Paul Hagen: Winning is what motivates Phillies shortstop Rollins

CLEARWATER, Fla. - It has become part of Phillies lore that Bay area native Jimmy Rollins wound himself up for the 2007 season by envisioning himself starting in the All-Star Game, which that year was being played at San Francisco's AT & T Park.

Didn't make the team. Had to settle for the National League's Most Valuable Player Award instead. Not a bad tradeoff.

How easily we forget. Ask a random sampling of fans which Phillies player has the best chance to become the 2010 NL MVP and Ryan Howard and Chase Utley would surely top the list. Jayson Werth would likely finish a strong third. Shane Victorino would get some support.

Rollins? It's doubtful many respondents would give him much consideration . . . even though he already owns one of the coveted awards and has won the Gold Glove each of the last three seasons. And there's a reason for that.

J-Roll was spectacular in 2007. After declaring the Phillies the team to beat in the National League East before spring training, he batted .296, scored 139 runs, had 212 hits, 20 triples, 30 homers, 41 stolen bases and drove in 94 runs - from the leadoff spot, no less - to help back up his prediction.

In the 2 years since, though, he has hit .262 and averaged 88 runs, 161 hits, seven triples, 16 homers and 68 RBI per season.

So which Jimmy Rollins will it be this year? The one who made the All-Star team three of his first five full seasons in the big leagues and was judged to be the very best player in his league when he was 28 years old? Or the one who has been pretty good ever since but hasn't come close to matching his earlier offensive numbers?

There are those around this team who note that Rollins' 2008 season came untracked when he suffered a badly sprained ankle in the second week of the season and missed most of the next month. That he excelled in the World Baseball Classic last spring but then had trouble resetting himself once the season started. They believe that accounts for the fact that he was hitting .205 as late as July 1. And they are quietly optimistic that those two seasons will fuel his desire to re-establish himself as one of the pre-eminent shortstops in the game.

Before going 2-for-3 in yesterday's 4-3 exhibition win against the Tampa Bay Rays at Bright House Field, raising his Grapefruit League average to .313, he initially straight-armed the idea that anything other than winning drives him. Later, though, he conceded that, in baseball, will to win and the will to achieve personal success - including making the Hall of Fame - are often almost indistinguishable.

"What motivates me? To win. Bottom line," Rollins said. "You're fortunate to get the personal accomplishments. Those things come from great seasons and getting the votes and playing in the right place at the right time. But it's winning, man. All those things are great. But, goodness gracious, we need to win. It's just a feeling of, 'We didn't complete a task.' You know? You just didn't finish it. There's no other way to describe it."

Except that baseball remains the most individual of team sports. Great players almost always have great egos.

"You have to, don't get it wrong," he said. "Humble is great. You can go out there and be humble in your execution of things and the way it appears. But inside, believe me, there's no humility there.

"Roy [Halladay] doesn't walk around like, 'Oh, man, I can't believe I just struck out five guys on my 20th win.' He's like, 'Pshhh, I'd better strike out at least seven and help my team win.' Although he's going to walk off the field with no expression most of the time, inside he's boiling over.

"I've still got some numbers to put up if I want to be sitting in a hall of greatness one day, more than anything."

In that sense, then, the last two seasons have been a burr under his saddle.

"You look back at the end of the season. And you're like, 'Damn. That slowed up my roll a little bit. I've got to do better.' You know what I'm saying? Because it does," he said.

"Obviously, it's your career. Not one season is going to get you in or one season's going to get you out. But you have to be good over a long period of time to join that company of people. I want to be good over the next long period of time until some young dude runs me off the block or something or I can no longer do it.

"Winning, obviously, that helps. Were you a winning player? Yes. Then it's the type of numbers you put up over your career. Last year, like I said, is the past. You've got to keep moving forward to the next day. Once that day's over, you can't get three hits in three at-bats when the game's over. It's done right there. I can go back and get another hit in my mind, but it's not going to show up in anybody's score sheet."

It's not just Rollins, of course. After all, in his MVP season the Phillies won the division but were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round. The last two seasons they've gone to the World Series. It's not about just one guy. Still, it stands to reason that the better he plays, the better his team's chances are.

"In order to win, I'm going to have to do good," he said. "Jayson's going to have to do good. Ryan, Chase, Shane. Polanco, Roy, Little Roy [Kyle Kendrick]. Cole. We're all going to have to do good as individuals . . . You do your part individually and the team's gonna win."

Jimmy Rollins is 31 years old now. He's the longest-tenured active player on the team. And those who know him best are pretty sure that the player who shows up this year will be a lot closer to the J-Roll of 2007 than the one they saw the past two seasons.

Send e-mail to hagenp@phillynews.com