How Scott Rolen’s defense became appointment level TV

The former Cardinal made it to Cooperstown.

Scott Rolen finally made it into the Hall of Fame. After years of being denied-he had only 10% of the vote the first try-Rolen gained a ticket to the Cooperstown VIP section.

It’s about damn time if you ask me. Before Nolan Arenado would ever win his first of ten Gold Gloves, Rolen won eight of them. He split a career between Philadelphia, St. Louis, Toronto, and Cincinnati. Before Arenado slid across the grass in Cardinal Red at Busch Stadium, Rolen blazed a trail through the grass at Busch Memorial Stadium.

If you thought it was a double down the line, the outcome wasn’t in your favor. Rolen could slide way outside the foul line, firing a dart to first before popping back up. He’d corral a hard grounder, and turn and fire a missile across the diamond. Figuring out how many hitters Rolen saddened with his greatness would take a week.

It’s about as hard to figure out as HOF voters taking years to vote him in. He wasn’t all glove, far from it. Rolen’s 70 WAR, .855 OPS, and seven All Star Game berths paint a clear picture. He averaged 25 home runs and 165 hits per season over his 17 year career, also spraying 41 doubles on average as well. He was a complete player in two leagues and four teams in a career that got close to two decades.

He survived tormented Philly fans, Tony La Russa’s blunt managerial tactics, and a shoulder injury that most likely delayed his HOF induction. Colliding with Hee-Sop Choi at first base altered a portion of his career. Think of the way Mark Mulder’s shoulder issues affected his pitching late in his career. Rolen’s defense didn’t suffer; his bat took a hit in 2005-06, his final years in St. Louis.

If he hits that baseball thrown by a Dodgers pitcher over the wall or into an outfielder’s glove instead of allowing the infield to make a play, Rolen may still be a Cardinal. However, it shouldn’t matter. What he did do was Hall of Fame worthy.

That’s cemented in fact now. While Gary Gaetti had a reliable vacuum over at third base for the Cardinals and Nolan Arenado revolutionized the position, it was Rolen who first created appointment level defense. He was sharper than Jim Edmonds, and that’s saying something.

The icing on the cake is the fact that Rolen is a good dude and thrived under pressure. Any Cardinals fan forget his clutch playoff home run against Roger Clemens in 2004? Nope.

A potent bat. An unreal arm and range. Longevity. Four teams. A World Series ring included. That’s a Hall of Famer for you.

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