Philadelphia Phillies MVP seasons ranked from the good to the greatest
By Tim Boyle
6) Philadelphia Phillies MVP Jimmy Rollins in 2007
In 1950, the Phillies winning the National League pennant surely helped his MVP case. The same was true for Jimmy Rollins in 2007. Without the Phillies winning the National League East, I’m not so sure he gets enough votes.
Nevertheless, it was a fantastic year for J-Roll and an outlier for his whole career. Playing in all 162 games, Rollins led the league in plate appearances, at-bats, and did it with more runs scored (139) and triples (20) than anyone else in the league. He slashed .296/.344/.531 and stole 41 bases.
Whipping out a different type of skill for this season, we also watched Rollins hit 30 of his 231 career home runs. He also happened to drive in 94, a personal best for the Phillies shortstop.
Rollins was more than just a bat. This was the first year he would also win a Gold Glove—one of four he would finish his career with.
The voting included a tight race between him and slugger Matt Holliday, a representative of the Colorado Rockies who would defeat the Phillies in the postseason. A larger number of first-place votes (16 to 11) pushed Rollins into a 79% share of the vote share compared to Holliday’s 75%. It was a close race but for the second time in two years, a Phillies player was the winner.