Jimmy Rollins Thanks Phillies’ Fans In Newspaper Ad (Photo)

Aug 24, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins (11) celebrates his home run in the seventh inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies defeated the Cardinals, 7-1. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 24, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins (11) celebrates his home run in the seventh inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies defeated the Cardinals, 7-1. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jimmy Rollins was traded from the Philadelphia Phillies to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a flurry of MLB moves this off-season. On Saturday, he took out a full page newspaper ad to thank the fans in Philadelphia.

Switch-hitting, all-around outstanding shortstop Jimmy Rollins broke into the big leagues as a 21-year-old with the Philadelphia Phillies back in the year 2000.

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In the 14 seasons since, Rollins has consistently been one of the best all-around players in baseball. A career .267 hitter, Rollins has consistently batted well from the lead-off spot and played outstanding defense. He was a key player as the Phillies were consistently in the playoffs and even reached the World Series. He was the National League MVP in 2007.

As the Phillies finally bid farewell to a sustained era of excellence, they will part with a guy who has been one of the faces of the franchise for a long time. Understanding how tough that farewell is, Rollins showed serious class by taking out a full-page ad to thank Phillies’ fans this weekend.

Here is the photo of the ad, as passed along by Matt Gelb.

This is a very cool gesture from Rollins as the leaves Philadelphia. It will surely be a strange visual for everybody to see Jimmy Rollins play for any team other than the Phillies.

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