Posted January 26, 2011

Fox recognizes Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins for entrepreneurial achievements

Jimmy Rollins has a crowded mantel.

The Philadelphia Phillies shortstop has won three Gold Gloves, three All-Star appearances, a National League MVP and, of course, a World Series championship, among many other awards.

Jimmy Rollins at Temple's Fox
Joseph V. Labolito / Temple University

During a visit to Temple’s Fox School of Business on Tuesday, he picked up three more honors — and none of them is connected to baseball.

After an interactive discussion with students about Jimmy Rollins Entertainment Group, which represents artists and publishes songs, Rollins received two platinum plaques for co-publishing Justin Bieber and Sean Kingston’s “Eenie Meenie” from Bieber’s hit album My World 2.0.

He also received an entrepreneurship award from Fox School Legal Studies Chair Samuel D. Hodge Jr., whose department organized the event at Alter Hall.

“You know, 99.9 percent of the awards I’ve ever received are because of baseball achievement or on the field,” Rollins said after the event. “So to have this award completely away from baseball is different and special at the same time.”

Legal Studies instructor Christopher Cabott, an entertainment attorney who represents Rollins through Zane Management, began the event by discussing ways to succeed in the music industry and how aspiring entrepreneurs might break into the business. He also outlined copyright laws before transitioning into a question-and-answer session with Rollins.

Rollins told a crowd of 150 students and faculty that he sang every night as a child, played the trumpet in jazz band and that, in 10th grade, he chose baseball over music when a tournament and performance were scheduled on the same day.

Despite his hectic travel schedule and the demands of playing on a championship-caliber team, Rollins said he corresponds with Cabott daily and makes all final decisions when it comes to his entertainment group. But unlike his on-the-field persona, where Rollins is constantly in the spotlight, his post-baseball career in music might take him behind the scenes.

“I don’t mind being in the background,” he said, flashing a smile.

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