Masters of “Little Stats” and Baseball IQ: Chase Utley, Carlos Ruiz, Jayson Werth, and Shane Victorino

       In Bill James' Historical Baseball Abstract, he said that Joe Morgan was the “greatest percentage player in baseball history.” He based this on a stat he called Percentage Player Index (or PPI, as I will refer to it), which he had created as a way to measure baseball IQ. The stats he used were:

• Fielding Percentage
• Stolen Base Percentage
• Strikeout To Walk Ratio
• Walk Frequency

  

  Joe Morgan: Incredibly smart player, incredibly stupid broadcaster

  
  

       He combined these stats, rated players in them compared to the average player in their era, and found that Joe Morgan was, according to that statistic, the most intelligent player ever. Fielding percentage is a little-used statistic nowadays, but it is a good indicator of a player's defensive instincts and positioning. When describing Jackie Robinson, James said:

• “'Is it not possible, I wonder, that Jackie's intelligence created benefits for his team that only show up in the statistics?.... if an infielder makes a diving stop of a line drive, he wins recognition as a defensive wizard. But if he anticipates the play, and moves two steps to his left before the ball is hit, it's a routine play, and nobody notices it....Isn't it possible that Jackie just anticipated the play more than anyone else did?”

Jackie Robinson didn't make very many spectacular defensive plays, but he had great defensive value due to his intelligence and ability to always be in the right position

     Stolen base percentage is a way to show good judgment and anticipation. There is an art to base stealing beyond just being fast; obviously you need speed, but it is also a matter of deceiving the pitcher and catcher by taking a lead short enough for them not to react but long enough to be able to reach the base in time, as well as jumping off at the exact instant the pitcher begins his windup in order to have enough time to reach the base. Raw speed isn't enough; BJ Upton is one of the fastest players in the league, but his career stolen base percentage is only 77%. Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders may have been the two fastest men to ever play in the MLB, but their steal percentages are only 72 (Jackson) and 75 (Sanders). Taking a lot of walks and very few strikeouts is the ultimate sign of a high baseball IQ. It shows patience and an unwillingness to swing at pitches that can't be hit. The walk is one of the only plays in baseball that relies almost purely on intelligence rather than athleticism.

           Three more measures that often don't stick out on a stat sheet but are great indicators of how effective a player is are what James calls “little stats:” Double plays grounded into (GIDP), sacrifice flies, and hit by pitches (HBP). Sacrifice flies are the best possible way a hitter can get out, and double plays are the worst. Hit by pitches are the ultimate sacrifice play; the hitter has to be willing to lean into a 90 mile per hour pitch just to get to first base. All of these stats show players positively effecting the game without really showing up on a player's main conventional stats. Craig Biggio was a master of these little stats; in 1997 he was hit by 34 pitches while grounding into zero double plays. The 34 hit by pitches were the third most in a single season since 1900, and he was the fifth player ever to go a full season without ever grounding into a double play.

Craig Biggio was a master at doing the little things

        The Phillies were a dominant team in the late 2000s and early 10's. One of the many reasons for this is that their lineup was absolutely stacked with players who were historically great in these little stats that indicate intelligence, hustle, and a team-first mentality. The most notable of these were Chase Utley, Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, and Carlos Ruiz.

         Second basemen who have the ability to hit .330 and over 30 home runs are incredibly rare; in fact, only 5 second basemen since 1950 (including Utley) have ever had a .330+ batting average and over 20 home runs in a season (it is hard to compare modern stats to those before the second half of the 20^th century; players used to have seasons like Rogers Hornsby's 1922 where he hit .401 with 42 homers). Only 14 second basemen since 1950 have had even one season with over 30 homers; Utley has hit that mark three times. By any measure Utley is among the best hitting second basemen of all time, but his true greatness lies in his baseball IQ and hustle. 

              Utley is outstanding historically in all of the PPI and little stats. The average walk/strikeout ratio by a hitter in 2014 is somewhere around .415. Over his career, Utley's BB/K is .653 (603 walks to 923 strikeouts), almost 250 points higher than the average. This doesn't compare well to the PPI king Joe Morgan and his outrageous 1.84 ratio, but Morgan played in an era with a lot more walks and less strikeouts. Here is a quick comparison:

Year	1974	2014
Players with at least 100 BB	8	2
League leader in BB	126, Darell Evans	113, Carlos Santana
Players with at least 100 strikeouts	20	117
League leader in strikeouts	138, Mike Schmidt	190, Ryan Howard

           Seeing as the MLB leader in strikeouts 40 years ago would finish tied for 28^th in 2014 and there were almost six times as many players with at least 100 strikeouts, I think that I can safely say comparing that statistic across eras is almost meaningless.

