When Rollins signed that contract, the game's best shortstop, Derek Jeter, then 31, was in the fifth year of his 10-year, $189 million Yankees deal.
In 2007, Rollins' MVP year, the National League's best shortstop was 4 years younger than the American League's best and earned about $11 million less than Jeter.
Nobody is going to argue that the iconic, first-ballot Hall of Famer is not a better all-around player than J-Roll. But Rollins was not worth nearly three times less than Jeter, which is what the numbers suggested.
Fast forward to 2009, when Rollins had turned 30. His average slumped to .250 a year after he helped lead the Phillies to their second World Series title. But it was a productive .250. He led the league with 725 plate appearances and 672 at-bats, despite missing seven games. He scored 100 runs, the leadoff hitter's benchmark, drove in 77 and stole 31 bases. He had 69 extra-base hits and a .719 OPS.
They were fairly amazing numbers considering Rollins had an OBP of just .296, a red flag for any big-league position player and unacceptable for a leadoff hitter. It was 53 points under his 2008 OBP number and marked a sea change in the way he was regarded by a sometimes unforgiving fandom. He already was carrying the baggage of being yanked from a game by Charlie Manuel for failing to hustle on a play and his benching for showing up late before a Mets game in New York.
But in the 20/20 clarity of hindsight, 2009 would have been the ideal time to give Rollins a 5-year extension with a club option for 2014 at a figure equivalent to the $11 million a year the Phillies will pay him during his new, 3-year-plus-option, free-agent contract.
Once again, they have him below the market for a premier shortstop. But there are hard reasons for the reluctance of any ballclub to give him the 5-year deal he sought on the open market.
