Phillies legends Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard have officially found their way onto the Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot for the first time in their careers.

Voting results for the 2022 National Baseball Hall of Fame nominees will be announced on January 25th. With just ten days remaining, voters are starting to send in their final ballots, with some pretty crucial names on their last year of eligibility.

Some of those names include Barry Bonds, Curt Schilling, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa. Below is the full ballot for the 2022 Hall of Fame.

There’s been an ongoing talk in Philadelphia regarding what Phillies players from the magical 2007-2011 run will find their way onto the ballot. Shortstop is one of the hardest positions to get nominated from, strictly based on the history and success of the position.

Although it’s going to take time, Jimmy Rollins deserves to be enshrined in Cooperstown.

Jimmy Rollins’ Notable Accomplishments

All-time Phillies hits leader: Jimmy Rollins leads the Phillies franchise in all-time hits, with 2,306. He passed players like Mike Schmidt, Richie Ashburn, Ed Delahanty, and more to obtain this honor. 

Shortstop History: There’s one shortstop in the history of major league baseball with 200 HRs and 400 SBs…that shortstop is Jimmy Rollins. Jimmy wasn’t the type of guy that would go out and hit 50 home runs every season, but he was the guy that would crack a homer when you needed it, and if he didn’t, he fly his way around the bases like it was his job. 

MVP: Jimmy Rollins is the only shortstop in the National League to win MVP in the last 25 years. The last shortstop to do it was Barry Larkin in 1995, and before that, Maury Willis in 1962. 

The stats that are often forgotten about in Major League Baseball are defensive stats. Jimmy Rollins was a four-time gold glove winner, had a career fielding percentage of .983, and played over 19,000 innings at shortstop throughout his 17 year MLB career. 

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Rollins is the only shortstop in a near-century to play 162 games in a season. He had a 38 game hit streak in 2005, which put the Phillies on a hot streak to finish the season. That hitting streak was the longest streak from a SS since 1894 (Bill Dahlen), and ranks 8th as the longest hit streak in MLB history.

Rollins had 12 MLB seasons with over 140 games played. That has only been accomplished at the shortstop position by Derek Jeter, Cal Ripken Jr, Ozzie Smith, and Omar Vizquel…only one of those guys isn’t in the hall of fame, and he’s currently on the ballot.

Jon Morosi, league insider, and MLB Network announcer officially sent in his ballot. Here’s what he had to say about Jimmy Rollins, and why he was “proud” to check him on his ballot.

Jimmy Rollins career stats with the Phillies: 

2,090 games, 2,306 hits, 511 2Bs, 115 3Bs, 231 HRs, 936 RBIs, 470 SBs, .264/.324/.418, .743 OPS. 

Rollins’ MVP season in 2007 was truly one of the most special seasons in organizational history. 162 games played, with a .296/.344/.541 line. Rollins carried the Phillies through 2007, especially when the broken hand of Chase Utley had the city holding its breath. Rollins slashed 30 HRs, 94 RBIs, and 41 stolen bases as well, with a 7.0 total WAR between offense and defense.

Tack on being a 3x All-Star, WS Champion, 4x Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, and the Phillies’ backbone of the playoff takeover from 2007-2011, Jimmy Rollins had one of the greatest careers in Phillies history. He’s without a doubt the best shortstop that has ever come through the organization. 

Jimmy Rollins isn’t going to get into the Baseball Hall of Fame this year. But the greatest shortstop in Phillies history will without a doubt receive the 5% required to stay on the ballot and deserves to get into Cooperstown before his nomination expires in 10 years. 

Mandatory Credit: The Associated Press