Infielder Rolen elected to Hall of Fame

*Photo from Forbes*

   This year, the hot corner got some much deserved love. Toronto Blue Jays, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, and Philadelphia Phillies 3B Scott Rolen has been elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame, with the announcement made on Tuesday night.

   In his 6th year of eligibility on the BBWAA ballot, Rolen received 76.3 percent of the vote, surpassing the 75 percent threshold needed for induction. He was the only one of 28 candidates on the ballot to get the necessary votes. Rolen joins Fred McGriff as inductees in the 2023 class after McGriff was elected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee.

   Rolen said of his career that "You don't think about this. You think about trying to do the best you can and play for your team and do the best you can. It’s such a long road, and I never thought the Hall of Fame would be the answer."

   Throughout his 17 year career, Rolen collected enough awards to be one of the most decorated 3rd basemen in baseball history. He played all but 5 of his 2,038 games at 3rd base and took home 8 gold glove awards, making the All Star Game 7 times and winning the 1997 NL Rookie of the Year.

   At the plate, Rolen was also very impressive, helping lead the 2006 Cardinals to a World Series win. Rolen ended his career with a .281 batting average and .855 OPS, hitting 316 home runs with 1,287 RBI's in 2,038 games. He has 5 home runs and 12 RBI's in 39 playoff games, posting a .220 average with a .678 OPS.

   With his induction, Rolen becomes only the 18th 3rd baseman to be elected to the Hall of Fame, the fewest among position players. He's the first 3rd baseman to be elected since Chipper Jones in 2018, with both of them being the only 3rd basemen to have debuted in the last 40 years and reach the Hall of Fame.

   Rolen said of getting the call that "It's 30 degrees here, and it's gonna snow about 12 inches tomorrow, and my son and I were in the driveway playing catch about 10-15 minutes after we got the phone call. So that's going to be a pretty special memory when I get to stop and think about it all."

   The first player to miss induction was Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton, who fell 11 votes shy of getting inducted in his 5th year on the ballot. 2000 NL MVP Jeff Kent fell off the ballot, failing to get elected in his 10th and final year of eligibility, getting 46.5 percent of the vote.