Staff Blog
Burrell and Rollins play dice
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Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan, who if you’re not reading you should be, wrote an article last night with a lede that caught my eye:
Before we get to Elvis the Bulldog or the plea to the big man upstairs or any of the other reasons thePhiladelphia Phillies advanced to the National League Championship Series on Sunday afternoon, let’s go back to the beginning, when Jimmy Rollins absolutely fleeced Pat Burrell in a game of dice.
Long before either played for Philadelphia, they met at the 1994 Area Code Games, a California showcase for young baseball talent. Rollins was a junior from Oakland, Burrell a senior from San Jose. To extend some Bay Area love, Rollins invited Burrell into his room. Well, that and so he could make some money.
Rollins and a couple friends taught Burrell and a buddy the rules. Sevens and 11s and side bets and the like. Burrell understood and threw down his cash.
“Three rolls later, they’re both sitting on the bed watching us,” Rollins said. “And that’s how I met Pat.”
I don’t know how this story stayed under wraps until now, but it’s a fantastic one. It shows that Jimmy was hustling guys since high school and that the two Philly heroes have even more history than their nine years together in the bigs.
Here’s hoping the two can hustle a few other West Coasters this week.
[...] Burrell and Rollins play dice [...]