Rollins switched uniform numbers from 29 to what would be his permanent uniform number 11, despite wearing number 6 for the 2003 season only. Rollins spent the entire 2001 season with the major league Phillies and hit his first MLB home run on May 2 off of Brian Bohanon of the Colorado Rockies. In his rookie season Rollins led the National League in triples and stolen bases, becoming the first rookie to do so since 1951, and led the NL in at bats. He was a member of the NL all-star team in the 2001 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the Phillies only representative. In July, he took over from Doug Glanville as the Phillies' leadoff hitter, a role he maintained for nearly a decade. At the conclusion of the season, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum named him the co-winner of the Cool Papa Bell Award, given to the stolen bases leader; MLB managers voted him to the Topps Major League Rookie All-Star team; and Baseball America named him the fifth-best rookie in MLB.
