Eight-time Gold Glove winner Scott Rolen had a nice little two-month resurgence for the Reds this summer, but he couldn’t keep it going in September and October. Now, with his contract up and free agency looming, he’s leaning towards retirement at age 37, USATODAY’s Bob Nightengale reports.
Rolen has been plagued by shoulder problems for years, and he again spent time on the DL this season when the soreness became too much to handle. A perennial All-Star in his prime, he played in 140 games just once and 120 games three times after turning 30. He hit .245/.318/.398 with eight homers and 39 RBI in 294 at-bats this season.
Because Rolen added so little to his stats after his first nine full seasons, he probably won’t sniff Cooperstown. It doesn’t help that he wasn’t properly rated when he was at his best. Even though he had three 30-homer and five-100 RBI seasons while being widely recognized as the game’s premier defensive third baseman, he just once received significant MVP consideration, that coming when he finished fourth in 2004.
Still, it’s hard to look at Rolen’s body of work and not conclude that he was one of the 12 or 15 best third basemen in major league history. Maybe that’s still not Hall of Fame-worthy, but he had a terrific career. It’s too bad it had to conclude with an NLDS-ending strikeout today.
