31 bases, 15 fewer than he did in 2001. After the season, he participated in the Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series.
  Prior to the 2003 season, he worked with Tony Gwynn on skills at the plate, predominantly using the whole field and being more of a "slap hitter". However, he began the season slowly, sustaining a hamstring injury in spring training that hindered his progress, and ultimately struggling at the plate early in the season, causing manager Larry Bowa to drop him in the lineup. Throughout the season, he sought to maintain the focus that he admitted to having lost the previous season, and he eventually rebounded to post a "respectable" stat line – a .263/.320/.387 with eight home runs and 62 RBIs, though he stole what at the time was a career-low 20 bases. Among his season highlights were a game-winning RBI against John Smoltz in June, and stealing his 100th career base in September, both of which occurred in games against the Atlanta Braves.
  On January 15, Rollins signed a $2.4 million contract with the Phillies to avoid salary arbitration. According to one biography of Rollins, 
  In 2004, Jimmy finally became the player the Phillies had been waiting for. He batted .289/.348/.455, scored 119 runs, led the league in triples, cut down considerably on his strikeouts, batted well from both sides of the plate, and hit well in the clutch. The workouts with Gwynn had helped, but it was joining morning sessions with (Bobby) Abreu that enabled him to sting the ball with authority and consistency.
   
  Overall, he achieved another "quadruple-double" (home runs, stolen bases, doubles, and triples in double figures in a single season), his first career grand slam and posted career highs in a plethora of offensive categories includin
caption: Jimmy Rollins at bat, 2004.
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