Rollins VS Bowa (Ding-Ding)

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The Phillies caught, gutted and served the Marlins in a 14-2 LOL-er of a game last night.  In the game, Jimmy Rollins was 4-5 with a walk and 3 runs scored, and passed Larry Bowa on the list of most hits by a Phillies shortstop in club history.  So, with this milestone passed, now may be a good time to start the debate as to who is the best Phillies shortstop of all time.  Let’s go to the tale of the tape:

Oh wait, before we get into it let’s cue the music, Philadelphians!

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In the baby blue corner:  Hailing from Sacramento, California, at 5′ 10″ and a svelte 155 lbs.  He hits both ways and throws right.  Ladies and gentleman of yesteryear,  Larry “The Boa Constrictor” Booooooowaaaa.

And in the red pinstripe corner:  Weighing in at 170 lb. and at a height of 5′ 8″ we have the current shortstop for your Philadelphia Phillies.  He’s from Oakland, California and loves to bowl, boys and girls, Jimmy “The Holy Roller” Rolllllllins.

Okay, cut the music… Or don’t – your call.

You can see that Bowa and Rollins don’t differ too much in their physical make up, but they also have a lot more in common.  For example, Bowa started his career in Philadelphia like Rollins, and at this point, Jimmy in his twelfth year in Phillies red.  That’s the same amount of seasons that Bowa called Philly his home as a player.  Both played on okay teams early in their careers and World Series caliber teams in the later half.  Now, some may argue that this is an apples-to-oranges question, but for these reasons stated above, I feel like it’s a fair argument to have.  So with all do respect to the defensive abilities of Bobby Wine (get out the history books, kids)  let’s see who really is the best Phillies shortstop in the club’s history.

Let’s take a look at their numbers, keeping in mind that Jimmy is in the middle of his 12th year, so Bowa has an extra half season of AB’s and a full season more for some accolades:

–Both Won a World Series with the Phillies, but Jimmy went to two (and could go to another this year) so that slight edge has to go to Jimmy Rollins.

–Gold Gloves:  Bowa 2, and Rollins 3.  Nod to Jimmy again.

–All-Star Game selections:  Bowa 5, and Rollins 3.  Nod to Bowa.

–Rollins also has an MVP award which Larry Bowa does not.

–We know that Rollins just passed Bowa in hits with Bowa at 1,798 and Rollins at 1,802 and counting, but Rollins also has a lot more stolen bases and home runs than the shortstop of the 70′s.

So looking at these numbers, you would think that this would be a complete knockout victory for Jimmy Rollins, or at least a TKO.  He’s faster, stronger, has more hits and is, for the most part, a really well liked Phillie.  You would be wrong, and here’s why.  Larry Bowa had grit and determination and possibly a personality disorder.  He was never the biggest, the strongest or the fastest guy, but he played the game like his life depended on it.  He was intense and had singular focus on winning.  He wasn’t out there trying to make friends, and he didn’t.  Story has it that in the opposing dugout at the Vet, other teams would write loathing messages about Bowa on the walls of the bathroom.  I’m not saying that Rollins doesn’t want to win, and I’m certainly not questioning his work ethic or heart, but when you compare him to the craziness that Bowa played with, its not even close.  That check has to go in the spot next to Larry Bowa’s name.

Really, I feel like this comes down to a question of how you look at baseball.  Numbers-wise, it’s no contest.  Jimmy walks away from the bout with the title of best shortstop in Phillies history.  You just can’t deny the numbers.  But if you’ll recall, that isn’t the belt to win in this fight.  The title in question is best Phillies shortstop of all time.  Here in Philadelphia, we don’t care just about the numbers, we care about what else you bring to the plate.  Bowa had that inferiority complex that all Philadelphia sports’ fans have.  He hustled, worked harder, wanted to get the job done no matter what the cost.  That’s what made him a real Phillie.  We’re a blue collar city, and we like our players blue collar.  We like the underdog who fights no matter what.  It’s why we loved Pete Rose back in the day, and its why we love Chase Utley today.  Those two, along with Larry Bowa, epitomize what we want from our boys on the field.

So this isn’t a knock out by a long shot.  Instead, we have to go to the judges for the winner, and it’s a split decision.

Judge One scores it 10-9 in favor of Jimmy Rollins.

Judge Two scores the round in favor of Larry Bowa with a score of 10-9.

Judge Three scores the round 10-9 in favor of…….Jimmy Rollins.

The final score comes down in favor of Rollins for one reason.  He’s still going.  The season isn’t over, and all he can do from here on out is pad his numbers.  If Rollins stays with the Phillies after this season, it will only strengthen his stance as the best Phillies shortstop of all time.  And God willing, a second World Series ring will make this a non-discussion.  However, I will say this:  The only reason that Rollins is half the player that he is today is because, oddly enough, Larry Bowa was his corner man in this fight.  Early in his career, Rollins’ manager was Bowa, and it was Bowa’s pushing and molding that turned a young guy with a lot of natural talent into a team leader and an exceptional player.  Ostensibly, it was Bowa who beat himself in this fight.  Neat, huh?

I can be persuaded either way on this argument.  If you feel compelled, comment below to tell me I’m a moron, and let me know why.  I’ll do my best to comment back on all of them.

 

SW-Ian Anderson

 

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