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Jimmy Rollins — Week of April 19th
JIMMY ROLLINS
The Official Site of Jimmy Rollins
Jimmy Rollins Career Stats
Jimmy, a native of Oakland, California has become one of the premier shortstops in Major League baseball and continues to thrive for the Philadelphia Phillies. At 27, he has been selected to three MLB All-Star games and when the 2006 season begins, Rollins will continue a 36-game hitting streak from the end of last season and chase the elusive record 56-game hitting streak by the great Joe Dimaggio.
Jimmy began displaying his skills on the baseball diamond at Encinal High School in Alameda, Calif., the same school that produced current Florida Marlins pitcher Dontrell Willis and former Pittsburgh Pirate outfielder and Hall of Famer Willie Stargell. As an infielder for the Jets, Rollins broke 10 career school records including steals (99) and batting average (.484). For his accomplishments, he was selected to the All-USA High School Baseball team by USA Today and was rated Northern California's top high school infielder. He was also a Baseball America 1st Team All-American. Jimmy played Babe Ruth and AAU Jr. Olympics baseball and his parents James and Gigi were honored in 2002 by Babe Ruth Little League, Inc. with a "Graduate Parents of the Year Award" for "their remarkable accomplishments in raising their son."
Rollins was a 2nd round selection by the Phillies in the 1996 June draft. He began rookie ball in Martinsville, and quickly worked his way through the Phillies farm system. He played his first game in a Phillies uniform on September 17, 2000, making the start at shortstop. He promptly hit a triple in his first at bat in the majors against the Florida Marlins.
Jimmy enjoys giving back to the community and in 2004, he served as an Honorary Chairman for Easter Seals. In 2003, he also served as an Honorary Chairman for the Negro Leagues Baseball Memorial Fund, which sculpted a statue to honor Philadelphia's Negro League players. Growing up in Oakland, Jimmy got the chance to meet fellow Oakland native, and former rap artist MC Hammer and he appeared in several videos of Hammer's and Mavis Staples' in the late 80s and early 90s.
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