It’s happened three times now, and it will likely happen again.
Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins was benched by manager Charlie Manuel for failing to run out an infield popup, which was dropped by the New York Mets pitcher Jonathan Niese. Had Rollins been hustling, he likely would have cruised into second, especially with no one covering the base. Instead, he made it to first base right when the ball landed, but couldn’t take the extra base.
Rollins likely knew that he was in trouble so he swiped second base. But then he promptly made a poor baserunning blunder, which put him back in Manuel’s doghouse. When Kevin Frandsen hit a grounder to second baseman Daniel Murphy, Rollins headed to third, not realizing that Kendrick had never left the bag. He was tagged out.
TV cameras clearly showed Manuel chewing out Rollins in the dugout. When the top of the seventh inning began, Rollins was not on the field, having been replaced by Laynce Nix in the lineup and Michael Martinez (who moved from right field) in the field.
Just two weeks ago, Rollins had to be chewed out by Manuel for his lack of hustle for failing to run out a popup in a game against the Miami Marlins. During the 2008 world championship season, Rollins was benched in May for failing to hustle in a game against the Cincinnati Reds. He was also benched that season for showing up at a game just minutes before it began. He accepted the first punishment but not the second.
This article was written by Bryn Swartz, the top writer for the Philadelphia Eagles and a featured NFL columnist on Rant Sports. Bryn has written more than 1000 articles in less than two years as a member of Rant Sports. His blog, Eagles Central, was named the 2010 Ballhyped Sports Blog of the Year. To read a portfolio of Bryn’s best work, click here.
