MLB Hall of Fame: Scott Rolen is going to Cooperstown

In his 6th vote, Former Phillies 3B, Scott Rolen, has been chosen to join the immortal halls of Cooperstown.

Scott Rolen enters Cooperstown with 76.3% of votes

Scott Rolen finally enters the Hall of Fame

Rolen becomes just the 18th third baseman elected to the Hall of Fame. The 18 third basemen are the fewest in the hall of any position. The average bWAR for a HoF 3B is 68.3. Scott Rolen accumulated 70.1 bWAR in his career (the 10th most of any 3B).

Rolen is 4th in slugging among all HoF 3B. His .490 is behind only Chipper Jones (.529), Mike Schmidt (.527), and Eddie Mathews (.509). Defensively, Rolen accumulated the 6th most dWAR of any 3B (21.2). During his career, Rolen won 8 Rawlings Gold Glove awards at 3B.

For his career, Rolen slashed .281/.364/.490. His .855 career OPS is the 6th highest of any 3B that played in 2000+ games. He appeared in 7 All-Star games. He won the 1997 NL Rookie of the Year award. In 2006, he won a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals. He posted a 1.213 OPS in the series with 4 extra base hits in 5 games. Despite having a higher batting average and more extra base hits, David Eckstein was named the WS MVP.

“On behalf of the Phillies, I want to congratulate Scott Rolen on his election to the National
Baseball Hall of Fame, the highest honor that can be bestowed on a player. He richly deserves this
award.” Said Phillies owner John Middleton.

“Philadelphia was privileged to have witnessed the beginning of his extraordinary baseball
career. In addition to being one of the most impactful offensive and defensive players of his era, Scott
played the game the right way. Whether taking an extra base with a headfirst slide or diving for a ball in
the hole, his hard-nosed effort and selfless attitude resonated with our fans. Along with his on-field
contributions, Scott was a great teammate and a tremendous representative of the Phillies off the field.”

“The Phillies look forward to honoring Scott for his momentous achievement at Citizens Bank
Park this season at a date to be determined.”

Rolen played his first 7 seasons for the Phillies. He had an .877 OPS in Philadelphia. He hit his first 150 home runs with the club. He won 4 Gold Gloves as a Phillie. He was traded to St. Louis on July 29, 2002.

His best statistical season came in 2004. He put up 9.2 bWAR that season, slashing .314/.409/.598 with 34 home runs.

Since he played more years in Philadelphia than Roy Halladay and Jim Bunning, there could be an argument for the Phillies to retire his number 17. Rolen hasn’t been added to the Phillies’ Wall of Fame yet. He’ll surely be a lock to be added in the coming years.

Mandatory Credit: Icon Sports Media