Jimmy Rollins receives huge ovation in return to Philadelphia
A lot can change in four years. At this time in 2011, Jimmy Rollins was the starting shortstop on a Philadelphia Phillies team on their way to winning 102 games. Today, Philadelphia has the worst record in MLB and Rollins is no longer wearing Phillie red on a nightly basis.
Yes, things change. But that doesn’t mean everything is forgotten. For one night, the baseball world in Philaldephia was right again.
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Rollins returned to Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday for the first time since being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the offseason and received a long and loud standing ovation from Phillies fans as he stepped to the plate to lead off the first inning. Rollins’ former teammates Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz joined the fans and applauded from their positions on the field.
Having played in Philadelphia for the better part of 15 seasons, Rollins’ name is all over the Phillies’ record book. He won the National League MVP award in 2007, and of course, played a huge part in capturing a World Series title in 2008. It was a fitting welcome home for a player recognized as one of the franchise’s all-time greats.
From the Philadelphia Daily News:
“It was cool,” said Rollins, who had to step out and raise his helmet a second time. “It was greatly appreciated. It went longer than I thought . I came out, they clapped, I nodded and got back in the box. And they just kept going. I was like,’Geez, we do have a game to play.’ But it was a great moment for them to show their appreciation. I’m glad it was that way.”
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Rollins went 2-for-5 in the game to extend his hit streak to five games, but his Dodgers (yeah, it still sounds weird) fell to the Phillies 6-2.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
