Those chants have finally come true for Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins. He rightfully deserved the honor of best player in the National League. Jimmy Rollins has been the leader of this team since spring training when he boldly stated that the Philadelphia Phillies were the team to beat in the National League East. Now you can imagine what the defending champs of the the division, the New York Mets, thought about that. Rollins did not win the MVP in a landslide, however, Matt Holliday was thought to be neck-and-neck with Rollins going into today's decision at two in the afternoon.
If it hadn't been for Jimmy the Phils surely wouldn't have made it to the playoffs, let alone win the N.L. East. Rollins rightfully got 16 out of the 32 first-place votes. That is the second straight year that a Phillie has won the N.L. MVP award. Do you hear Chase the MVP chants next season!
Rollins lead the N.L. in runs with 139. He lead the league in triples with a whopping 20 3-baggers. He played every game last season for the Phils as he lead the league in total at-bats with 716.
I don't care what anyone says: J-Roll deserves that award! People will say, "Holliday has better stats." Give me a break! Sure he had better stats, but that's only because J-Roll batted in the lead-off position. Holliday was probably batting fourth with runners on every time he takes that stroll up to the plate. J-Roll is one of the best lead-off hitters in a long time. Plus, the most valuable player doesn't just mean he has the best stats, it helps but it is not always the case. So many Phillies went down with injuries this season (Ryan Howard, Chase Utely, just about the whole pitching staff) but Rollins was that guy who you could count on to give his all every game. The Phillies would be a significantly worse team if J-Roll was not sitting in that clubhouse pumping his team up for the upcoming game. The man showed great consistency throughout the season. He single-handily won quite a few games for the Phils. He also played well in clutch situations. He was the knight that slayed down the dragon that is the New York Mets. He is priceless. So, congratulations Jimmy, you deserve it.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
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