This time, Jimmy Rollins brings joy to Dodger Stadium
LOS ANGELES – At least 25 reporters were trying to talk to Jimmy Rollins all at once in the Dodgers' clubhouse Monday, so Rollins hopped up on a table, then everybody was looking up at him.
Including his teammates.
That's because Rollins, who stands just 5-feet-7, had given his new team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, an Opening Day victory over the vastly improved San Diego Padres with a tie-breaking three-run homer in the eighth inning.
"He battled," teammate Howie Kendrick said of Rollins' eighth-inning at-bat off Padres reliever Shawn Kelly. "Then he got a pitch he can handle, and he didn't miss. That comes with experience. Knowing to stay inside yourself. He fouled off a couple of tough sliders. He got that one pitch in the 'honey hole' -- that's what we call it. He didn't miss. That gave us a lift, and we got the victory because of it."
Even though Rollins weighs just 175 pounds, his powerful blast into the right-field stands was the heftiest hit in the 6-3 win. He also singled and walked, going 2-for-4 in his L.A. debut.
The power hitter the Dodgers gave up in the offseason, Matt Kemp, drove in three runs off reigning MVP and Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw. But Rollins, the little guy the Dodgers added to shore up shortstop and provide maturity in the clubhouse, had just as many RBI – and the decisive ones.
Kendrick is another first-year Dodger, so he has no painful memories associated with Rollins. But it was the diminutive shortstop, then with the Philadelphia Phillies, who put a nail in the Dodgers' coffin in the 2009 playoffs with a walk-off double off then-L.A. closer Jonathan Broxton in Game 4 of the NLCS.
That clutch hit was actually occupying the thoughts of Dodgers manager Don Mattingly when Rollins walked up to bat in the eighth with one out and runners at first and second.
Asked if he kind of expected Rollins, 36, an MVP and three-time All-Star in his years in Philadelphia, to produce a veteran at-bat in that situation, Mattingly, who was a coach to Joe Torre in 2009, paused and said, "Actually, I was thinking of that double in the corner off Broxton."
This time, though, Rollins' clutch hitting helped the Dodgers, who made a ton of changes in the off-season, including installing Rollins at shortstop, and hitting leadoff Monday, and Kendrick at second base, batting cleanup Monday.
So far, so good.
"It was a lot of fun," Rollins said. "That's really what you want on Opening Day – get that first win out of the way . . . . I was able to come up in a big situation and get a hit."
The home run came on the eighth pitch of the at-bat.
"I was a little overaggressive at first," Rollins said. "After my second swing, I told myself to calm everything down. He started bouncing a couple of balls and got me back into the count, and I was able to wait him out. I fouled off a couple of pitches, and he threw a pitch right in a spot that I was looking. I got the big part of the bat to it and got us three runs."
In other words, he had a veteran at-bat, showed some patience and jumped on a mistake.
It's something the younger Dodgers, like Yasiel Puig and Joc Pederson, can learn from.
His defensive ability, a huge upgrade from Hanley Ramirez, is something Kershaw and the other Dodger pitchers appreciate.
His calm, mature presence is also a plus for the Dodgers compared to last year's strange clubhouse vibe.
And there seems to be a nice chemistry brewing between him and fellow newcomer Kendrick.
"We're seeing a connection that Jimmy and Howie have," Mattingly said. "They're both pros, the way they handle themselves, the energy they bring every day. We feel like we've got something there."
GALLERY: Opening Day across the majors