Slick-fielding third baseman Scott Rolen was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame on Tuesday with five votes to spare above the 75% needed.
The seven-time All-Star and eight-time Gold Glove winner earned induction in his sixth appearance on the ballot, picked on 297 of 389 ballots cast by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America for 76.3%. A player needed 292 votes for election.
He became the 18th third baseman elected to the Hall, the fewest of any position. Rolen will join Fred McGriff, elected last month by the contemporary baseball era committee, as the inductees at Cooperstown on July 23.
“You don't think about this. You think about doing the best you can,” Rolen said. “I never thought the Hall of Fame was going to be the answer.”
Rolen had a .281 batting average with 316 homers and 1,287 RBIs for Philadelphia (1996-2002), St. Louis (2002-07), Toronto (2008-09) and Cincinnati (2009-12). He was a unanimous pick as the 1997 NL Rookie of the Year and hit .421 as the Cardinals won the 2006 World Series.
Rolen’s five-vote margin tied for the 12th-smallest among players elected by the writers and his 76.3% of the vote was the 10th lowest. Rolen increased from 63.2% last year and 10.2% in his first ballot appearance in 2018.
That became the lowest first-ballot percentage of a player later elected. The previous mark had been Duke Snider’s 17% in 1970. Snider was voted in with 86.5% in 1980.
First baseman Todd Helton was second with 281 votes (72.2%) and reliever Billy Wagner third with 265 (68.1%). Helton moved up from 52% and can have five more appearances on the ballot, while Wagner rose from 51% and has two additional chances.
Several others also saw large increases: Andruw Jones moved from 41.1% to 58.1%, Gary Sheffield from 40.6% to 55% in his next-to-last possible appearance and Jeff Kent from 32.7% to 46.5% in his final year. Kent can be considered by the contemporary baseball era committee in future years.
Players tainted by drug suspensions again lagged. Alex Rodriguez was at 35.7%, up from 34.3%, and Manny Ramirez at 33.2%, up from 28.9%.
Eight blank ballots were submitted by writers, who are eligible to vote after 10 consecutive years of membership in the BBWAA.
Among 14 players appearing on the ballot for the first time, just two reached the 5% threshold required to remain under consideration next year. Carlos Beltrán received 181 votes (46.5%), his total likely impacted by his role in the Houston Astros cheating scandal en route to the 2017 World Series title.
Relief pitcher Francisco Rodríguez received 42 votes (10.8%).
Next year’s first-time eligibles include Adrián Beltré, Joe Mauer, David Wright, José Bautista and Matt Holliday.
Gabe Laques, MLB Editor & Reporter, USA Today Sports, joins Cheddar Bets to offer up his expert opinions on the start of baseball season.
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Baseball is as American as — Apple TV+. The National Pasttime has a new media partner this season, as the MLB will be streaming Friday night doubleheaders on the Apple streaming service. Noah Garden, the league's chief revenue officer, spoke to Cheddar News to break down the details of what's being offered in the new package and why Major League Baseball felt the need to make the move this year. "We've been in a situation where we've lost reach, even within the cable bundle. There are situations where people in the local market don't have access to watch their favorite team and their local team on top of that," he said. "You have cord cutters and even probably more importantly, cord nevers. So streaming offers of some ability to gain reach that we've lost over the the last couple of years, and Apple was really the perfect partner for us."
The 2022 Masters Tournament is slated to begin on Thursday, and one of golf's most iconic players is set to return to Augusta National, just 14 months after a devastating car accident. In a press conference, Tiger Woods told reporters that not only is he planning to play in the tournament, but that he also thinks he can win. Cam Rogers, national sports betting and golf analyst, and host of 'Lock It In'
for the Bleav Podcast Network, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Carsten Koerl, CEO of Sportradar, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains how his company is bolstering the platforms of sports betting and streaming networks, and discusses basketball legend and Sportradar investor Michael Jordan's role in helping the company grow.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 4, 2022, with reports of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, a weekend shooting in Sacramento killing six and injuring 12, Mexico ending its gas subsidization for U.S. drivers, and the University of South Carolina winning the women's NCAA basketball championship, and more.
Between Bells EP Conor White recaps some of the biggest stories of the week, while Baker Machado and Hena Doba test their knowledge, and maybe learn a thing or two. It's This Week in Trivia!
David Salituro, MLB and PGA sportswriter for Fansided.com, joins Cheddar Bets to break down his favorite futures bets in the MLB and at The Masters.
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For the first time in the history of the storied men's college basketball rivalry between Duke University and the University of North Carolina, the two teams will be meeting directly in the NCAA tournament — and in the Final Four! Sean Green, the co-founder of the Sports Gambling Podcast Network, joined Cheddar to give his take on the possible final game of legendary Duke coach, Mike Krzyzewski. "Now, if you recall, UNC actually beat Duke in Coach K's final home regular-season game, so revenge is going to be on the mind of Duke in this Final Four game, and I think they have the best of UNC. I like them laying four points," Green said. He also picked Villanova with an upset win over Kansas.
