September 28, 2007: Jimmy Rollins’s bat, Cole Hamels’ arm lift Phillies into first place

The Philadelphia Phillies team that assembled in Clearwater, Florida, for spring training in February 2007 was primed to win the National League East Division title and reach the postseason for the first time since the team’s pennant in 1993. In the wake of finishing second three straight seasons, Philadelphia was determined to take the next step. Twenty-eight-year-old shortstop Jimmy Rollins had materialized as a team leader on both offense and defense and lefty Cole Hamels, age 23, was prepared to pilot the pitching staff in his first full season with the team after reaching the majors in May 2006.

The optimism of spring turned into the grind of the regular season. At the All-Star break, the Phillies were sitting at .500, 4½ games behind the first-place New York Mets. The defending division champion Mets, who had scoffed when Rollins declared in the offseason that the Phillies “were the team to beat,”1 had moved into first place on May 14. 

By the season’s final weekend, the Phillies had drawn even with the Mets at the top of the standings. The Mets had a seven-game lead with 17 to play on September 12, but Philadelphia had won 11 of 14 while New York had lost 10 of 14. On Friday, September 28, with the season on the line, New York hosted the last-place Florida Marlins while the fourth-place Washington Nationals were in Philadelphia to play the Phillies.

Hamels, starting his 28th game of the season had a 14-5 record and 3.54 ERA. It was his third outing since returning from the disabled list after a mild elbow strain, and Phillies manager Charlie Manuel had full confidence that his ace pitcher was healthy and strong. Before the game Manuel told Hamels, “You’re not on a pitch count. Go after them.”2 Hamels quickly dispatched the Nationals in the first inning, producing three fly-ball outs wrapped around a Ronnie Belliard single.

Manuel had penciled Rollins in the Phillies’ starting lineup, just as he had done for the previous 159 games. Asked about his durability, Rollins said, “I came into the season in a lot better shape, and it has paid off.”3 When he stepped to the plate to lead off the bottom of the first, Rollins tied former Kansas City Royals outfielder Willie Wilson’s major-league record for most at-bats in a season with 705.4 On the first pitch thrown by Nationals starter Tim Redding, Rollins was retired on fly ball to shallow left.

Hamels faced his only difficulty in the second inning. Wily Mo Peña poked a leadoff single to right and one out later Jesús Flores stroked a groundball single up the middle. Justin Maxwell blooped Hamels’ next pitch into shallow center, loading the bases. Hamels escaped the jam by getting Redding to ground into a double play.

Over the next three frames Redding and Hamels traded zeros. The Phillies had only one baserunner in each inning, on a walk, error, and single. Hamels recovered from his shaky second inning, striking out seven of the next 10 batters. His only blemish was Maxwell’s base hit with one out in the fifth.

“The first few innings, I think both teams were a little tight,” Rollins suggested after the game.5

But in the bottom of the fifth, Philadelphia arose with clutch hits and flawless execution to break the game open.

Third baseman Greg Dobbs and catcher Carlos Ruiz reached base, Dobbs on a single to left and Ruiz on a hit-by-pitch. Hamels pushed a bunt toward the mound; Redding threw to first to retire Hamels as the runners advanced. Rollins followed with a sharp single up the middle to drive in both runners with the game’s first runs.

“I wasn’t going to let Cole’s bunt go to waste,” Rollins said after the game.6 He stole second and scored on Chase Utley’s two-out double down the right-field line, the Philadelphia second baseman’s 48th two-base hit of the season. The outburst provided the Phillies with a 3-0 lead entering the sixth.

Hamels continued his domination on the mound, striking out Belliard, Ryan Zimmerman, and Austin Kearns swinging in the sixth. “He was making that fastball right around the letters,” Zimmerman said of Hamels. “And when his changeup’s good … that’s where he starts his changeup.”7

In the Phillies’ sixth, Pat Burrell led off with a double down the left-field line. Nationals manager Manny Acta pulled Redding and brought in rookie right-hander Jonathan Albaladejo. Dobbs struck out, but Ruiz reached on an error by shortstop D’Angelo Jiménez.8 Pinch-runner Michael Bourn advanced to third on the error and scored on Hamels’ infield grounder.

Peña walked leading off the seventh for the Nationals, breaking Hamels’ strikeout streak at four. Tony Batista9 popped to second, Flores flied to center, and Maxwell struck out.

After the seventh inning stretch, the Phillies added to their lead.

With left-handed power hitters Ryan Howard and Utley due to bat, Acta sent out lefty specialist Arnie Muñoz10 to start the inning. Utley, batting with one out, worked the count to 2-and-2, then was plunked by a pitch for a league-leading 25th time. Howard followed with his 45th home run, extending the lead to 6-0.

Righty Chris Schroder entered in relief of Muñoz and loaded the bases on a third strike passed ball, a single, and a walk. Ruiz struck out and, with two outs and the bases loaded, Hamels was due to bat. Hamels told Manuel after the seventh that he felt “fine,”11 so Manuel let him hit. He struck out swinging.

Back on the mound in the eighth, Hamels struck out pinch-hitter Nook Logan before surrendering a double to Jiménez. One out later Ryan Zimmerman struck out, and Hamels’ work was completed. In his eight shutout innings Hamels struck out 13 while holding the Nationals to six hits and one walk.

Jesús Colomé pitched a scoreless eighth for the Nationals and Phillies reliever Clay Condrey closed out the ninth. The 6-0 win was Hamels’ team-leading 15th. Combined with the Marlins’ 7-4 win over the Mets, the Phillies were alone atop the NL East for the first time all season.

New York and Philadelphia each split their final two games, and the Phillies clinched their first division title since 1993. Rollins backed up his offseason prediction with a performance that won him the NL’s Most Valuable Player Award.12 “We did it,” Rollins said. “It’s a blessing, but it’s definitely a burden that I had to carry all year long.”13

The Colorado Rockies swept the Phillies in the NL Division Series but the experience and confidence Philadelphia gained in 2007 carried into the following season. Rollins, Hamels, and the rest of the team secured the 2008 World Series championship, the Phillies’ first since 1980 and only the second in the long history of the franchise.

Acknowledgments 

This article was fact-checked by Victoria Monte and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball Reference and Retrosheet for information including the box score and play-by-play.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI200709280.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2007/B09280PHI2007.htm

Photo credit: Jimmy Rollins, Trading Card Database.

Notes

1 Todd Zolecki, “Hamels Dazzles as Team Rolls Toward Playoffs,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 29, 2007: D1.

2 Zolecki.

3 Joe Juliano, “As Team Keeps Rollin’, Rollins Keeps Rockin’,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 29, 2007: D6.

4 Rollins finished the year with 716 at-bats, which as of 2024 was still the major-league record

5 Juliano.

6 Marcus Hayes, “It’s a Cole New World,” Philadelphia Daily News, September 29, 2007: 46.

7 Barry Svrluga. “Phils Move Into 1st Place With Victory,” Washington Post, September 28, 2007, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/2007/09/29/phils-move-into-1st-place-with-victory/d4c6475f-3953-4330-93e6-164fd6d6ea31/.

8 It was the next-to-last game of Jiménez’s eight-season major-league career.

9 It was the next-to-last game of Batista’s 11-season major-league career.

10 It was the 24th and final appearance of Muñoz’s two-season major-league career.

11 Hayes, “It’s a Cole New World.”

12 Rollins received 16 first-place votes to edge out Colorado Rockies outfielder Matt Holliday for the award.

13 Todd Zolecki, “Rollins’ Special Value,” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 1, 2007: E5.