Rollins is Phils’ new hit king

Smallish shortstop passes Schmidt on team’s all-time list.

Despite his diminutive size, Jimmy Rollins always believed he could hit a baseball.

He’s been good enough to amass more hits in a Phillies uniform than any other player.

Rollins singled in the fifth to pass Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt to become the Phillies’ hits leader during a 7-4 win over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.

Rollins got hit No. 2,235 off Edwin Jackson, sending a 3-1 pitch into right field. The game was delayed for a celebration.

“It was very cool,” said Rollins.

The 5-foot-8 shortstop never let size deter him.

“That’s something my mom and dad taught me when I was young,” he said. “(I’m) probably not going to be biggest guy, but that doesn’t mean you have to be weak, doesn’t mean you don’t have confidence. And then size isn’t really going to matter. I’ve always had that belief in myself and without it I wouldn’t have been here.”

Rollins made his debut with the Phillies on Sept. 17, 2000.

“To be the all-time hits leader, that speaks for itself,” Philadelphia manager Ryne Sandberg said. “It was well worth it. Fourteen years of effort with one uniform in a lot of ways that’s old school.”

Cardinals: Ace Adam Wainwright will skip a turn in the rotation to allow tendinitis in the back of his pitching elbow to subside. The team expects the right-hander to return next Saturday against the Phillies.

Angels: Manager Mike Scioscia attended the funeral of former Dodgers teammate Bob Welch and missed Saturday’s game against the Braves. Bench coach Dino Ebel filled in. Welch, the 1990 AL Cy Young Award winner with Oakland, died at 57 on Monday.

Padres: Left-handed reliever Troy Patton was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of shoulder soreness.

Blue Jays: Right-hander Sergio Santos was activated from the disabled list to fill out an injurydepleted bullpen. Santos was placed on the DL on May 12 with a strained right elbow.