Longtime slick-fielding third baseman Scott Rolen has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, getting 76.3% of the ballots cast in his sixth year of eligibility to earn enshrinement.
Scott Rolen has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, preventing a shutout in the BBWAA balloting for the second time in three years.
None of the other 27 players listed on the 2023 Hall ballot cleared the 75% threshold for election, though there were a couple of near-misses. The results of the balloting were revealed Tuesday during a broadcast on MLB.com.
Rolen, a longtime third baseman, was named on 76.3% of ballots cast in his sixth year of eligibility to earn enshrinement. Just missing was former Rockies first baseman Todd Helton, who received support on 72.2% of ballots in his fifth try at election.
Some 136 ballots were cast through the BBWAA for this year’s Hall of Fame class. The average ballot contained 5.86 names (down from 7.11 last year), with 13.9% of the voters using all 10 slots (down from 33.8%). 75% was needed for election. A look at the players with at least 10% of the vote:
Players can appear on the ballot for 10 seasons after a five-year waiting period after they retire, provided they are named on at least 5% of the ballot during a voting cycle.
“You don’t think about this,” Rolen said on MLB Network. “You think about trying to do the best you can, play for your team and play the game as best you can and there’s such a long road. I never thought that the Hall of Fame was going to be the answer.”
Rolen was a seven-time All-Star during his 17-year career, playing for the Phillies, Cardinals, Blue Jays and Reds. His eight Gold Gloves are fourth-most for a third baseman. The 1997 NL Rookie of the Year was a member of the Cardinals when the club won the 2006 World Series.
Rolen, who ranks fifth in WAR among career third basemen according to Baseball-Reference.com, was named on just 10.2% of ballots during his first year of eligibility in 2018 but rapidly gained support with each passing voting cycle.
The same upward trajectory has held true for Helton, who started at 16.
