Jimmy Rollins, the greatest shortstop in Philadelphia Phillies franchise history, offered his thoughts on which players are the best to ever do it at his position.
Rollins, as an analyst on MLB on TBS Leadoff on Tuesday night, was prompted on the broadcast to name his Mt. Rushmore of all-time shortstops in Major League Baseball. The Phillies icon responded with his list of four: Derek Jeter, Cal Ripken Jr., Ernie Banks and Honus Wagner.
Rollins, the Phillies leadoff hitter and shortstop from 2000 to 2014 in a 17-year career, is certainly qualified to talk about shortstops as a four-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner and the 2007 National League MVP at the position. A 2008 World Series champion, Rollins went with Jeter on his Mt. Rushmore due to his winning status throughout his career. Jeter won the World Series five times with the New York Yankees and was named the World Series MVP in 2000.
Rollins said he chose Ripken due to his status as baseball’s Iron Man, playing a record 2,632 games in a row. He also won two American League MVP Awards and eight Silver Sluggers in his career.
Ernie Banks was the third choice due to his power, Rollins said. Banks revolutionized the position with the Chicago Cubs as he hit 512 career home runs, slugging over 40 home runs in five seasons. “Mr. Cub.” was named NL MVP in 1958 and 1959.
Rollins rounded out his Mt. Rushmore with Honus Wagner, regarded as a historical great. Wagner dominated the dead-ball era, winning eight NL batting titles and racking up the highest career WAR total for any shortstop in MLB history at 131 wins above replacement.
As such an accomplished player and an icon in Philadelphia, Rollins provides an interesting and fun perspective with his Mt. Rushmore. His list might be debatable, but his words certainly carry some weight when it comes to the shortstop position.
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