          While Utley is only really great relative to his era on BB/K, he is among the best ever at stolen base %, HBP, and GIDP. Among all players in MLB history with at least 100 career stolen base attempts, Utley is first in stolen base percentage at 88.5%. He is 16^th all time in career HBPs, and has been hit 169 times in his career, 36 times more than any active player other than Alex Rodriguez (who has also been hit 169 times, but has played in over 1000 more games than Utley). Since 2005 (his first full season), Utley has hit into the 5^th fewest double plays of any player who has played at least 1300 games in that period (meaning an average of 130 games per year). He also has a career fielding percentage of .987, which compares favorably to Morgan's .981, although he plays in an era of much higher average fielding percentages.

No one has ever been more efficient at stealing bases than Utley

Utley has been hit by 169 pitches in his career

          While Utley is absolutely incredible across the board on PPI and little stats, he is not the only Phillie from that era to put up incredible numbers. Remember how he was first all time in SB% among all players in MLB history with at least 100 career stolen base attempts? Jayson Werth is third, Shane Victorino is 22^nd, and Jimmy Rollins is 24^th. In 2007, the Phillies had the highest single season team stolen base percentage in MLB history at 87.9%. The likely reason for all of this is that their first base coach from 2007 to 2010 was Davey Lopes, who as a player was 21^st all time (one spot ahead of Victorino) in career stolen base percentage. So 5 of the top 25 players ever in SB% either played or coached for the Phillies between 2007 and 2010. 

Davey Lopes: great base stealer, better first base coach

          Utley's career BB/K ratio of .653 is way above the average for his era, but it isn't much higher than Victorino's .614, and it pales in comparison to Carlos Ruiz's amazing .868. Ruiz has walked more or the same amount of times as he has struck out in four of his seven career 100+ game seasons. From 2006-2011 he actually had a career BB/K ratio of 1.02. Relative to his era, Ruiz is almost unmatched in his ability to not strike out. Since his first full season in 2007, only 5 players who have played at least 900 games in that time have fewer strikeouts than he does.

Ruiz almost never strikes out

      Ruiz was, like Utley, willing to take a lot of HBPs. Since 2007, Ruiz has 65 HBPs, 11^th among all players during that period. Victorino is not far behind him, sitting at 15^th overall with 61. Jayson Werth is 33^rd, with 46. This feels like a good time to mention that Utley was hit 138 times over that period, and no one other than Utley had more than 99 HBPs.
           The other thing that Ruiz excelled at that doesn't really show up in the stats is handling pitchers. This consists of things like pitch framing, calling pitches, and keeping the pitchers calm and happy. There aren't many stats for this, but it can be seen in the stats of the pitchers he has called games for. He has called 4 different no-hitters in his career, 3 in the regular season and 1 in the playoffs, which puts him in a tie for first all time along with Jason Varitek. Pitchers generally improve their performance with Ruiz as their primary catcher. Cliff Lee had already won a Cy Young award in 2008 with the Indians, but his two best seasons by WAR came in 2011 and 2013 with the Phillies. Roy Halladay won the Cy Young in 2003 and was already a likely Hall of Famer when he came to the Phillies, but his two best seasons by WAR also came on the Phillies in 2010 and 2011. With the Astros in 2007 Brad Lidge had 19 saves and a 3.36 ERA. The next year on the Phillies he had a 1.95 ERA and 41 saves and finished 4th in Cy Young and 8th in MVP voting.

           These guys were either given bases on balls or hit by pitches quite a lot, but they also put the ball into play a lot, and when they did good things happened. From 2006-2013, Victorino grounded into 48 double plays, the third fewest of anyone who played at least 1000 games during that time. Meanwhile, he hit 60 sacrifice hits and flies. Victorino, Werth, and Utley are all in the top 15 of fewest GIDPs since 2006 of players who have played at least 1000 games, and since 2005, Utley is 7^th among all players in sac flies, and Ryan Howard is 16^th.

           So the Phillies were incredibly effective at the plate and on the base paths, but what about in the field? If we are basing their defensive intelligence, as James did, on fielding percentage, the Phillies were outstanding. Among active players, Victorino is first among center fielders with a .9962 career fielding percentage. Rollins is second among shortstops, Werth is 6^th among right fielders, Ruiz 6^th among catchers, and Utley is 13^th among second basemen. 

