Keep rollin’, rollin’, rollin’, rollin’!
It may have taken six ballots to make it happen, but St. Louis Cardinals legend Scott Rolen is headed to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Officials notified Rolen on Jan. 24 that he was elected into Cooperstown. He’s the only individual voted into the 2023 class by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
In order to be selected as a Baseball Hall of Famer, a former player must receive at least 75% of the vote. Getting just five votes (out of 389) to help clear the threshold, Rolen just narrowly got in there with 76.3% of the tally.
Throughout his 17 years in Major League Baseball, Rolen hit 316 career home runs with a slash line of .281/.364/.490, as well as an OPS+ of 122. On the defensive side, Rolen grabbed eight Gold Glove awards. He also made seven All Star teams, and won Rookie of the Year in 1997 and the Silver Slugger in 2002. He also capped off his stellar career with a 2006 World Series championship ring with St. Louis.
For players, they must have been in MLB for at least 10 years to qualify for Cooperstown, and they must have also been retired from the league for at least five years. And as previously mentioned, a former player must receive 75% of the vote in order to be elected.
With the voters themselves, you have to be a member of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, but even then, not all members are eligible to receive a ballot. Voters are not only required to be a part of BBWAA, but they also must be active for at least 10 years. On the ballot, voters are allowed to select up to 10 different candidates.
One of the greatest 3B of all-time! 👏
Scott Rolen has been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/dWG1KddzoQ
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) January 24, 2023
The moment Scott Rolen’s parents found out their son is heading to Cooperstown. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/r1i22VHMjy
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) January 25, 2023
I’m happy for Scott Rolen and it was pretty cool to see his interaction with his parents after the announcement was made that he was headed to the Hall of Fame. But I do have one complaint.
His damn theme song is now stuck in my head:
But seriously — congratulations, Scott, you deserve it.
If I’m Rolen, I’m definitely happy with the clout of being the only one elected into the Class of 2023, but as a sports blogger (and someone who deserves a Hall of Fame vote and membership into the Baseball Writers’ Association of America), it quite frankly irks me that these players up for consideration didn’t get voted in: Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Andruw Jones, Todd Helton and Billy Wagner.
With A-Rod and Ramirez in particular, I get the whole thing about “DeY dID sTEroIdZ,” but I’m honestly not the one for that. If you know me, you know I’ve been preaching about legal steroid use for years. Let the players use it, but also teach them the dangers of it. Shit, it worked in professional wrestling (and baseball) most notably for years and years and years before it finally got blown out of the water. Steroids = entertainment value. It’s that simple and that’s exactly what Rodriguez and Ramirez did — they entertained us on such a massive scale.
You’re damn right I want 70-home run seasons every year. I want to be entertained! (RELATED: Lawsuit Claims Baltimore Orioles Ownership At War With Each Other After Accusations Of ‘Draining’ Millions Of Dollars)
Now with Helton and Wagner, they deserve to be in the Hall of Fame too, but I could honestly take ’em or leave ’em. I still would have voted for them if I had a ballot. Rodriguez, Ramirez and Andruw Jones are who bother me the most, and you know exactly why I want Jones being an Atlanta Braves fan. And let’s also mention the 434 career home runs and the near 2,000 hits that he had, because it’s all about the numbers, right?
Well, if that’s the case, Rodriguez, Ramirez and Jones need to be in the Hall of Fame, as well as Helton and Wagner, but at least the first three should have joined Rolen. Numbers don’t lie, right?
The Baseball Writers’ Association of America seriously needs to give me a vote.