Just two weeks away from the home opener of the 2025 Philadelphia Phillies on March 31 , expectations are once again extremely high for yet another season of the oldest, continuously operating sport’s franchise whose existence began back in 1883.
The most successful period of that over 140-year sports franchise was the period between 2008–2011. We loved many Phillies players on that team — Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, Chase Utley — but one of it’s true leaders was Jimmy Rollins.
The Phillies recently announced that the franchises’ all-time hits leader would be inducted into the Toyota Wall of Fame during the game on Aug. 31. But for one of our favorite Phillies’ players ever — his nearly 2,500 hits, 231 home runs, and 470 stolen bases — aren’t the only reasons for our admiration. Rollins infectious smile and no nonsense play endeared him to Philadelphia. He was the leadoff spark for that championship team, a speedster on the bases, and a defensive standout—earning four Gold Gloves, three All-Star selections, an NL MVP award, and the title of 2001 NL Stolen Base Leader.
The Philadelphia Phillies were born thanks to the Philadelphia Ball Club Limited, which was formed in November of 1882 and claimed the rights of to the defunct Worchesters of Massachusetts. The Phillies would play their first game at Philadelphia’s historic Recreation Park at the corner of 24th Street and Ridge Avenue — which had hosted recreation in the city since the 1860s and was even utilized by Union Cavalry during the Civil War — and would lose the game 11–0 to the Manayunk Ashlands. It would take the Phillies 32 years to advance to a World Series and an astounding 97 years to win one.
When the 2008 Phillies took the city by storm by not only advancing to the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008 — but winning it — Jimmy Rollins was a huge reason why. Rollins was a Phillie from 2000–2014. Drafted in the second round of the 1996 MLB Draft — Rollins would make his MLB debut on Sept. 17, 2000.
Jimmy’s time in Philadelphia wasn’t without some controversy. In August of 2012 , Rollins was benched by Manager Charlie Manuel for not running out a pop-up and ground ball twice in two weeks. Nonetheless , when the Phillies dealt him to the Los Angeles Dodgers in December of 2014 , it felt as though we had lost a member of the Philadelphia family.
In 14 seasons as a Phillie , Jimmy Rollins amassed a franchise-record 2,306 hits, 479 doubles, and 214 home runs which has never been done by a shortstop in Phillies history.
Michael Thomas Leibrandt is member of the York Road Historical Society and lives and works in Abington Township.
