Scott Rolen, elected to Hall of Fame, changed Cincinnati Reds culture

On Jan 25, 2023

Scott Rolen, who accumulated eight Gold Gloves, seven All-Star appearances, a Rookie of the Year award and a World Series title during his 17-year career, had a simple answer when he was asked about his humble and team-first personality.

“Well, I’m from Jasper, Indiana,” Rolen said. “It’s a hardworking community that values going to work, getting your job done, doing things right and treating people well. On top of that, I am Ed and Linda Rolen’s son, Todd and Kristin’s brother, and that just didn’t fly in our house.”

That kid from Jasper, Indiana, is the newest member of baseball’s Hall of Fame. Rolen was elected with 76.3% of the vote by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on his sixth year on the ballot. He was named on 297 ballots, five more than the 292 required to reach the 75% threshold for election.

Scott Rolen was named on 297 ballots, five more than the 292 required to reach the 75% threshold for election.

Rolen was the 342^nd member and 270^th player elected to the Hall of Fame. He played his last 3 ½ seasons of his career with the Cincinnati Reds, which gave him a chance to play close to home.

“You don’t think about this,” Rolen said. “You think about trying to do the best you can and play for your team, play the game as best as you can. It’s such a long road. I never thought the Hall of Fame was going to be the answer.”

Scott Rolen goes from 10% of the vote to Hall of Fame

Rolen received 10.2% of the vote in his initial year, the lowest percentage for an eventual Hall of Famer in his initial year on the ballot. He remembered sitting in the car with his son, Finn, before coaching a youth basketball practice and listening to the results on the radio.

He told his son he just wanted to be higher than 5% to remain on the ballot.

Five years later, he received a phone call from a Hall of Fame official at his home surrounded by his wife, son and daughter.

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“Everybody cried,” Rolen said. “We’re an emotional family. When we get happy or whatever, that’s how it comes out. My son, it caught him a little off guard and he got real emotional. Then the first thing he did is he asked me if I wanted to play catch with him. It’s 30 degrees here and it’s going to snow like 12 inches tomorrow, and my son and I were in the driveway playing catch about 10-15 minutes after we got the phone call.”

The celebration continued with Rolen’s parents and his brother’s family. Rolen promised everybody steaks, so even if he didn’t receive the news he wanted to hear, “we were going to have a good night no matter what.”

Rolen was the 18^th third baseman elected to the Hall of Fame, which is the fewest among all positions. He will be joined by Fred McGriff at next summer’s induction ceremony in Cooperstown, New York. McGriff was elected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee in December.