Willis expects reunion with Rollins
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Willis expects reunion with Rollins
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
Jimmy Rollins and Dontrelle Willis grew up in the same town, attended the same high school and both had mothers who played professional softball. They have long traded barbs about who is better — Rollins, for the record, is only a career .239 hitter in 63 at-bats against Willis — and fostered a kinship as two Bay Area African Americans playing baseball.
But they've never been teammates until now.
Well, maybe.
OK, probably.
"He was probably more excited about the deal than I was," Willis said of Rollins.
Willis officially became a Phillie on Thursday when he passed his physical. The Phillies signed the former rookie of the year to a one-year deal for $850,000. Performance incentives could push his salary above $1 million.
For the first time in his career, Willis will be a reliever, one the Phillies hope can successfully retire lefthanders. The soon-to-be 30-year-old said he had interest from a handful of other teams and could have possibly remained a starter elsewhere.
The allure of Philadelphia — and a possible reunion with Rollins — was too enticing.
"I wanted to win," Willis said, "and what better ballclub to be with than Philadelphia? So at this point in my career, that's what it's all about; enjoying the game and having fun."
Playing with Rollins would be a bonus. The longtime Phillies shortstop remains unsigned, but indications are that the two sides will eventually reach an accord. Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has engaged Rollins' agent, Dan Lozano, in negotiations since last week's winter meetings. Both sides are steadfast in their demands, despite the market all but evaporating for shortstops.
Willis said he talks to Rollins often. At Encinal High in Alameda, Calif., the two were never teammates. Willis played with Rollins' younger brother, Antwon. But Willis remembers shagging for Rollins during batting practice and watching Rollins learn to switch hit with instruction from his father.
Willis spoke Thursday like it's all but guaranteed he'll play alongside Rollins in 2012.
"It's pretty surreal to come full circle," Willis said. "I think our families are more excited for this than we are."
With Willis' signing, the Phillies have committed $124 million to 15 players for 2012.
Read more in Friday's Inquirer about Willis' role next season.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
maybe they signed this guy in order to give JRoll one more reason to re-sign here— dennismithusa- Love these guys. I just hope the clubhouse is big enough for both of their heads.— johnny eagle
- Two thoughts: 1. Cringing at the potential site of Willis coming in to face one lefty hitter and walking him. Been there, done that with JC. 2. Philly.com post-ers continuing to rip Rollins are idiots. Repeat, idiots. Do you really want to see us enter 2012 with Valdez and Galvis at short? Really? Valdez is a fine defensive replacement but he has a fraction of Rollins' power or speed. Galvis is a year or two away and likely would bat .185 in 2012; his struggles could well affect his defense. Plus, Ruiz (no great shakes offensively in 2011) would be pushed to 7th, yada, yada. Jimmy for 3-4 years is our best option and he's a darn good one. He way outperformed Utley in 2011 and no one is slamming Chase.— eman
- And interestingly enough, poster SillyBilly and myself are both crackers.
— Sackbutt - Key 2011 stats for Rollins:
- played in 142/162 games
- lead the team with 30 stolen bases, next closest player had 19
- 63 RBIs, Howard and Ibanez had more, Victorino about even 63
- 58 walks, 59 strikeouts, only Polanco had a lower SO%, 9%
(for everyday position players)
- Division series 9 for 20, 4 Doubles, 5 Singles, 2 stolen bases
- Best BA in the series and only 1 SO
Bottom line he's money, his core talent is still there, he can hit, get on base and is THE base stealing threat on the team, even at his age. We don't even need to discuss his defense. I doubt there is a pitcher on the roster or most of MLB that wouldn't smile knowing JRoll was behind them.— Gtown65 - I have to give you a gold star for being a dutiful Rollins fan and crafting a misleading case. Over the last three years he has hit under .250 for a total and missed a ton of games with injuries as his fielding range has rapidly diminished. Then, after years of consistently choking in the playoffs he shows up once, you act like he is mister clutch. His career playoff hitting numbers are horrible and his fielding gets shaky (regular season 1 error every 14.4 games, post season 1 error every 9.2 games). — jtj06
- "The allure of Philadelphia..." Love it!— WPhillyguy
- Assumption that FreddieG is not ready is an ASSUMPTION.
I'm with Zpiet !— NewMick314 - It's not an assumption, it's a fact. He is graded as having a below major league hitting ability at this point and needs to make major improvements if he is going to start in the big show. Guys with great glove and no bat are a dime a dozen.— UncleStosh
- how does willis knowwhat the phillies are gonna do withrollins— MFPhils
- how does willis knowwhat the phillies are gonna do withrollins— MFPhils
- he aint a phillie yet— MFPhils
- onthebucks, Jimmy Rollins is better than Michael Young, and two years younger.
Young has been a somewhat better hitter for his career (.348 vs. .336 on the comprehensive wOBA stat), but that's while playing half his games in an extreme hitter's park.
Young's career at home: .329/.376/.495 (.361 wOBA)
Young's career on road: .286/.331/.414 (.321 wOBA) -- below average
Rollins at home: .347 wOBA
Rollins on road: .326 wOBA
And I don't want to hear CBP is also a big hitter's park, because it's not. See here: http://www.thegoodphight.com/2011/11/21/2485197/phillies-citizens-bank-park-not-a-hitters-haven
Defensively, Young is kind of like Michael Cuddyer -- can play lots of positions, but none of them well. And that was true even when he wasn't 35 years old, Gold Glove notwithstanding.— schmenkman - On Michael Young:
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/02/08/dirty-little-secret-michael-young-just-isnt-all-that-great/
http://www.thegoodphight.com/2011/3/10/2042212/michael-young-isnt-that-good-at-baseball
— schmenkman - First of all---to say any professional ball player is "not really that good" is absurd.
Second of all...when Jimmy Rollins hits, the mentallity of the team during the game stays positive and they produce runs. It's more than just his batting average or OBP.
On a side note: has anyone heard anything about Raul Ibanez, Brad Lidge or Polanco?— MikeMasiello
