Is Jimmy Rollins a Hall of Famer? ‘Absolutely,’ Charlie Manuel says

There’s plenty of time to debate Jimmy Rollins’ Hall of Fame credentials before voters receive their ballots later this year, but the man who had a dugout seat for the best years of Rollins’ career said Friday that the former Phillies shortstop belongs in Cooperstown.

“Absolutely,” Charlie Manuel said.

Manuel managed Rollins for nine seasons in Philadelphia and watched him win an MVP Award in 2007, lead the Phillies to four-straight division titles, and provide the spark for the franchise’s first World Series title in 28 years.

Rollins is the Phillies’ hit king, won four Gold Gloves, made three All Star teams, and won a Silver Slugger. But his Hall of Fame status remains in question.

Rollins, along with former Phillies’ teammate Ryan Howard, is expected to appear in December on the Hall of Fame’s ballot. A player needs to receive 75% of the votes by the baseball writers to be enshrined. Manuel does not have a vote, but he does have a valued opinion.

“I think Jimmy was an underrated player. He definitely should be considered for the Hall of Fame and there’s a good chance he’ll get in,” Manuel said. “If you followed his career and look at his stats as a leadoff hitter and things like that and find someone in the Hall of Fame to compare him with, I think he’ll score good.”

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Manuel’s idea to compare Rollins to Hall of Fame shortstops is a strong way to build his case. Baseball-Reference’s similarity score says Rollins’ career aligns closely with Barry Larkin and Alan Trammell, both of whom are Hall of Famers.

Rollins has more hits, home runs, steals, and runs than both of the Hall of Fame shortstops and a higher fielding percentage. But Rollins ranks below both in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Larkin was elected in 2012 on his third year on the ballot, while Trammell entered in 2018 after being voted in by one of the Hall’s era committees.

“Jimmy Rollins was a guy who played everyday. He was an underrated player. He didn’t get the credit from a defensive side that I saw,” Manuel said. “From an offensive standpoint, his numbers speak for himself when you compare him to shortstops as far as runs scored, RBIs, and things like that. He stole bases and he’s knocking in the bottom of the order most of the time. He’s a better player than baseball gives him credit for. I think he’s underrated. He’s a better player than that.”

Rollins’ fielding percentage with the Phillies (.983) is the best among NL shortstops between 2000 and 2014 who played at least 1,000 games. In those 15 seasons, his Defensive Runs Above Average — an advanced metric calculated by FanGraphs — is the best among all shortstops. He is the only NL shortstop to win four Gold Gloves since Ozzie Smith won 13 straight from 1980-1992.

But Rollins’ WAR - a stat used often by voters to make tough choices - is just the 25th-best among all shortstops. In the last 60 years, no shortstop has reached the Hall of Fame with a lower Wins Above Replacement than Rollins’ 47.6.

That could be overshadowed by his status as the hit king for one of baseball’s oldest franchises. Only seven players — Pete Rose (Reds), Bert Campaneris (Athletics), Michael Young (Rangers), Tony Fernandez (Blue Jays), Garret Anderson (Angels), Luis Castillo (Marlins), and Luis Gonzalez (Diamondbacks) — were not voted into the Hall of Fame having held a franchise record for hits.

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Rollins has more hits with the Phillies (2,306) than each of those players except Rose, who is banned from baseball, and Anderson, who had 2,368 for the Angels. Young, Todd Helton (Rockies), Carl Crawford (Rays), Ryan Zimmerman (Nationals), David Wright (Mets), and Ichiro Suzuki (Mariners) are either active or remain eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot.

Since 1911, just eight other shortstops have totaled 2,400 hits. Six of the eight are Hall of Famers while the other two — Omar Vizquel and Miguel Tejada — have tarnished their candidacy with off-the-field transgressions.

“He was a difference maker,” said Phillies manager Joe Girardi, who managed the Yankees against Rollins and Manuel in the 2009 World Series. “He was a guy who could do a lot of different things. A switch hitter, steal bases, played very good shortstop. I don’t really have the numbers in front of me like how many hits he amassed. But I will tell you that during his time here, he was one of the best shortstops in the game and that’s kind of what you look at. How you played during your era and Jimmy was a difference maker. He was a little pain in my rear end from time to time, but you expect that when you have a great player on the other squad.”

It was easy to imagine when Girardi was managing against Manuel in the World Series that the Phillies were playing with a roster of Hall of Famers. Rollins, Howard, Chase Utley, and Cole Hamels each appeared to be on path for Cooperstown.

More than a decade later, none of those cases are sure things. But each player can make a claim for Cooperstown after they played integral roles in the greatest era in Phillies’ history. And their former manager is one of their biggest supporters.

“Let me tell you something, we have some interesting players there,” Manauel said. “We have Jimmy Rollins, we have Ryan Howard, we have Utley, and I think Cole Hamels is going to continue on pitching. If you look at Ryan Howard for about four or five years there, Ryan Howard might have been the best hitter in the National League if you go by the number of runs he knocked in and the homers he hit and things like that. He carried a high average, especially for three or four years. I would say his production in the years we had him and the team winning might have something to do with him getting into the Hall of Fame. He probably should be.”

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