Former All-Stars Rich Rollins According to multiple reports, the 87-year-old died this week. He was a third baseman and he spent most of his career with the twins in the 1960s.
Born outside Pittsburgh, Rollins moved to Ohio as a child. He attended Kent State University and signed with the Washington Senator in 1960. The franchise moved to Minnesota and was renamed in the following year's twins. Rollins had a cup of coffee in his first season in Minnesota. He opens next season as the starter in a popular corner.
That rookie year was probably the best in Rollins' career. He appeared in 159 games, earning .298/.374/.428 in home runs (16) and RBI (96). He was selected as two All-Star teams – when the league briefly competed in the mid-season and playoff All-Star games – and ranked eighth in the AL MVP vote. Next season, Rollins hit 16 more home runs when he hit his personal best .307. He once again received some low MVP votes.
Rollins had another high-quality season and released a cumulative .291/.356/.425 hitting line between 1962-64. During that time, he ranked in the top 30 qualified batsmen by average and benchmark percentages. His number has dropped dramatically over the past decade, possibly due to repeated knee injuries. Rollins had a brief mission with Seattle Pilot/Milwaukee Brewers franchise and Cleveland before retiring after the 1970 season. He later spent some time in the Cleveland organization.
Rollins has played more than 1,000 games in the 10 major league seasons. He hit .269/.328/.388 with 77 home runs, 399 RBIs and 419 scoring. MLBTR extended condolences to his family, friends and relatives.
