As Jimmy Rollins retires, former Phillies GM Pat Gillick recalls shortstop’s confidence
Also, Phillies reliever David Robertson continues to feel soreness in his injured right elbow.
Jimmy Rollins went 0-for-2 with two walks for the Chicago White Sox on June 8, 2016. It was the last game that he played.
Nearly three years later, he will retire as a member of the Phillies.
Rollins, who will be honored in a pregame ceremony before Saturday night’s game at Citizens Bank Park, was the Phillies’ second-round draft pick in 1996 and spent all but two of his 17 major-league seasons with the team. He’s the franchise’s all-time hits leader (2,306), a World Series champ, and the best shortstop in Phillies history.
But Rollins is never at a loss for words, and his most memorable moment might have come before the 2007 season when he declared that the Phillies would be the “team to beat” in the National League East.
Looking back, former general manager Pat Gillick recalled that not everyone in the organization was amused.
“Some people said, ‘Great, this is a challenge.' On the other end, some people said, ‘Let’s keep our mouths shut, play good baseball and let the chips fall where they may at the end of the season,’” Gillick said by phone. “It was a little of both. I’m not one to issue a challenge to anybody. But that’s Jimmy’s style, and it works for him.”
Rollins backed it up, though. He batted .296 with 212 hits, 30 homers, 41 stolen bases and an .875 on-base plus slugging percentage en route to being crowned NL MVP. And the Phillies overtook the Mets to win the division on the season’s final day.
“Jimmy always liked to throw it out there,” Gillick said. “I don't think it hurt us at all. Maybe it challenged us a bit.”
Robertson on hold
David Robertson hoped to begin a throwing program last weekend. A week later, the veteran reliever has not yet picked up a ball.
Robertson, who hasn’t pitched since April 14, continues to deal with soreness in his right elbow/forearm stemming from a flexor strain. He hasn’t undergone additional testing recently but was scheduled to be reexamined by team physician Dr. Steven Cohen before accompanying the Phillies on the road trip to St. Louis next week.
The protracted absences of Robertson and reliever Tommy Hunter (right forearm strain) reaffirm lefty Adam Morgan as the Phillies’ unsung hero. Going into Friday night, Morgan hadn’t allowed a run in 15 appearances, tying J.C. Romero (2008), Rheal Cormier (2006) and Ed Roebuck (1964) for the longest streak to begin a season by a Phillies reliever.
“I don’t think at the beginning of the year anybody thought he’d be a candidate to take down two-plus innings,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “What he’s done is emerge as a weapon against anybody in the most important inning of the game.”
Extra bases
It won’t be a surprise if the Phillies reinstate center fielder Odubel Herrera from the injured list before Saturday night’s game. Otherwise, he’s all but certain to return by Sunday. Herrera has been sidelined since April 18 with a strained right hamstring. … Rhys Hoskins rang the bell before Game 3 of the Sixers-Raptors series. It marked the third time that he has participated in the pregame ritual, and the Sixers are 3-0 in those games. … Jake Arrieta (4-2, 3.46 ERA) will start Saturday night against Nationals lefty Patrick Corbin (2-1, 3.58), whom the Phillies pursued in free agency last winter.