Shane Victorino is a great hitter and one of the best center fielders in the game

       The Phillies' dedication to doing all the little things right led to some incredibly effective seasons, such as:

• Shane Victorino, 2011:
  • Normal Stats: 
    • .279/.355/.491, 17 HR, 27 2B, 16 3B, 19 SB
  • Pretty good, but also consider:
    • He only grounded into 5 double plays
    • He had an 86% stolen base rate (only caught 3 times)
    • He had a .873 BB/K rate (55 BB, 63 K)
• Chase Utley, 2009:
  • Normal Stats:
    • .282/.397/.508, 31 HR, 28 2B, 4 3B, 23 SB
  • Little stats:
    • Grounded into only 5 double plays
    • He was hit by 24 pitches
    • He had a 100% stolen base rate (23 for 23)
    • Had a .800 BB/K rate (88 BB to 110 K)
• Carlos Ruiz, 2010
  • Normal Stats:
    • .302/.400/.447, 8 HR, 28 2B
  • Little Stats:
    • Grounded into only 8 double plays
    • 1.02 BB/K rate (55 BB to 54 K)
    • He caught and called both of Roy Halladay's No-Hitters
• Jayson Werth, 2008
  • Normal stats:
    • .273/.363/.498, 24 HR, 16 2B, 20 SB
  • Little stats:
    • Only hit into 2 double plays in 134 games; the year before he hit into zero in 94 games
    • Had a 95% SB rate; 20 steals in 21 attempts

      

      Werth almost never hit into double plays, was a great base runner, and was very good in the field

     

Werth also may have had the most drastic image makeover of any player in baseball history

          It would be one thing if there were one or two players on a team excelling at these little things, but when a single team has a handful of the best ever at a few statistical categories you have to consider how good the coaching, managing, and player development on the Phillies was. It isn't really possible to teach players to hit 36 homers like Werth did in 2009, or hit 16 triples like Victorino in 2011. 20-20 guys who can hit .300 don't grow on trees, although the Phillies did seem to have a lot of them. What can be taught and coached is taking a lot of walks, never getting thrown out on the base paths, not grounding into double plays, and not making mistakes in the field. These are the things that great teams do that separate them from good teams with a collection of star players.

The Great Ryan Howard

     

       Ryan Howard in 2014 was not a particularly good player. Really, he was pretty bad. He led the MLB in strikeouts, hit only .223/.310/.380, with 23 home runs and 18 doubles, and finished the year with -1.1 WAR. Injuries and natural decline due to aging have caused him, along with the Phillies team around him, to become a shadow of their former self. However, his rapid decline and massive contract have caused some to forget about just how good Howard was. In 2006 he was named Rookie of the Year. Then from 2007-2011 he finished in the top ten in National League MVP voting every year for 6 straight seasons, winning once, and going to three All-Star games. He was not some one dimensional slugger like Adam Dunn or Dave Kingman; Howard was a truly dominant player and one of the great power hitters of all time. 

      The job of a cleanup hitter is to bat 4^th, after the team's 3 best on-base guys , and hopefully drive them home to score runs. For the four year period of 2006-2009, Ryan Howard did this better than pretty much anyone ever. The players who hit in front of him during this period were very good at getting on base. From 06-09 Chase Utley had an OBP of .391, Jimmy Rollins' was .330, and Shane Victorino's was .351. Ryan Howard was very good at sending them home. This lineup led the Phillies to finish 4^th, 2^nd, 8^th, and 4^th in the league in runs scored during those years, while winning the NL East every year and going to two World Series. During this 4-year stretch, Howard had 572 RBI, an average of 143 per year. 

      The best possible thing that a baseball player can do to help his team win games is hit home runs. It is very simple. A home run automatically equals at least one run scored, and on a team like the late 2000's Phillies, it usually means more than one run scores. If the goal of baseball is to win games, and games are won by scoring more runs than the other team, then a player who hits a lot of home runs is very valuable. And, for a four year period, Ryan Howard hit more home runs than almost anyone else ever. Here is a list of the most home runs ever hit over a 4 year period:

