Don't mess around with Jim

Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins is not the best player in the game. He’s not even the best player in the National League.

He is, however, the most deserving. The voters got it right Tuesday when they named Rollins the National League’s Most Valuable Player and with all due respect to Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder and Colorado’s Matt Holiday, they never had a chance.

Rollins is a grinder. He played all 162 games at arguably the toughest position in the game for a playoff-qualifying team. But he was more than just the shortstop, he was the team leader. If the team needed a spark, it was Rollins who provided it.

A big hit? It was Rollins. Stolen base or defensive stop? Rollins, Rollins.

It’s been a long time coming.

I remember having a conversation with Rollins about his former teammate Bobby Abreu regarding how the Phillies players don’t seem to get any love no matter how well they play. Abreu will do just fine in New York, Rollins said, because he will finally play in the spotlight and get the recognition he deserves. No baseball player in Philly gets any attention besides Mike Schmidt and Schmidt has been retired for years, Rollins exclaimed.

Well, Jimmy, you are wrong and I know you couldn’t be happier about it. Your teammate Ryan Howard received the proper attention last season as the NL MVP and you followed him this year. If that doesn’t talk about the quality of baseball and the recognition coming out of Philadelphia, I don’t know what does.

No more complaining Jimmy, your club and your city is finally getting the recognition it deserves and you are a big reason for it.

It’s not as if Rollins just popped out of the thin air and put together this season with no warning. He’s played in more than 150 games a season since he became a regular in 2001 and reached the 190-hit plateau each season from 2004 to 2006. He actually had more doubles last season than in 2007.

Maybe Rollins was right about one thing. He did need New York to garner the attention he deserved.

In January, Rollins said his Philadelphia squad was the team to beat and his words threw the New York media into an uproar. He was chastised. He was ridiculed.  He was only half right. Not only were the Phillies to top dog in the National League East, he was the man to beat for the top award.

Let’s look at how he did it.

Rollins hit .296, with 38 doubles, 20 triples, 30 homers, 94 RBIs, 41 stolen bases, 212 hits and 139 runs scored. The switch-hitter became the first player in history to collect at least 200 hits, 25 homers, 15 triples and 25 steals in a season.

He joins Barry Larkin and Alex Rodriguez as only the third shortstop in history to have at least 30 homers and 30 stolen bases in a season. And by the way, his 716 at-bats were a Major League record.

Let’s also give credit where credit is due.

Holliday’s numbers were also impressive. He hit .340, with 50 doubles, 36 homers, 137 RBIs, 216 hits and 120 runs scored. He also led the league in hits, total bases, doubles and extra-base hits. The fact that he led his club into the postseason and was a big reason the Rockies went on a magical run in September and all the way to the World Series should not be overlooked. It just was not enough.
And no, he was not more valuable to his team than Rollins was to his team. Holliday was the best player on his team. Rollins was Mr. Everything all the time to his.

Prince, you will get your chance and believe me when I say your better days are ahead. You can argue that he picked up the top honor of the offseason when he was named as the Hank Aaron Award winner for the National League last month. He also won the Player’s Choice Award as the NL’s Most Outstanding Player this offseason.

Prince hit like a king in 2007 with a .288 batting and leading the NL with 50 home runs and a .618 slugging percentage. He ranked second in the league with a 1.013 OPS, third with 119 RBIs and seventh with 109 runs scored.

He was great, just not the most valuable. Rollins was.