Jimmy Rollins retires with Phillies, runs out onto Citizens Bank Park infield one last time

Jimmy Rollins, wearing a sharp blazer, had already made a touching speech, listened to the cheers from the crowd, and thrown out the first pitch when he ducked Saturday night into the Phillies dugout.

This was what the Phillies had planned for Rollins at his Citizens Bank Park retirement night. But this - a video montage, a thankful spiel, and a soft toss from the mound - was never the way Rollins dreamed his career would end.

“Being younger, seeing guys come back and sign one-day contracts to go out there and throw a pitch. I was like ‘Psshhh.’ That’s not going to be me,’” Rollins said.

So Rollins ditched his blazer in the dugout, buttoned up his old No. 11 jersey and pulled on a Phillies cap. He grabbed a glove and sprinted to shortstop, the position he manned for 15 seasons in South Philadelphia. Rollins was then joined by Saturday night’s starting lineup.

The greatest shortstop in Phillies history could feel for one last time that he was the Phillies shortstop. The crowd roared as Rhys Hoskins pointed from first base and zipped Rollins a warm-up throw. Rollins fired back to Hoskins as Jake Arrieta finished his tosses on the mound.

Jean Segura, the night’s starting shortstop, stood near the dugout before making his way to Rollins. Rollins hugged Segura and the three other infielders before tipping his cap and walking back to the dugout. The game could begin. Rollins retired his way.

“A lot of great years, my best years, were in this city and in this uniform,” Rollins said.

The Phillies will hold ceremonies this season for Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, but it was fitting that the longtime leadoff hitter went first. Rollins was just a senior in high school when the Phillies drafted him in 1996. He knew little about Philadelphia other than Mike Schmidt once played for them and Veterans Stadium was a dingy place that often featured small crowds.

“I told mom ‘When I get up there, we’re going to win and if we win, they’ll come.’ That was the only mission I had,” Rollins said. “All the other stuff came along with being healthy and playing every day. If I’m there, we’re going to win. If I’m getting there, I’ll find a way to have an impact that we’ll win.That’s what I told my mom the day I got drafted. That was my only goal.”

Rollins was right. He played in front of sold-out crowds for a record 257-straight games and the Phillies won their first World Series title in 28 years in 2008. The Phillies, Rollins said, had become relevant again in a town he felt was dominated by football.

“For us, we established that we’re right up there with the Birds,” Rollins said. “They care about us, just as much as they care about them. The good thing is that we get to see that everyday and not just once a week.”

Rollins, in his speech, thanked his mother for giving him his love of baseball and thanked his father for throwing him countless hours of batting practice despite not being much of a baseball fan. He thanked his former teammates for looking out for him when he was breaking into the big leagues and teaching him how to be a mentor. He thanked Larry Bowa, his first manager, for always having his back. He thanked Ed Wade, the general manager who assembled most of the pieces of the 2008 championship team, for drafting him even though the scouting report added two inches to Rollins’ 5-foot-7 frame. He thanked the fans for always pushing him to be better. He thanked his wife, Johari, and three daughters for making his retirement an enjoyable transition.

And he thanked Lee Elia, a former Phillies manager, who Rollins said “changed the course of everything” when they met after Elia took over as the team’s minor-league director. Rollins was named the Phillies minor-league player of the year in 1997 but then scuffled the next season. Rollins said he “was just kind of lost” as people wondered if he would ever reach the major leagues.

“He called me into his office one day, early. And you know I don’t get up early. I don’t do the early thing. But I showed up early that day and I was on time,” Rollins said. “Lee pulled me aside and he had this report on his desk and he said ‘I don’t see this kid that they have on this report. I don’t know who they’re looking at. But right here today, you’re starting brand new with me.’ He took that report and he ripped it up. He threw it in the trash can and said ‘Go be yourself.’ It was like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders.”

Rollins reached the majors a year later to begin the career that would end with Saturday night. And behind the plate for his ceremonial first pitch was Schmidt, the first Phillies player he knew and the one he would surpass as the franchise’s all-time hit leader. He threw a perfect strike, but that’s not how Rollins wanted to go out.