• Mark McGwire, 1996-1999: 245 HR, 530 RBI
• Sammy Sosa, 1998-2001: 243 HR, 597 RBI
• Barry Bonds 2000-2003: 213 HR, 443 RBI
• Babe Ruth 1927-1930: 209 HR, 618 RBI
• Ken Griffey JR 1996-1999: 209 HR, 567 RBI
• Ryan Howard 2006 to 2009: 198 HR, 572 RBI
• Alex Rodriguez 2000-2003: 197 HR, 527 RBI
• Ralph Kiner 1947-1950: 192 HR, 495 RBI
• Jim Thome 2001-2004: 190 HR, 478 RBI
• Harmon Killebrew 1961-1964: 188 HR, 455 RBI
• Jimmie Foxx 1932-1935: 186 HR, 577 RBI
• Willie Mays 1962-1965: 186 HR, 467 RBI
• Albert Pujols 2003-2006: 179 HR, 501 RBI
• Albert Belle 1995-1999: 177 HR, 542 RBI
• David Ortiz 2004-2007: 177 HR, 541 RBI
• Ernie Banks, 1957-1960: 176 HR, 491 RBI
• Hank Greenberg 1937-1940: 172 HR, 594 RBI
• Mickey Mantle 1955-1958: 165 HR, 420 RBI
• Hank Aaron 1960-63: 163 HR, 504 RBI
• Mike Schmidt 79-82: 159 HR, 413 RBI

     Only 5 players ever hit more home runs over a 4 year period than Ryan Howard, and 3 of those 5 were known steroid users. In his best four year stretch, Howard hit 35 more homers than Hank Aaron ever hit in a four year period; his average season during that time would have been 49.5 home runs, 2.5 more than Aaron's career high! I'm not saying that Howard was anywhere near the player that Aaron was. Hank Aaron hit 30 or more home runs in 15 different seasons and his average season from ages 21-39 had him hitting .312/.380/.574 with 37 homers, 29 doubles, 5 triples, and 12 steals. But it is interesting to point out that Howard's 4 year peak had him hitting significantly more homers than the peak of the Home Run King. 

   

Even the great Hank Aaron never hit as many home runs over a four year period as Howard did from 2006-2009

          Along with being one of the greatest home run hitters that the game has ever seen, Howard was a much better pure hitter than he is often given credit for. From his rookie year in 2005 through his final pre-achilles tear season in 2011, he hit a very solid .275/.368/.560. He had three seasons with 4 or more triples and only once had fewer than 25 doubles (23 in 2010). I strongly believe that Howard's career is severely underrated by WAR. Just looking at what I would consider to be his three best seasons:

• 2006:  .313/.425/.659, 58 HR, 25 2B, 108 BB.
• 2007:  .268/.392/.584, 47 HR, 26 2B, 107 BB
• 2009: .279/.360/.525, 45 HR, 37 2B, 75 BB

Then look at the three best seasons of a player who is probably overrated by WAR, Josh Donaldson:

• 2012: .241/.289/.398, 9 HR, 16 2B, 14 BB
• 2013: .301/.384/.499, 24 HR, 36 2B, 76 BB
• 2014: .255/.342/.456, 29 HR, 31 2B, 76 BB

Here are the averages of their three best seasons, and the total WAR they had over that period (Donaldson didn't play a full season in 2012 so for his average HR, 2B, and BB I am just using 2013 and 2014):

•  Donaldson: .266/.338/.451, 27 HR, 34 2B, 76 BB, total of 16.9 WAR
• Howard: .287/.392/.589, 50 HR, 29 2B, 97 BB, total of 11.9 WAR

I get that Donaldson is an excellent defender at a position of high value (third base), but to say that he was worth 5 WAR (basically the equivalent of a full all-star level season) more than Howard across his three best seasons (by the way, that is three full seasons by Howard and only 2 and a half from Donaldson) is absurd.

          Ryan Howard is not a Hall of Fame player; he has only played 100 or more games in a season 7 times, gets too many strikeouts, and has terrible defense and base running. At his best, however, he was one of the greatest cleanup hitters the game has ever seen. Along with that, as a Phillies fan, it has been just as much of a privilege to watch him as it has been to watch Chase Utley or Jimmy Rollins. He exuded power; every time he stepped up to the plate you felt like something big was going to happen. He didn't just hit home runs; he smashed balls into the upper deck with so much force that it always seemed like the ball should have simply exploded upon impact with his bat. The dominant slugger seems to be a dying breed in the current MLB. Howard hit more than 45 home runs every year from 06-09; in the 5 seasons since then only two players have topped 45 home runs in a season even once (Jose Bautista and Chris Davis), and only three have hit 40 or more home runs twice (Bautista, Curtis Granderson, and Miguel Cabrera). Giancarlo Stanton is considered the most powerful young hitter in the game. His first 5 seasons have looked like this:

• .271/.364/.540, 31 homers, 28 doubles, high of 37 homers

And Howard's first 5 years looked like this:

• .279/.376/.586, 44 homers, 26 doubles, high of 58 homers

       Whatever his imperfections, a player like Ryan Howard doesn't come into the league very often, and as the league continues into this low-scoring, pitching-dominated era, guys who could hit like Howard will be missed. Do not forget the greatness of Ryan Howard; it may be a long time before we see another player like him.

