CSNPhilly's Jim Salisbury sat down with Jimmy Rollins for an exclusive interview to discuss a number of topics including minority own John S. Middleton. Rollins described Middleton as a "man with the vision if they give him the reins."
Salisbury mentioned Middleton possibly becoming "Steinbrenner South" referring the late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. Rollins believes "that's his ambition; to be Steinbrenner South. You can feel it. When you meet the guy, you can feel it. He wants to put a winner out there.
"He wants to be in control. Don't get it wrong. He wants to be in control but he wants to put a winner out there very badly. I know he would like to have more influence, obviously have majority ownership, then he can do the things he feels is best. I think he has to be muted just because of the way the ownership is done there but they listen to him. He's probably one of the youngest of that group but if he had his way, he'd be the majority owner and doing a lot of different things with the team I think."
Rollins, 36, batted .243/.323/.394 with 17 home runs and 55 RBIs for the Phillies in 2014. He exits Philadelphia as the Phillies franchise leader in at-bats (8,628), hits (2,306) and doubles (479) while finishing third in runs scored (1,325) and triples (111). Rollins played 15 seasons in Philadelphia batting .267/.327/.424 with 216 home runs and 887 RBIs.
The 2007 National League MVP led the Phillies to five consecutive National League East titles including two National League Championships and one World Series title.
-Steve Dolan
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