Scott Rolen

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Scott Rolen

Rolen batting for the Cardinals
Toronto Blue Jays — No. 33
Third base
Born: April 4, 1975 (1975-04-04) (age 33)
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
August 1, 1996 for the Philadelphia Phillies
Selected MLB statistics (through May 16, 2008)
Batting average	.284
Home runs	263
Runs batted in	1,022
Stolen bases	106
Teams
Philadelphia Phillies (1996-2002) St. Louis Cardinals (2002-2007) Toronto Blue Jays (2008-present)

Scott Bruce Rolen (born April 4, 1975 in Jasper, Indiana) is a Major League Baseball third baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays. A seven time Gold Glove winner, Rolen is considered by some to be the one of the best fielding third baseman in Major League Baseball history.

[edit] Career

[edit] Philadelphia

Rolen was born in Evansville, Indiana and grew up in nearby Jasper. Although drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2nd round of the 1993 amateur draft, Rolen did not reach the majors until 1996. He was hit by a pitch in his final plate appearance of the season, keeping him at 130 career at-bats and eligible for rookie of the year consideration in 1997. In the next season, he was in fact named National League Rookie of the Year. In 1998 he won his first of seven Gold Glove awards.

[edit] St. Louis

On July 29, 2002, Philadelphia traded Rolen and Doug Nickle to the St. Louis Cardinals for Plácido Polanco, Mike Timlin, and Bud Smith. Later that year, he received an eight-year deal worth $90 million ^[1].

Rolen's 2004 season was arguably his best to that point. For much of the season, he led the National League in RBIs, often ranked among the league leaders in most offensive statistics, and had the highest vote total of any player for the All-Star Game. Despite being injured for the last stretch of the season, he finished the year with a career-high .314 batting average, 34 home runs, and 124 RBIs. He finished fourth in the National League MVP voting. Rolen, along with Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds earned the nickname MV3 for their phenomenal 2004 seasons. The 2004 Cardinals won the National League Central Division with 105 wins. Scott Rolen's 2-run home run in the 6th inning of game 7 of the NLCS won the National League pennant for St. Louis by defeating the Astros in 7 games. Unfortunately, the Boston Red Sox swept 4 games against the Cardinals to win the 2004 World Series.

On Tuesday May 10, 2005, Scott Rolen injured his shoulder in a collision with Dodgers first baseman Hee-Seop Choi and was placed on the disabled list two days later. He was expected to be out 4-6 weeks. On May 13, Scott Rolen underwent shoulder surgery - additional MRI revealed tear in labrum. He eventually opted to have surgery on his shoulder, rather than attempt to let it heal on its own and return for the playoffs. He returned to full-time duties in 2006, a year in which Rolen was one of six nominees for the National League Comeback Player of the Year award. He finished 2006 hitting .292, hitting 22 Home Runs and 95 RBI.

Things did not go well in 2007 for Rolen. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on August 31, 2007 because of his recurring left shoulder problems. Then on September 11, Rolen had season-ending shoulder surgery "for the removal of scar tissue and a bursectomy and a manipulation of his left (non-throwing) shoulder", according to a release from the team.

A middle-of-the-order hitter throughout his career, Rolen has a career .283 batting average as well as a .372 on-base percentage and a .507 slugging percentage. He has 1,558 Hits, 261 Home runs, and 1,012 RBIs, as well as having scored 954 Runs (as of August 31, 2007).

[edit] Toronto

On January 12, 2008, the Cardinals reached a preliminary deal to send Rolen to the Toronto Blue Jays for Troy Glaus. On January 14, 2008 the deal became finalized when both players passed physicals. Rolen has chosen to wear the number 33 on the Toronto Blue Jays because he wants a new start. His three year old daughter helped to pick out the number from a list of available numbers.

Rolen suffered a non-displaced fracture of his right middle finger during fielding drills at spring training. His fingernail was also torn off. Rolen missed the first 3-5 weeks of the regular season after having surgery to insert a screw in his broken finger. ^[2] Marco Scutaro was the Jays' third baseman in Rolen's place. On April 25, 2008, Rolen was activated from the 15-day disabled list. Two days later, against the Kansas City Royals, he hit his first home run as a Blue Jay.

[edit] Outstanding defense

While Rolen is a fine hitter, it is his glove that attracts the most attention. In a twelve-year career, Rolen has won seven Gold Glove Awards. Only Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson (16) and Mike Schmidt (10) have more at third base. Schmidt himself has said that Rolen is a better gloveman than he was, and many analysts and baseball experts agree.^{[citation needed]} He is considered as one of the best fielding third basemen in Major League Baseball history.

Rolen is known throughout the baseball community as one of the hardest working players in the game. He was also a star basketball player as 6' 4" tall growing up in Indiana. This athleticism and determination make him one of the game's best third basemen.

[edit] Charity work

In 1999, Scott Rolen created The Enis Furley Foundation. Scott had a vision to brighten the lives of children and their families who struggle with an illness hardship, or other special needs. The scope of the foundation was intentionally left broad to give the flexibility to reach out to any child in need regardless of their situation or location. Externally, the Enis Furley Foundation is busy with community outreach programs, “Hot Corner Kids”, and construction of outdoor retreats, such as “Camp Emma Lou”. The goals are quite simple and focused: making children smile.

[edit] Milestones

• On September 15, 2006^{[citation needed]}, Rolen set a personal record for RBIs in a game with 7 in a 14-4 win against the San Francisco Giants, hitting 2 home runs.

• He went 4-for-5 with two singles, a double, and his 261st home run (his last home run in the NL to this date) against the Milwaukee Brewers on August 15, 2007.

• He played in his 1,500th game (5,480 ABs) on August 22, 2007.

[edit] Awards

• 1997- NL Rookie of the Year
• 7-times National League 3B Gold Glove Award(1998, 2000-04, 06)

[edit] Private life

Rolen currently splits his time between residences in Saint Charles, Missouri; Carmel, Indiana; Bloomington, Indiana and Bradenton Beach, Florida. Rolen and his wife Nicki have two children: a daughter Raine Tyler and a son Fin Edward.

He is also Catholic.

Rolen was offered a basketball scholarship to play for Eddie Sutton at Oklahoma State University but rejected the offer. He was also offered a scholarship at the University of Georgia.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Scott Rolen

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube
• Scott Rolen page at Scout.com
• Rolen-Glaus deal near completion