Creating the Perfect Baseball Player

If you could take the skills of any baseball player in history and combine them into one Frankenstein's monster of a player, who would you take?

First quality: The Vision and Plate Discipline of Barry Bonds

   From the ages of 25-39 Bonds had a .313 batting average with a .468 OBP. From 2001-2004 he hit over .500 OBP each year, and his .609 OBP in 2004 is the highest of all time. His .582 in 2002 is second best all time. The third highest single season OBP is Ted Williams in 1941 who hit .553, 56 points lower than Bond's best. He holds the 3 highest single-season walk totals in MLB history and 6 of the top 20 totals. Rickey Henderson is second in career bases on balls with 2190, Babe Ruth is third with 2062. Bonds is first all time with 2558; 368 more career walks than the second highest total! Despite the fact that he was walked on 21% of his career plate appearances, he still managed to get a lot of hits; his 2935 career hits are good for 33rd all time.

The Glove and Throwing Arm of.... Barry Bonds

   Barry Bonds is mostly known for hitting. However, he also won eight gold gloves in his 22-year career. He is 16th in career double plays turned by a left fielder and second in career defensive WAR by a left fielder. He put up 179 career TZR (total fielding runs above average), good for first all time among left fielders and 45 runs better than the next best left fielder (Carl Yastrzemski at 134)

The Speed of, you guessed it, Barry Bonds

    Bonds is 33rd all time in career steals with 514. This is not overwhelmingly impressive on it's own, until you consider that he hit either a home run or a triple on 839 of his 2935 career hits. Since you can't steal bases when you hit a homer or triple, that drastically lowers his chances to steal bases. Then consider that of the 37 players who have at least 500 career stolen bases, only 5 have over 300 home runs + triples (Rickey Henderson, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Joe Morgan, and Paul Molitor) and none have more than Cobb's 412 (still not even half of Bond's). Bond's career Power-Speed number (a stat that measures the mean of a player's career home runs and stolen bases) is 613, first all time. The second best ever is Henderson at 490.

The Power of Barry Bonds

 The single most valuable thing a player can do on a baseball field is hit home runs. It gives their team automatic points without needing other players to hit in order to score. Barry Bonds hit more home runs than anyone else. His 762 career homers are the most of all time, and his 73 in 2001 is the highest single season total ever. He probably could have hit another 100 homers in his career if he wasn't intentionally walked so often; he was intentionally walked 688 times over his career, 395 more than second place Hank Aaron. In fact, in the five-year span from 2000 to 2004 he was intentionally walked 16 more times than Aaron was in his entire 21 year career. His 120 intentional walks in 2004 are 75 more than anyone other than himself ever got in a season. It is impossible to tell just how many homers he would have hit if pitchers weren't too scared to actually throw the ball to him. He wasn't just a masher though; his 1440 career extra base hits are second only to Aaron's 1477, and he has 63 more extra base hits than Stan Musial who is third all time with 1377.
  Also, he was just outrageously powerful. Remember how he used to routinely smash balls into the ocean in McCovey Cove, to the point where it was pretty much expected that he would do it a few times every week?

The Giants keep track of hits into McCovey Cove, they call them Splash Hits. Bonds made them look incredibly easy, and he hit into the Cove 35 times. This is insane because AT&T park is generally very hard on left handed power hitters due to the right field wall being 24 feet high. The second highest career total for splash hits belongs to Pablo Sandoval with seven.
      It really seems like there is no need to create the perfect baseball player; he already existed. He had great genes; he is cousins with Reggie Jackson and his dad Bobby played 14 seasons in the league and was a 3 time all star who hit 332 career home runs and had 461 career stolen bases.  He was groomed to be a Giants great with his father and godfather (Willie Mays) both playing on the Giants He was born with unbelievable talent and athletic ability and delayed his aging and enhanced his power with PEDs (like every single other player of his era). He was the greatest defensive left fielder ever while also being the greatest power hitter ever and was fast enough to steal over 500 bases. Whatever anyone thinks about Bonds as a person really doesn't impact how good he was as a player, and he certainly isn't the worst person in the top group of baseball players (Ty Cobb, for example, was much worse). Although people outside of San Francisco don't like him, no conversation of who is the greatest baseball player of all time can be complete without Barry Bonds.

