Phillies news and rumors 1/24: Jimmy Rollins faces tough path to Hall of Fame election

Jimmy Rollins is one of the greatest players in Phillies history. (Tom Mihalek/Icon Sportswire)

Receiving just 14.8% of the writers’ vote in the 2024 National Baseball Hall of Fame election, Jimmy Rollins appears to be facing an uphill battle toward enshrinement following his third year on the ballot.

Rollins — the former 17-year big leaguer who spent 15 seasons in Philadelphia as the Phillies’ shortstop and leadoff hitter — debuted on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s Hall of Fame ballot in 2022 and had his name checked by 9.4% of the voters; that increased to 12.9% in 2023 before another slight uptick this time around. However, it doesn’t seem that Rollins is on pace to gain enough votes to clear the 75% threshold by his 10th and final ballot.

His career was exceptionally impressive as he proved to be one of the game’s top shortstops at his best and racked up accolades. Rollins was named the 2007 National League MVP, made three All-Star teams, won four Gold Gloves, set the Phillies franchise record for hits and was a core member of five straight division-champion clubs in Philadelphia, winning the World Series with the team in 2008.

But his peak was not particularly long with his production dipping after 2008, and his advanced stats don’t quite stack up to most other Hall of Famers. His career WAR of 47.6 falls well short of the 67.7 average WAR for Hall of Fame shortstops, and his 95 career OPS+ falls below league average.

Why isn’t Jimmy Rollins gaining steam on Hall of Fame ballot?

Of course, players have started with lower Hall of Fame vote totals and risen up to induction before, so it’s impossible to completely rule out Rollins from a potential election on the writers’ ballot. For example, his former teammate Scott Rolen started with 10.2% of the vote in 2018 before making it into Cooperstown last year. But Rolen had a much stronger statistical case with a 70.1 career WAR and had made a much bigger jump by his third ballot with 35.3% of the vote. With Rollins still under 15%, it’s hard to imagine Rollins’ candidacy following a similar path.

Still, that doesn’t mean that he couldn’t be considered for the Hall of Fame by future veterans committees down the line. And it certainly doesn’t change that Rollins is an all-time Phillie, with a Wall of Fame induction — and maybe even a number retirement ceremony — coming to Citizens Bank Park in the future.

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