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“Continued Success” is a podcast hosted by Justin Klugh and Liz Roscher in which they take a deep dive into the 1993 and 2008 Phillies seasons, available only to Patreon subscribers of “Hittin’ Season.” As the organization celebrates major anniversaries for both seasons this summer, Justin and Liz take a closer look at some of the big storylines and events that happened in those two memorable seasons. Become a Patreon member here to get every “Continued Success” podcast in full!”
It was the series finale against the Cincinnati Reds on June 5, 2008. A Cole Hamels start, a home run by Geoff Jenkins and a couple RBIs by Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino led to a nice, tidy, 5-0 win by the Phils that pushed the team’s record to 36-26 and gave Philadelphia a 2.5 game lead over the Marlins in the NL East.
But this was also the first time Jimmy Rollins, the reigning NL MVP who ended that day hitting .289/.333/.447, failed to run out an infield pop-up that led to him failing to reach first base safely, earning a spot on manager Charlie Manuel’s bench.
This was the first time this had happened, but would not be the last. Rollins and Manuel both appeared to handle the situation professionally, with Rollins admitting, ““It’s my fault, I can’t get mad at [Manuel]. That’s like breaking the law and getting mad when the police show up.”
Manuel had two rules as a manager — be on time and hustle.
”I broke one of them today,” Rollins said. “There’s no explanation; I just didn’t (run it out). It happens every once in a while. Sometimes the manager gets you. I know better. I’ve just got to go out and not let it happen again.”
Was Manuel right to bench Rollins? Should we expect athletes to run out every single pop-up? Can Jimmy be excused for not doing so on this occasion? In this free preview of Episode 13 of “Continued Success,” Justin & Liz talk about the benching, and debate the merits of running pop-ups out.