Scott Rolen, Indiana baseball’s director of player development, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday after he garnered 76.3% of the Baseball Writers Association of America vote.
Rolen, from Jasper, Indiana, was elected in his sixth year on the ballot and received five more than the needed 75% of votes to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
During his 17-year career, Rolen was a seven-time All-Star, eight-time Gold Glove winner and a Silver Slugger winner in 2002. In 1997 with the Philadelphia Phillies, his first full season in the majors, Rolen was named Rookie of the Year. He won the World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006.
Rolen finished his career with 2,038 games played with the Phillies, Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and Toronto Blue Jays. His career batting average was .281, he hit 316 home runs and drove in 1,287 runs, but he was primarily known for his fielding at third base. His 70.1 career Wins Above Replacement is ninth all-time among third basemen, despite finishing in the top 10 of MVP voting just once in his career.
During his senior season at Jasper High School in 1993, Rolen was selected as Indiana’s Mr. Baseball and was a runner-up for the state’s Mr. Basketball.
Rolen will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 23 in Cooperstown, New York, alongside Fred McGriff, who was elected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee on Dec. 4.
CLARIFICATION: This story has been updated to specify that Rolen was one of the runner-ups for Indiana's Mr. Basketball.
