Veteran third baseman Scott Rolen is preparing to retire, though he will delay an official announcement until later in the offseason, reports USA Today's Bob Nightengale (via Twitter). Rolen was non-committal about his future when talking to reporters (including John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer) following the Reds' elimination from the NLDS today, just noting that his contract with the Reds was up and that he was "going to go home and be a dad."
It's a tough ending for Rolen, who struck out in the final at-bat of the series and also made an error in the 10th inning in Game Three that led to the Giants scoring the game-winning run. Rolen hit .245/.318/.398 in 330 plate appearances for Cincinnati this year, with his playing time limited by both injuries and the Reds' desire to fit rookie Todd Frazier into the lineup. Rolen signed a two-year, $13MM extension with the Reds in December 2009 that covered the 2011-12 seasons.
Injuries plagued Rolen throughout the latter years of his career, though his credentials could still end up earning him a spot in the Hall of Fame. Highlights include the 1997 NL Rookie of the Year Award, seven All-Star appearances, a .281/.364/.490 batting line over 17 seasons, 316 homers and a World Series ring with the 2006 Cardinals. Despite his impressive hitting numbers, Rolen may be best remembered as one of the game's great defensive third basemen, as the eight-time Gold Glover trails only Brooks Robinson (16) and Mike Schmidt (10) for number of Gold Gloves won at the hot corner.
withpower
One of the best players of his day.
davbee
He was a very good player, I don’t know if I’d say great. The retired batters he most directly compares to (as listed on Baseball Reference) are Shawn Green, Paul O’Neill, Bobby Bonilla, Reggie Smith, Fred Lynn, Ken Boyer and Ron Santo. Only Santo is in the Hall of Fame. I’d say he’s a borderline candidate at best.
Vampire Weekend at Bernie's
I love baseball-reference as much as the next guy, but there are tons of flaws with going by b-r as a way to determine whether someone was a great/good player.
hiflyer000
He has a career bWAR of 66.6 and fWAR of 75, so I think he will get in. I only wonder if they’ll put him in as a Phillie or as a Cardinal, since he had a similar career for both teams.
cards2WS
He won a WS with the Cards, so maybe that will be the deciding factor.
davbee
Actually Santo has a 66.6 career WAR, so Rolen is pretty much Ron Santo v 2.0.
davbee
Rolen is tied for 63rd all time in WAR (66.6) among position players. Here are some of the contemporary players in that general range , 59 Bobby Grich 67.3, 61 Barry Larkin and Alan Trammell 67.1, 66 Gary Carter 66.4, 67 Tim Raines 66.2, 71 Kenny Lofton & Ryne Sandburg 64.9, 73 Manny Ramirez 64.8, 74 Edgar Martinez 64.4.
Gothapotamus
Moot point, he won’t get in.
But my advisory opinion – Cardinals. 10 years later he still gets booed in Philly.
MetsMagic
He should get in, though. And I don’t think it’s fair to gauge a player’s popularity and legacy on how he was booed in Philadelphia. Everyone got booed in Philadelpha, Mike Schmidt got booed there. The majority and sensible Phillies fans (not the vocal minority with their batteries) appreciate Rolen.
withpower
Shawn Green was pretty darn good himself, as was Bobby Bonilla [despite the negative reputation, he had a lot of very productive seasons]. Fred Lynn probably should be in the Hall of Fame.
Rolen took a bit of a hit in the triple slash department after his age 31 season because of the injuries. I think he messed up his shoulder running into Hee-Seop Choi at first base.
Lunchbox45
you forgot the part where he’s a top 2 defensive third basemen of all time
davbee
Rolen is an excellent defender, but off the top of my head I can think of at least two thirdbasemen who were statistically better (Brooks Robinsion 38.8 dWAR and Graig Nettles 20.9 dWAR). Heck, he’s not even the best defensive thirdbaseman of his era–Adrian Beltre 22.1 dWAR vs Rolen 20.6 dWAR.
davbee
Actually, Rolen ranks sixth all time in defensive WAR among third basemen, behind Brooks Robinson 38.8, Buddy Bell 23.0 , Clete Boyer 21.6, Adrian Beltre 221.1 and Graig Nettles 20.9
95isover
Hall of Famer
rockfordone
no but a good player
iheartyourfart
wow, he took that pretty hard
Runtime
You done good, Scotty. You done good.
It was a pleasure watching you in Toronto.
NomarGarciaparra
Wow if Scott Rolen is a HOF, then the HOF standards are low. He was a good player, but nowhere near HOF.
Tired_OF_FakeRumors
Totally agree!
Sniderlover
It was fun watching him play in his time with the Jays even if it was short. His defense was so superb. Excellent player and should be a HOF’er.
cookmeister
growing up as a 3b, Rolen was one of my favorite players. Best of luck to him in whatever the future holds
billw-2
From one story I read(CBS sports)…Rolen finishes as just one of three third basemen to produce at least
2,000 hits (2,077), 500 doubles (517), 300 home runs (316) and 1,200 RBI
(1,287).
Also, I’ve heard several Managers say he was the best 3rd baseman they had ever seen…can’t find quotes right now though…
Tired_OF_FakeRumors
I don’t think he’s worthy of a Hall OF Fame spot, still he was great.
deeco3307
As a Cards fan, I loved watching Rolen play defense and sprint around the bases after a homer. If he didn’t injure his shoulder, he’d be a lock for the hall of fame- Even more than Chipper Jones. I think it will take several tries, but eventually he should get in.
Mike O'Donnell
I’m very sad. I wished the ending to his career could have been sweeter. Great player, should be a shoo-in HOFer. One of my favorite Reds, even though his time here was short. I’d love to have him around in the organization.
Jay King
Pleased he is hanging it up. He was a good player but the past 2 seasons have just been a nightmare for him. Low stats and lots of injuries have kinda made it obvious that it was time to retire. Thanks for the good memories as a top notch 3B. Looking forward to seeing if the Reds will go out and get a 3b player or will Frazier finally be given the everyday job. His post season play this year was almost sad though. I kinda felt like he really hurt the teams chances.
ffnogoodnik
I do not see him as being close to Hall Of Fame. If I had a vote the first thing I would look at would be All Star appearances and MVP voting (for batters). Sine his first full season in 1997 he has made 7 all star teams ( a 4 year streak from 2003 to 2006) and he has been in the top 25 in MVP votes 4 times. He finished 20th in 98, 24th in 2001, 4th in 2004 and 14th 2010.
That, to me, does not even get him in the discussion. Hall of Famers are supposed to the dominant players of their eras. He does not seem to pass that test.
weaselpuppy
Welcome to the Hall of Very Good, Scott. Well done on a career 95% of MLB players would envy
safari_punch
A club house cancer in Philly, St. Louis and Toronto.
Wonder what the stories are in the Reds club house about Rolen.
LongTimeFan1
Fine player and leader who I wish well, but a Hall of Famer he is not playing in the era he did, one that expects more from a third baseman and mid-lineup type to have any chance of the Hall. Chipper Jones is a no brainer, Scott Rolen is well behind.
In terms of active third basemen, I think Adrian Beltre and David Wright both have a chance should they continue playing good baseball in the years to come. Both will readily surpass Rolen, and well beyond, should they remain healthy. Beltre might reach the 500 homer, 1,700, 3,000 hit mark and sign his own ticket.
SD
I really hope the Reds keep him in some capacity. Can’t think of a better person to have in the clubhouse.
redsFAN86
Keep rolen around in the clubhouse but off the field. Thanks for the years Rolen, and welcome FRAZIER!