Jimmy Rollins: The Perfect Phillie

J Roll with his World Series ring

Every team has certain players who are the icons of the franchise, the most recognizable and beloved stars the organization has ever had. The Yankees have had a bunch from Ruth to Gehrig to DiMaggio to Mantle to Jeter. The Orioles had Cal Ripken, The Cardinals had Stan Musial, the Cubs had Ernie Banks. The Marlins had a bunch of greats but they traded them all. Some players, due to their leadership, charisma, and connection with their fans transcend statistical measures and become legends. The Phillies are one of the MLB's oldest teams, and have had their share of great players. The greatest third baseman to ever play the game, Mike Schmidt, played in Philly. Steve Carlton, Robin Roberts, Pete Alexander, and Bobby Abreu all spent most or all of their careers there. The Phillies have had an incredible number of great players recently. From the years 2005-2014 Phillies players have combined for 26 All Star Games, a Rookie of the Year, 6 Silver Sluggers, 7 Gold Gloves, 2 MVPs, a Cy Young, and have had players lead the league in home runs twice and in RBI and triples 3 times. They went to two World Series and won the National League East for four consecutive years. Three of the top five seasons in WAR by a pitcher since 2005 have come on the Phillies (Roy Halladay 2011 and 2010, Cliff Lee 2011). Three of the top 6 pitchers in total WAR since 2005 played on the Phillies (Halladay is second, Lee is third, and Cole Hamels is sixth). Chase Utley is second only to Albert Pujols in total WAR since 2005. In this giant group of all time greats, only one player is the perfect icon for the team: Jimmy Rollins.

Short, scrappy, and absurdly talented: Jimmy Rollins is the perfect Philadelphia sports icon.

                   Rollins' career saw him lead two generations of Phillies teams. From 1988-2000 the Phils only had 1 winning season, their 97 win 1993. The next best season after that was 78 wins in 1991. Then, in 2001, Jroll's rookie year, they started winning. From 2001-2012, they only had one losing season (2002 when they went 80-81). For his first few years, Rollins was part of a pretty good core of Phillies along with Bobby Abreu, Scott Rolen, Placido Polanco, Mike Lieberthal, and Jim Thome. With that group they were able to average 85 wins per year from 2001-2004. When the Phillies were ready to transition from a good to a great team Rollins led the way. Before the 2007 season began, he said:

“The Mets had a chance to win the World Series last year. Last year is over. I think we are the team to beat in the NL East, finally. But, that's only on paper."

        That season the Phillies won the first of their four consecutive division championships. From 2005-2007 the Phillies young talent exploded as they brought up players like Utley, Hamels, Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz, Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, and Ryan Madson as well as adding Jamie Moyer and Brad Lidge in free agency. In the late 2000s and early 10's they added Halladay, Lee, and Roy Oswalt. Throughout all this time, Jimmy Rollins remained the team's leader.

Lidge and Ruiz after winning the World Series

            With his leadership alone, Rollins' status as a Phillies legend would have been guaranteed. But Rollins was never all talk. He is an incredible player. In Phillies history, he is 10^th all time in career WAR, second in games played, third in runs scored, first in hits, first in doubles, third in triples, ninth in home runs, and second in steals. He is among the leaders in pretty much every statistical category for a team that has been around since 1883. 

 

Rollins sets the Phillies all time hits record. Great moment for a great player.

           Rollins' variety of skills is almost unbelievable. In only 14 seasons, he has 2306 hits, 216 home runs, 479 doubles, 111 triples, and 453 steals. There have been only six players in the history of the MLB with 2,000+ hits, 200+ home runs, and 450+ stolen bases: Paul Molitor, Rickey Henderson, Barry Bonds, Roberto Alomar, Joe Morgan, and Rollins. Only Molitor and Rollins have also had over 100 career triples. Rollins has played 289 fewer career games than Roberto Alomar, the player with the next fewest career games played in this club.

J Roll and Manager Charlie Manuel

          How about this for well-roundedness: in 2007, the year Rollins won the MVP, he hit .296/.344/.531 with 30 homers, 38 doubles, 20 triples, and 41 steals. That season put him in the exclusive 20-20-20-20 club of players who recorded at least 20 homers, doubles, triples, and steals in a single season. He is only joined in this club by Willie Mays in 1957 (35 homers, 26 doubles, 20 triples, and 38 steals) and Frank “Wildfire” Schlute in 1911 (21 homers, 30 doubles, 21 triples, and 23 steals). You know you're good when the only player to match you within 90 seasons is Willie Mays. 

Willie Mays: You might have heard of him. He was pretty good.

