Is Former Philadelphia Phillies Star Rolen Hall of Fame Worthy?
Scott Rolen spent the first six-and-a-half years of his stellar career with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Despite competing for some bad teams, Rolen was a five-tool player. He could do everything at a high level both at the plate and defensively at third base on the challenging turf at Veterans Stadium.
Rolen would go on to play for the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and Cincinnati Reds through 2012.
It was a heck of a run.
But was it Hall of Fame worthy?
Yes.
When Rolen initially appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot, it didn’t appear like he would advance to Cooperstown.
This is the sixth time for Rolen and he’s so close. He was just 47 votes short of making it last time.
The seven-time All-Star needs 75 percent of the votes and it’s time.
Put him in.
The Phillies were blessed with Mike Schmidt, who’s considered by nearly everyone as the greatest third baseman in the history of the franchise.
Rolen won eight Gold Glove awards. Among third basemen, only Brooks Robinson (16), Schmidt (10) and Nolan Arenado (10) have won more.
Rolen was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1997.
By the time Rolen’s career was over, he had crushed 316 home runs and knocked in 1,287 runs.
Rolen reached the postseason five times – three with the Cardinals and two with the Reds.
While Rolen was a polarizing player, especially in his early years with the Phillies, he was simply a winner.
Had Rolen started his career with a stacked playoff team, there would have been less pressure.
Many young players start out on lousy teams. That’s just a reality.
Statistics don’t tell the whole story, but Rolen finished his career as one of 35 players with at least 2,000 hits, 300 home runs and 500 doubles.
Then there was his defense, which was steady. Rolen made third base look easy. We all know that’s not true.
He was that good.
The relationship between Rolen and the passionate Philadelphia fan base never quite meshed. Rolen just didn’t have the personality they could identify with. Plus the losses mounted and that didn’t help.
Enough time has passed and everyone can be objective now.
Rolen is a Hall of Famer.
It’s time to get it done.
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