Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins wins his fourth Gold Glove
JIMMY ROLLINS has been in the Phillies organization for almost half of his life, but he remembers the early years, when manager Larry Bowa and coach John Vukovich cost him sleep. But the early wakeup calls were beneficial into making him the most prolific shortstop in the history of the franchise.
JIMMY ROLLINS has been in the Phillies organization for almost half of his life, but he remembers the early years, when manager Larry Bowa and coach John Vukovich cost him sleep. But the early wakeup calls were beneficial into making him the most prolific shortstop in the history of the franchise.
Rollins was announced as the 2012 winner of the Rawlings National League Gold Glove Award at short. The Gold Glove is the fourth of Rollins' career and his first since 2009. Only two players in Phillies history have won more: Mike Schmidt (10) and Garry Maddox (eight).
Bowa and Vukovich, teammates of Maddox and Schmidt, were pivotal in getting the most out of the pint-sized, Northern California-bred shortstop who arrived into the Phillies organization in 1996.
"They got me up at 7 in the morning," Rollins said, "and that was just to take backhands. They just kept drilling them at me."
The 33-year-old Rollins was honored with a Gold Glove in his first season since signing a 3-year, $33 million contract extension last winter, a season that saw him stay away from injuries for the first time in 3 years.
After playing in 230 games in 2010 and 2011 while dealing with calf, hamstring and groin injuries, Rollins played in 156 games in 2012.
"Being healthy, the range coming back, being consistent, that's something I've always put a lot of emphasis on," Rollins said in a conference call Tuesday night. "It's something that was always drilled into me, Larry Bowa and Vuke. That's the approach I've taken every day. That hasn't ever canged. I guess the success is in the pudding."
Durability likely aided Rollins' win: Two-time reigning Gold Glove shortstop Troy Tulowitzki played in just 47 games in 2012.
Not that Rollins didn't deserve to win on defensive merits alone. He continued to cover as much ground in the middle of the diamond as any of his NL counterparts. Only the Mets' Ruben Tejada, with 12, made fewer errors than Rollins among NL shortstops. Rollins made just seven errors in 138 games in 2011.