                Rollins has had five seasons with at least 10 hr, 20 2b, 10 3b, and 30 sb, and had two more where he met all of the criteria but with only 9 triples. This is tied for the most such seasons in MLB history. Only Carl Crawford and Jose Reyes match him with five, only George Sisler has done it four times, and only Willie Mays and Johnny Damon have three 10-20-10-30 seasons. Very few players can even come close to comparing to Rollins in his ability to fill up a stat sheet.

           During his Phillies career Rollins wasn't just the team's vocal leader and one of the most versatile offensive players ever. He is a fantastic defensive player at shortstop, the second hardest position on the field after catcher. Of all shortstops in MLB history, Rollins is 21^st in double plays turned, 30^th in total fielding runs above average, 3^rd in fielding percentage, and is tied for 6^th in Gold Gloves with 4. 

Rollins and Utley, the greatest double play team of their generation

             Rollins wasn't a perfect player. He struck out too often for a lead off hitter, and could have probably hit for a much higher average if he swung with less power. These flaws were often criticized by the Philadelphia fans (you know, the ones who booed Donavan McNabb when he was drafted and drove Scott Rolen and Eric Lindros out of town). However, Jimmy Rollins is the perfect Philadelphia athlete.
        Philly wants tough guys and big talkers, hyper competitive types who have been called too small or too slow their whole lives. We want Brian Dawkins, Brian Westbrook, and Allen Iverson. Philly sports fans have a completely different attitude from that of fans of other teams around the country. That comes with having incredibly passionate fans and teams that are mostly successful but rarely great. The Eagles have never won the Super Bowl, the Phillies have more total losses than any other major sports franchise, Villanova and the 76ers haven't won a championship since the 80s, and the Sixers' current goal is to lose as many games as possible. Compare that to fans in New York who can root for consistent excellence with the Yankees, Giants, and Rangers, or, if they are masochists, choose to cheer on the Jets, Nets, Mets, Islanders, and Knicks. Being New York fans they will also be completely ignorant of whether their team is actually any good and just assume that they are. San Francisco fans have had 2 of the 5 greatest football players ever (Montana and Rice) and 2 of the 3 best baseball players ever (Mays and Bonds), have won 5 Super Bowls, and seem to be on track to win the World Series every other year for the rest of time. Boston fans have a chip on their shoulder like Philly fans, but their 4 major teams have won 25 championships since 1960 and 9 in the past 15 years, so they really shouldn't complain. The most similar sports city to Philadelphia is really Seattle, who had their beloved Sonics stolen to go play in one of America's worst states, have won zero championships with the Mariners (despite having all time greats like Ken Griffey Jr, Alex Rodriguez, Ichiro, Jamie Moyer, and Randy Johnson and winning a MLB record 116 games in 2001), and had never won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks until 2014.
               Effortless greats like Alex Rodriguez or Shaquille O'Neal would never fit in in Philly. Terell Owens is one of the most hated athletes in Philadelphia sports history. Philly boxers are always the underdog to the more perfect, more polished, more athletic guy; think Rocky Vs Apollo Creed, Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali, or Bernard Hopkins vs Roy Jones Jr. Philadelphia was once America's capital, home of Benjamin Franklin and the Liberty bell; but today is always overshadowed by New York, Boston, and Washington DC. Now remember that back in 2001, Jimmy Rollins finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting after Albert Pujols, Ichiro Suzuki, Roy Oswalt, and CC Sabathia. Looking back to that year, as a Phillies fan, who would I want to pick to play on my team for the next 15 years? Pujols, the muscular baseball god who would go on to be the greatest hitter of his generation? Ichiro, the smooth, polished, ready-made superstar from Japan? The short Mississippi ace Oswalt, or the giant fastballer Sabathia? Given the choice, I think it worked out perfectly. I would want to have the short, speedy guy from Oakland who was just cocky enough to believe that he could be a power hitter and that the Phillies could overcome years of mediocrity to win the World Series. He may not have been as great a player as Chase Utley or Roy Halladay, but the Phillies would not have become the team they became without Rollins.

   The Philly Greats (Clockwise): Bernard Hopkins, Allen Iverson, Kyle Lowry, Rollins, Jameer Nelson, and Brian Dawkins.

