Scott Rolen was known as a great teammate but also put up great career numbers. From his rookie debut with the Phillies in 1996 to his farewell season with the Reds in 2012, along with stints with the Cardinals and Blue Jays, Rolen was a sought after third basemen. This is proven as from 1997 to 2004 Scott compiled 20 or more home runs each season. During this span, he also collected four straight 100 or more RBIs. By far his best season was in 2004 after putting up career highs in homers with 34, RBIs with 124, and batting average with .314. As for Sabermetrics, Rolen posted an 8.9 wins above replacement, a truly amazing number. As if the offense wasn’t enough, Rolen won his fifth consecutive Gold Glove in ’04. He would finish his career with eight Gold Gloves, one Silver Slugger, and the National League Rookie of the Year award in 1997. He piled up 316 home runs to go long along with 1,287 RBIs and 517 doubles, all of which are decent power numbers. He would also have 2,077 hits, 1,211 runs, and 118 stolen bases. Scott Rolen’s name will appear on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time in 2017, but it is hard to tell whether or not he will get in as another legendary third baseman, Chipper Jones, is also on the ballot for the first time. But Scott was not only a numbers leader, but a clubhouse leader. Mat Latos requested to leave the Reds after their clubhouse issues. He gave credit to Scott Rolen for keeping everybody together. This is shown in Latos quote from the 2012 trade from the Reds, “You look at it after we lost Scott Rolen. Everything went to s***. When Scott was there, we had guys doing exactly what they were supposed to do. After Scott left, we had guys with two years in the big leagues, in the clubhouse, on their phones, laying down in the video room, just hanging out during games, not in the dugout, not cheering their teammates on. Our dugout looked like a ghost town.” This shows that Scott cared about his teammates and team as a whole. Overall, Scott Rolen, both a decent player and great teammate, lived a career with the right moral.
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