Former Blue Jays infielder Scott Rolen elected to the MLB Hall of Fame

The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) has elected former Blue Jays 3B Scott Rolen to the Hall of Fame class of 2023, where he’ll join another former Jay, Fred McGriff, who was elected in December via the Contemporary Era committee, at the HoF induction ceremony next July in Cooperstown, NY.

In his sixth year on the ballot, Rolen received 297 votes, or 76.3% of the ballots cast by eligible voting members of the BBWAA. Over a 17-year major league career, Rolen won eight Gold Gloves and was a seven-time All-Star. He slashed .281/.364/.490/.855 with an OPS+ of 122 with 316 home runs, 1,287 RBI, 1,211 runs scored, and an OPS of .854 combined with the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and Cincinnati Reds.

He won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1997 – a unanimous selection – with the Phillies, and was a member of the Cardinals’ championship team in 2006 when he hit .421 in the World Series.

As a Blue Jay for two seasons from 2008-09 after being acquired for 3B Troy Glaus in January of 2008, he slashed .288/.358/.452/.810 with an OPS+ of 114, 19 HRs and 93 RBI in Toronto. With a year and a half left on his contract in July of 2009, then-Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi pulled the trigger on a trade deadline deal with the Reds, sending Rolen, who was batting .320 with eight homers and 43 RBI at the time, to Cincinnati for a package of Edwin Encarnación, reliever Josh Roenicke and minor leaguer Zach Stewart.

With tonight's news, Rolen is only the 18th third baseman in baseball history to be inducted into the Hall of the Fame, the fewest of any position!

Congratulations to Scott Rolen on an incredible career and on being inducted in to the Hall of Fame!