Scott Rolen was voted into the Hall of Fame for baseball by the Baseball Writers of America for 2023.
Embed from Getty ImagesHe is just the 18th Third Baseman to ever get elected to the Hall of Fame. Rolen started his professional career with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1996 as a 21-year-old in 37 games with the team. The next year in 1997, Rolen won Rookie of The Year, as he put his first full season into the big leagues. Rolen finished ’97 with 21 HR and 97 RBI, the top vote-getter, Rolen finished first before some names that themselves would become household names in the world of baseball.
| Voti | Voti | Voti | Batt | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | Tm | Vote Pts | 1st Place | Share | WAR | G |
| 1 | Scott Rolen | PHI | 140.0 | 28.0 | 100% | 4.5 | 156 |
| 2 | Liván Hernández | FLA | 25.0 | 0.0 | 18% | 1.8 | 16 |
| 2 | Matt Morris | STL | 25.0 | 0.0 | 18% | 4.1 | 34 |
| 4 | Rich Loiselle | PIT | 22.0 | 0.0 | 16% | 2.1 | 70 |
| 5 | Andruw Jones | ATL | 15.0 | 0.0 | 11% | 3.3 | 153 |
| 6 | Vladimir Guerrero | MON | 9.0 | 0.0 | 6% | 1.8 | 90 |
| 7 | Jose Guillen | PIT | 4.0 | 0.0 | 3% | -3.3 | 143 |
| 7 | Brett Tomko | CIN | 4.0 | 0.0 | 3% | 2.9 | 22 |
| 9 | Geremi Gonzalez | CHC | 3.0 | 0.0 | 2% | 1.1 | 21 |
| 9 | Tony Womack | PIT | 3.0 | 0.0 | 2% | -0.9 | 155 |
| 11 | Kevin Orie | CHC | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1% | 2.4 | 114 |
| 11 | Neifi Perez | COL | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1% | 1.0 | 83 |
Unfortunately, the Phillies teams during Rolen’s tenure with the Phillies weren’t that good. It was a dark period in Phillies history as far as being successful, they had some good players but just couldn’t put it all together. As Rolen’s career evolved with the team, he grew more frustrated with what he perceived to be a lack of commitment by the Phillies organization to put a winning team on the field. By the end of Rolen’s time with the Phils, there developed bad blood between both sides, and Rolen was gone in 2002 after playing 100 games for the Phillies that year.
The Phillies organization was responsible for Rolen making the bigs, and Rolen has never forgotten that, he recently had some very nice things to say about the Phillies and the chance that they had given him to play baseball professionally. If you were around watching baseball during the Scott Rolen years in Philadelphia, you either loved him or didn’t like him, that is what a lot of fans have been talking about on social media over the past couple of days since the announcement that Rolen was in for the HOF with 76.3 percent of the vote, a few votes put him over the 75 percent mark that is needed to be elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA, the Baseball Writers of America. David Ortiz was the sole player to be voted in by the BBWAA last year in 2022. There are other ways to make it into the Hall of Fame though.
Rolen and the Phillies haven’t been in a cozy relationship over the years since Rolen retired from baseball. He has kept a low profile in front of Phillies fans. The Phillies organization hadn’t even considered him for their ‘Wall of Fame’ which of course will now change that Rolen is going to the HOF. As a fan, you have to wonder why that an organization and a player such as Rolen didn’t continue a cozy relationship, and if you experienced what went on with Rolen and the Phils toward the end of his time on the team, it would be much clearer. But, whatever the case, it’s Scott Rolen, Hall of Famer from now on. You just have to tip your cap to him regardless of how you feel if you’re one of the Phillies fans who didn’t care for him.