What Could Have Been: The Potentially Great Baseball Career of Deion Saunders

A young, jheri-curled Prime Time

• Just to clarify: Deion Sanders is one of the greatest football players of all time. He was possibly the most versatile player who ever played in the NFL. He is 24^th all time in career interceptions, tied for 30^th in career kick return touchdowns, and tied for 8^th in career punt return touchdowns. He was an incredible athlete who could be the best cornerback and the best kick and punt returner in the league most years while also playing receiver. Because of that incredible athletic ability he was able to play in the MLB at a fairly high level at the same time that he was in the NFL. Just the fact that he was good enough to play both sports at the highest level at the same time is incredible. There have been several people who have tried to play both at the same time. Most have been much closer to the University of Washington's All-American linebacker Shaq Thompson (who played 13 games on the GCL Red Sox minor league team and had a spectacular stat line of zero hits, 8 walks, and 37 strikeouts) than they have been to Sanders. Tom Brady, Michael Vick, and Russell Wilson were all drafted by MLB teams; none of them attempted to play both football and baseball at the same time. It is insane to think that someone could manage to play both sports at a high level at the same time. The amount of practice needed to maintain that high of a skill level in either baseball or football should be more than a full time job. However, Deion Sanders was able to be an above-average baseball player and a Hall of Fame football player at the same time. He played both sports, but his focus was clearly on football, which was obviously a good decision for him. But just for curiosity's sake, how good could he have been if he had focused all of his efforts on baseball?

  

  On the super-bowl winning 1994 49ers

  
  

  

  Saunder's 1992 Upper Deck card showing him playing both sports

  
  
• The first thing to look at is what he actually did in his MLB career. In total, he played in 9 different seasons, with his highest single season game total coming in 1997 when he played 115 games. Despite never playing a full season, he still did some pretty impressive things. He led the league in triples in 1992 with 14 even though he only played 97 games. He finished 4^th in the league in stolen bases in the strike season 1994 and finished 5^th in steals in his career high 115 game 1997. These seasons showed flashes of his immense potential. 
  
  
  
• The next step is to round up his actual stats to full seasons. So for example, in 1994 he played 92 games, so I multiplied all of his stats by 1.5 which would be the equivalent of a 138 game season. I then kept the home runs, doubles, triples, and steals as whatever they multiplied to but I assumed that with extra focus on baseball he would be able to add 20 points to his batting average and 30 points to his OBP each year. I also assumed, due to his ability as a cornerback, that he would be worth an average of 1.0 dWAR each year in center field due to the extra focus on baseball. I then assumed that he would be able to play from ages 22-37 (the same as his NFL career), would play every season, and would have a normal level of decline in his mid-30s. For the seasons that he did not play baseball in (his age 28, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, and 37 years) I just took the average of the three previous seasons and plugged them in, and then took an average level of decline as he entered his mid 30s.
• So in the entirely hypothetical scenario I laid out, here is Deion Sanders' new MLB career:

Year	Age	Games	AVG	OBP	HR	2B	3B	SB	WAR
1990	22	114	178	296	6	2	2	16	1.3
1991	23	108	211	300	8	2	4	22	1
1992	24	145	324	386	12	9	21	39	6.8
1993	25	142	296	351	9	27	9	29	5
1994	26	138	303	372	6	26	6	57	4
1995	27	128	288	357	9	17	12	36	4
1996	28	139	295	363	7	20	9	55	3.7
1997	29	150	293	359	7	17	9	73	3.1
1998	30	139	292	360	8	18	10	55	3.6
1999	31	139	292	360	8	18	10	55	3.6
2000	32	139	292	360	8	18	10	55	3.6
2001	33	130	287	350	7	17	8	45	3.1
2002	34	130	282	340	6	16	6	35	2.6
2003	35	130	277	330	5	15	4	25	2.1
2004	36	120	272	320	4	14	2	15	1.7
2005	37	110	267	310	3	13	0	5	1.1
Career Totals:			278	345	113	249	122	617	50.3

      

      With these rounded-up stats, Prime Time would have probably been a multi-time All Star, would have been 13^th all time in career stolen bases, and would have had more steals than anyone in the 1990-2005 period. He would also have finished 12^th in career triples by anyone since 1950. This scenario would have led to him finishing his career as a not-quite hall of famer but very good player; he would have comparable stats to players like Willie Wilson and Kenny Lofton. I believe that my estimates were probably fairly conservative; with a full time focus on baseball his natural athleticism would probably allow him to be an all time great. But even just very simply rounding his stats up to what he would have had if he played full seasons at the same level that he did in reality shows a very good player. He probably wouldn't have had as great a career as he did in football, but it is amazing how great he could have been at his second-best sport.

Also, since the 90s were an incredible time to be a sports fan, here is Deion Sanders in a dunk competition against Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Conley's dad: