For the second straight season, a Phillie walked away with the National League MVP. In one of the most complete seasons by a player ever, Jimmy Rollins used his mouth, his glove and his bat to earn the prize. It was a close race though as they nabbed just half of the first place votes and he even had one voter pick him fifth. Rockies outfielder Matt Holliday came in second and while he had just eleven first place votes, he actually 29 votes ranked two or higher versus Rollins 23. Ryan Howard came in fourth place and Chase Utley finished eighth.
Still, Rollins was the guy at the top of the lineup and he was definitely the team’s catalyst. He also became just the fourth player to finish with 20 homers, stolen bases, doubles and triples (oddly, he was the second guy to do it in 2007). He also picked up his first 30/30 season and he fell just short of hitting .300. He also set a major league record with 716 at bats in 2007.
My guess is, it’s Utley’s turn in 2008. Still, having Rollins, Howard and Utley in the lineup is huge. Now if the Phillies could just patch up the rotation.
