Phillies To Induct Jimmy Rollins, Ed Wade Into Wall Of Fame This Season
Jimmy Rollins, former all-star with the Philadelphia Phillies, waves during his retirement ceremony before a game against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park on May 4, 2019. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
The Phillies Wall of Fame is getting some new members.
The Phillies announced today that former shortstop, World Champion Jimmy Rollins, and former general manager Ed Wade would be the next two inductees into the Phillies Wall of Fame. The ceremony will occur before the Phillies’ August 1 matchup versus the Detroit Tigers.
Rollins is not only one of the greatest players in Philadelphia Phillies history but is widely regarded as the greatest shortstop in the team’s history. During his 15 seasons in Philadelphia, Rollins was the unofficial captain of the Phillies and their leadoff hitter for over a decade.
In over 2,000 games played, Rollins recorded 2,306 hits, which remains the franchise record. He also slugged 216 home runs, 887 RBIs, and 479 doubles. He also scored 1325 runs and finished with a .267 batting average.
Rollins’ best season came in 2007 when he was named the National League MVP after becoming just the fourth player in MLB history to record a 20-20-20-20 season (20 doubles, triples, home runs, and stolen bases). A year later, Rollins helped lead the Phillies to the team’s first world championship since 1980 and second in franchise history.
Six years after winning a World Series, Rollins was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, ending his time in Philly with three All-Star appearances, one MVP, four Gold Glove awards, and one World Series win.
Joining Rollins in the Phillies Wall of Fame is the man who helped draft Rollins in 1996, former general manager Ed Wade. Wade was the Phillies’ general manager from 1997 to 2005. Wade joined the Phillies as an intern in their public relations department in 1977 before leaving for a full-time job in public relations with the Astros later that year.
After working his way around multiple major league teams, Wade returned to the Phillies in 1989 as an assistant to the general manager under general manager Lee Thomas and was promoted to assistant general manager in 1995. After Thomas was let go after the 1997 season, Wade succeeded him and was promoted to Vice President and General Manager.
Over the next eight years, Wade had the Phillies go through a major rebuild, trading away the majority of veteran players and beginning to draft and bring in new young prospects. Wade drafted multiple Phillies legends during his time as general manager, like Pat Burrell, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Cole Hamels.
Wade even brought in players like Shane Victorino and Carlos Ruiz, who later became huge factors in the Phillies winning the World Series in 2008. On top of running the team, Wade helped the Phillies move into their current home, Citizen Bank Park, in 2004.
However, after missing the playoffs in 2005, Wade was relieved of his duties as general manager. Despite this, Wade is regarded as the key contributor to helping bring a World Series to Philadelphia in 2008, as nearly the entire team’s talent was brought in during Wade’s time as GM.
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Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
