Philadelphia Baseball History

Shortstop is the most crucial defensive position in the infield.  Well, it used to be.  Before the era of the infield shift.  Sure the shift was cool, back when it was an innovative way  to counter the threat of legendary left-handed hitter Ted Williams.  Now the shift is everywhere.  Infield positions have pretty much become interchangeable.  If you have a left-handed hitter, move everyone over to the right side of the infield.  If you have a right-handed hitter, move everyone to the left side of the infield.  I hate the shift.  The shift just encourages left-handed power hitters, in particular, to swing for the fences.  Sure, you could bunt down the third base line, and likely get a base hit.  But modern hitting coaches discourage that.  Personally, I find the modern game of power hitting and power pitching boring.  Moving runners over, manufacturing runs, to me that's exciting baseball.  Don't get me wrong, ho...

From a certain set of Phillies fans, Jimmy Rollins gets no love.   It’s hard to see why.   Rollins is only the all time Phillies leader in hits (2,306) and doubles (479).   In stolen bases, he’s second only to the legendary Slidin’ Billy Hamilton, whose numbers may be inflated due to how stolen bases were credited in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.   He’s second only to Mike Schmidt in extra base hits and total bases.   In triples, he is third behind Hall of Famers Ed Delahanty and Sherry Magee. Certainly, in a team that has suffered through the likes of Steve Jeltz and Ivan DeJesus, Rollins has been a highlight of the shortstop position. Having grown up in the 1970s, I loved Larry Bowa.   He was a team leader.   In his twelve years with the Phillies, Bowa batted .264 with 1,798 hits and 421 RBIs.   But, in his fifteen years with the Phillies, Rollins edges out Bowa, his mentor, with a .267 average, and 887 RBIs. ...