Inside The Playbook

Jimmy Rollins, the Masterful Thief

By: Lily Zhao

There's an ongoing crime wave in baseball, and Philadelphia Phillies Jimmy Rollins is right in the thick of it. Runners like him are stealing... well, stealing bases that is.

(danny-wild.com)

For the past couple of years, base stealers like Rollins have been changing the game of baseball. The sport is slowly moving away from purely muscle and power, to one of quickness and stealth.

The three-time Gold Glove and former MVP shortstop entered his rookie season in 2001 and accumulated one of his most successful seasons yet. That year, he stole 46 bases and along with it, stole America's heart.

From then on, Rollins was known as That Guy, the one who stole lots of bases and got away with it. But the 33-year-old ball player isn't just quick, he's efficient.

Entering his 2011 season, Rollins had stolen 343 bases against just 70 times being caught, for an astounding 83.05% success rate. His rate of success ranked him 15th all time in baseball history for anyone with 400 attempts or more.

(nextlevelballplayer.com)

Rollins said his technique takes time and practice.

"You have to study, you have to know who is behind the plate, the situation, the hitter," Rollins said. "You [have to] know what the count on the batter is because that might dictate what he throws, so you [have to] take that all into consideration."

All this preparation starts in the clubhouse before games, where he evaluates the opposing pitcher's habits. He then analyzes the speed and accuracy of the opposing catcher's throws to second base, since that will determine how long he will actually have to get to that base.

"You go out there, you've done your homework, you get your read and if you see a sign that you know you've been studying, you take off," Rollins said.

But, that's if everything works out perfectly. Sometimes the key is to just wing it and go.

"Sometimes you throw it out the window," he said. "You know at the game and it's on the line and the situation calls for it... but you better be safe, you know, the more you're out, the more you cost your team some runs."

But, as he got older and his legs slowed, the questions and doubts fans had about Rollins' potential upside was amassing. In 2010, those doubts came to a head.

(usatoday.com)

That season, Rollins missed nearly three months of action due to calf, hamstring and foot injuries. In his 350 at-bats, he hit just .243 with eight home runs. However, what was more damaging was the number of bases he stole that year: 17. That was a significant decline from 2009, where Rollins stole almost double that amount, despite having another bad offensive season on top of that.

From then on, Rollins was forced to face many detractors. He doesn't get on base enough. He pops up too much. He tends to swing too early in the count. Five years removed from his MVP, he's still trying to be That Guy.

But this season, with many questions about what the Phillies' infield will even look like--key players Chase Utley and Ryan Howard are still injured--Rollins wants to be that guy to step up.

He wants to be that guy who can steal bases again, but most importantly steal back America's heart.

CLICK BELOW to hear what Rollins had to say about his expectations for himself and his team this season: