Jimmy Rollins won’t enter the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022, but the legendary Phillies shortstop has solidified his spot on the ballot for 2023.

The Phillies’ all-time infielder has officially surpassed the 5% minimum of required votes to stay on the ballot. Jayson Stark of The Athletic released his 2022 ballot on Thursday, and Jimmy Rollins was one of his ten picks. Stark’s vote gave the shortstop a total of 20 selections, which enhanced J-Roll’s voting percentage to 11.5% of the total votes counted.

Jayson Stark has always had respect for Jimmy Rollins. Stark wrote for the Philadelphia Inquirer for more than 20 years, covering the Philadelphia Phillies. Here’s what he had to say about Rollins’ HOF case. 

“…I spent so much time watching him play. And until the back end of his career, I felt like I was watching a special player whose impact on great teams isn’t properly summed up by the metrics, as much as I respect those metrics. A Phillies coach once told me ‘I just look at Jimmy, and I think we’re gonna win.’ I know for a fact Rollins had many, many teammates who felt the same way.”

Stark also went on to mention the past “one and done” players who fell off the ballot, including Carlos Delgado, Lance Berkman, Johan Santana, and more. “Frankly, I didn’t want Rollins to join that list”.

Jimmy Rollins has a fascinating case for the Baseball Hall of Fame. It’s going to take Rollins many years to solodify his spot in Cooperstown, and there’s no guarantee that he’ll ever get in. But his all-time accomplishments stir up an interesting conversation. 

Jimmy Rollins’ Notable Achievements

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 when he wasn’t hitting home runs, he was finding gaps, finding grass, and flying around the bases.

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. 

Rollins holds the longest hitting streak by a shortstop since 1894, was the backbone of the 07-11 Phillies playoff takeover, has four gold gloves, and a World Series Ring. He hit .298/.344/.478 in his 2007 MVP season, playing all 162 games while slashing 30 HRs and 94 RBIs. 

Ryan Howard and Jonathan Papelbon also found their way onto the 2022 Hall of Fame ballot, but it seems like they won’t be seeing another year of eligibility. As of Friday night, Ryan Howard’s name was checked off on just 1.7% of ballots, while Papelbon collected just 0.6% percent of the votes counted.

Check out Ryan Thibodaux’s full percentage tracker here >>

Only three players are currently above the required percentage to be enshrined in Cooperstown. David Ortiz leads the running with 84%, Barry Bonds is second with 77.7%, and Roger Clemens has tallied 76.7% of the votes counted. Former Phillies Scott Rolen and Curt Schilling are also sitting near the top, with 69.7% for Rolen, and 60.6% for Schilling.  

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