Scott Rolen, Fred McGriff inducted to Baseball Hall of Fame
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Throughout their decorated careers — and even as recently as last year — Scott Rolen and Fred McGriff were not certain to be Hall of Famers. They were not locks to be remembered as the best third or first baseman of their era, though each compiled a compelling case. They were not first- or even second-ballot electees — or, in McGriff’s case, 10th-ballot. But on Sunday afternoon in Cooperstown, N.Y., they secured their status as two of the best players in baseball history when they were inducted to the Hall of Fame.
“At no point in my lifetime did it ever occur to me that I would be standing on this stage,” Rolen told the voting baseball writers during his speech Sunday. “But I’m glad it occurred to you because this is unbelievably special.”
In 2018, Rolen received 10.2 percent of the vote in his first year on the ballot, the lowest ever for a player eventually elected. At that time, he was just hoping to receive enough votes to remain on the ballot. But by January 2023, in his sixth year, he was all the way up to 76.3 percent, becoming the only player on the 28-person ballot to receive the 75 percent required for election.
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Rolen’s .281 batting average and 316 homers from 1996 to 2012 guaranteed the seven-time all-star a spot in the upper echelon of third basemen of his era. Only Alex Rodriguez, whose steroid use has kept him out of Cooperstown, and Chipper Jones accumulated more FanGraphs wins above replacement at third base in that time frame. But Rolen, 48, also was the elite defender of his generation at the position, an eight-time Gold Glove winner. Rolen, who suited up for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays and Cincinnati Reds, called his career “20 years of hypertension and acid reflux” that he wouldn’t trade for anything.
Another wonderful addition to the plaque gallery. Congratulations, Scott Bruce Rolen. #HOFWKND
(Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) pic.twitter.com/3lJ1R3IOPS — National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) July 23, 2023
McGriff, who was sixth in FanGraphs WAR among first basemen during his 19-year career, never reached the writers’ 75 percent threshold. But in December, he was voted in unanimously by the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee, a group of Hall of Famers, industry executives and longtime media members. He slugged 493 home runs (tied with Lou Gehrig for 29th all-time), and most of them came in an era when many of those hitting more have admitted to or are alleged to have used performance-enhancing drugs. McGriff, 59, had at least 30 homers in 10 seasons.
“When your career is validated by former players and executives that saw you play, that’s as good as it gets,” he told the crowd in Cooperstown.
McGriff, who played for the Blue Jays, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers, remains universally respected among his contemporaries, a slugger known as much for his friendliness as for his swing. When he took the stage Sunday in Cooperstown, his entrance took longer than it does for most: McGriff started shaking the hands of the Hall of Famers sitting behind him, then had to continue until he had made it to the other side of the stage, where a group of his peers had feigned offense at being left out.
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“My goal was just to make it to the big leagues. I’ve exceeded every expectation I had and then some,” said McGriff, who became something of a cult hero for his role as a celebrity instructor on baseball training videos from former scout Tom Emanski.
Frederick Stanley McGriff, this one’s for you. #HOFWKND
(Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) pic.twitter.com/GFYDZc0E0c — National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) July 23, 2023
In those videos, McGriff wore a blank blue hat that became as associated with him (at least in the minds of baseball fans who grew up in the 1990s) as any of the hats he wore in his major league career. McGriff told reporters last year that he wanted to represent all of his stops equally — and the blank cap on his plaque represents just that. He won his only World Series title with the Braves in 1995.
Rolen won his lone World Series title with the Cardinals in 2006, and his plaque sports the interlocking STL logo. He said during Sunday’s speech that his children were a product of his time in St. Louis and “there was no better team, at no better time” to start his family. His son’s baseball team, which Rolen coaches in Indiana, was in Cooperstown to applaud him.
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Source: The Washington Post
