In January, the Phillies' little big man alerted the world that spring training was just around the corner when, with chest-thumping certainty, he proclaimed his team the one to beat in the National League East.

Ten months later, he took the spotlight in the season's unofficial final scene and was named the National League's most valuable player yesterday.

It takes a special athlete, one who possesses the on-field skill of a superstar and the off-field charisma of a movie star, to deliver exhilaration and excitement for 10 straight months.

Rollins did that. He gave Phillies fans nonstop thrills that extended from one off-season to another, from January's guarantee to November's coronation.

Man, this guy had a great run.

Matt Holliday, the league's batting and RBI champ, was sensational in leading Colorado through a September for the ages. Milwaukee's Prince Fielder was dynamic, a treat to watch turn on a fastball. They finished second and third, respectively, in the voting, which is done by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Any of the three would have been a worthy winner.

But something just feels right about Rollins' being the choice, about his garnering 16 first-place votes to Holliday's 11 and Fielder's five.

Maybe it was the wintertime boast and the way he backed it up. Intangible qualities are important in sports, and who showed more moxie than Rollins in 2007?

Those five little words - "We're the team to beat" - made Rollins a marked man. The whole league, not just the New York Mets, wanted to put him in his place. Better luck next time. Rollins became the first player in history to have at least 200 hits, 25 homers, 15 triples and 25 steals in a season. Overall, he batted .296, with 38 doubles, 20 triples, 30 homers, 94 RBIs, 41 stolen bases, 212 hits, and 139 runs scored. And - oh, yeah - the Phillies were the team to beat after all, winning the division title on the final day of the season.

Maybe it was the two-sidedness of Rollins' season that made him a deserving winner. While playing shortstop, arguably the most difficult position on the diamond, he made just 11 errors in 717 total chances to win his first Gold Glove.

Maybe it was the durability that set Rollins apart. On a team hit hard by injury, he was a constant, starting all 162 games.

Maybe it was the leadership that the voters noticed. Rollins spoke his mind in January, explaining simply that he believed in his teammates. He reaffirmed that belief during a team meeting after the club opened the season 4-11 (the Phils were 85-62 after that) and again after the 156th game of the season, when players began to wonder if time was running out.

On that second-to-last Sunday of the regular season, the Phillies lost in Washington to fall 21/2 games behind the first-place Mets in the division and a half-game behind San Diego in the wild-card chase. After that loss, in the quiet clubhouse at RFK Stadium, Rollins, witnesses said, made a point to speak quietly with every teammate. He told his teammates to stay strong, to believe, to keep striving for their goal. The Phils then won four of their final six games.

Maybe it was the what-next quality of Rollins' season that finally put him in front. Every time he did something exceptional, we expected something even more exceptional to follow. What next? More often than not, Rollins delivered.

He hit his first of 30 homers on opening day. He hit his 20th triple on the final day of the season, driving in his 94th run in the process. He completed the triple by pointing skyward, as he often did in triumph.

In between that first homer and that 20th triple, Rollins made defensive gems and had important hits, big and small.

Remember July 25? Two down. Bottom of the ninth. Phils down a run to Washington. Rollins tripled and scored the tying run on an error. The Phils won the game on Ryan Howard's homer in the 14th.

Remember Aug. 26? The Phils had lost four in a row and their offense had sputtered. Rollins led off a game against the Padres with a tone-setting bunt single to key a 14-2 win and start a six-game winning streak that included four victories over the Mets.

And who could forget Sept. 20 in Washington? The Phils were down by 6-0 after two innings. Jayson Werth hit a three-run homer to get the Phils back in the game, and Rollins broke a 6-6 tie with a two-out double in the eighth.

Rollins did things like that all season, much like Howard did in 2006, when he was the league's MVP. Holliday and Fielder are terrific talents and would have been worthy winners. But in the end, Rollins got the prize, and it feels right, especially in Philadelphia, where he delighted the fans with a 10-month jolt of electricity - on and off the field - that crackled one more time yesterday.

Jim Salisbury |

For Jimmy Rollins' news conference as well as remarks from Phillies assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., go to http://go.philly.com/philliescast

Jim Salisbury |

The Voting

(first-place votes

in parentheses)

Jimmy Rollins353 (16)

Matt Holliday336 (11)

Prince Fielder284 (5)

More Coverage

How did he win it? An in-depth look. D6.

The team's two-MVP infield looks set for next season. D7.