Scott Rolen was a very good player. Maybe Hall of Fame good.
- Rolen made the big leagues in 1996 and by 1997 was a regular in the Phillies lineup. That season he would hit .283/.377/.469 and win the NL ROY.
- Rolen would spend 17 seasons in the big leagues and retire with a line of .281/.364/.490 and 316 HR.
- While he was a fearful bat, he was equally good in the field and was awarded eight Gold Gloves.
- He would be selected to seven All-Star teams and be awarded a Silver Slugger award.
Rolen was a great player. He was Nolan Arenado before we knew about Arenado. Just fantastic. I think he gets lost in the shuffle since he played during an era filled with amazing third baseman–Chipper Jones, Adrian Beltre, Alex Rodriguez to name a few. But he is easily one of the best players of the 2000s.
I am partial to him since I was able to get his autograph a couple of times over the years and he was always very friendly. Not sure if that was normal, him being friendly.