No former Toronto Blue Jays elected into Hall of Fame

Scott Rolen

Third-baseman Scott Rolen came to the Blue Jays in 2008 via the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Troy Glaus. Rolen played in just over 200 games through a year-and-a-half for the Jays before being shipped to Cincinnati at the 2008 Trade Deadline. While he was likeable enough as a Blue Jay, I’m sure he is most fondly remembered for the trade because coming back from Cincinnati was a journeyman down-on-his-luck guy named Edwin Encarnacion.

In just his fifth year eligible for the Hall of Fame, Rolen was named on 63.5 per cent of the ballots and with a weak class projected in 2023, should be elected next time around. Rolen won eight Gold Gloves and his .968 fielding percentage ranks 21st all time. Rolen was also an excellent hitter, ending his 17-year career with a slash line of .281/.364/.490 and an OPS of .855.

The 2022 Baseball Hall of Fame results were announced this week and no Toronto Blue Jays’ alumni made the cut, with only David Ortiz entering this year.

Omar Vizquel

The sleek-fielding Vizquel spent just one season with the Blue Jays in 2012 as a 45-year-old before he retired from Major League Baseball. Vizquel won 11 Gold Gloves in his career and his 29.5 Defensive WAR is good for ninth all-time. The shortstop was also speedy, swiping 404 bases in his tenure.

Vizquel has never been overly close to getting into the Hall of Fame, but his stock dropped immensely the past couple of years as controversy has surrounded him by the names of domestic violence and sexual harrassment issues, both alleged. It’s been made clear that on the field alone is not sufficient to gain entrance to the Hall, and Vizquel received just 94 votes this year after garnering 197 in 2021.