- Scott Rolen
Infobox MLB player| name=Scott Rolen
caption=Rolen batting for the Cardinals| width=200
position=Third base
team=Toronto Blue Jays
number=33
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1975|4|4
birthplace=city-state|Jasper|Indiana
debutdate=August 1
debutyear=1996
debutteam=Philadelphia Phillies
statyear=September 23, 2008
stat3label=Batting average
stat3value=.282
stat4label=Home runs
stat4value=270
stat5label=Runs batted in
stat5value=1,058
stat6label=Stolen bases
stat6value=109
stat7label=Hits
stat7value=1642
teams=
*Philadelphia Phillies (by|1996-by|2002)
*St. Louis Cardinals (by|2002-by|2007)
*Toronto Blue Jays (by|2008-present)
awards=
* 5x All-Star selection (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006)
*World Series champion (2006)
* 7xGold Glove Award winner (1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006)
*Silver Slugger Award winner (2002)
* 1997NL Rookie of the Year Scott Bruce Rolen (born
April 4 ,1975 inJasper, Indiana ) is aMajor League Baseball third base man for theToronto Blue Jays . A seven time Gold Glove winner, Rolen is considered by many to be the one of the best fieldingthird baseman in recent Major League Baseball history.Career
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 namedNational League Rookie of the Year. In 1998 he won his first of seven Gold Glove awards.t. Louis
On
July 29 , by|2002, Philadelphia traded Rolen andDoug Nickle to theSt. Louis Cardinals forPlácido Polanco ,Mike Timlin , andBud Smith . Later that year, he received an eight-year deal worth $90 million [Cite web|url=http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2002/0925/1436441.html|title=Rolen, Cardinals agree to an eight-year contract|work=ESPN.com|accessdate=2008-02-13] .Rolen's by|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 , 34home run s, and 124 RBIs. He finished fourth in the National League MVP voting. Rolen, along withAlbert Pujols andJim Edmonds earned the nicknameMV3 for their phenomenal 2004 seasons. The 2004 Cardinals won theNational League Central Division with 105 wins. Scott Rolen's 2-run home run in the 6th inning of game 7 of theNLCS won the National League pennant for St. Louis by defeating the Astros in 7 games. However, theBoston Red Sox swept 4 games against the Cardinals to win the2004 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 onSeptember 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 [http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20070911&content_id=2201919&vkey=pr_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl release] from the team.A middle-of-the-order hitter throughout his career, Rolen has a career .282 batting average as well as a .370
on-base percentage and a .501slugging percentage . He has 1,656 Hits, 270 Home runs, and 1,058 RBIs, as well as having scored 1,007 Runs (as ofSeptember 23 , by|2008).Toronto
On
January 12 , by|2008, the Cardinals reached a preliminary deal to send Rolen to theToronto Blue Jays forTroy Glaus . OnJanuary 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 atspring training . His fingernail was also torn off. Rolen missed the first 3-5 weeks of the regular season after having surgery to insert ascrew in his broken finger. [ [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080327.WBbaseball20080327134657/WBStory/WBbaseball/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20080327.WBbaseball20080327134657 Rolen could be out 3-5 weeks] ]Marco Scutaro was the Jays'third baseman in Rolen's place. OnApril 25 ,2008 , Rolen was activated from the 15-day disabled list. Two days later, against theKansas City Royals , he hit his first home run as a Blue Jay.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 Award s. Only Hall of FamersBrooks Robinson (16) andMike 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.Fact|date=June 2008 He is considered as one of the best fielding third basemen in recent 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 at 6' 4" tall growing up in Indiana. This athleticism and determination make him one of the game's best third basemen.
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.
Milestones
* On
September 15 ,2006 Fact|date=February 2007, 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 onAugust 15 , by|2007.* He played in his 1,500th game (5,480 ABs) on August 22, 2007.
Awards
* 1997- NL Rookie of the Year
* 7-times National League 3B Gold Glove Award(1998, 2000-04, 06)
* 5-times National League All-Star (2002-06)Private life
Rolen currently splits his time between residences in
Saint Charles, Missouri ;Carmel, Indiana ;Bloomington, Indiana andHolmes Beach, Florida . Rolen and his wife Nicki have two children: a daughter Raine Tyler and a son Fin Edward.Rolen was offered a basketball scholarship to play for
Eddie Sutton atOklahoma State University but rejected the offer. He was also offered a scholarship at theUniversity of Georgia .ee also
*
List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
*List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
*List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBIs
*List of Major League Baseball players with a .500 slugging percentage Reference
External links
*Baseballstats |mlb=121409 |espn=3507 |br=r/rolensc01 |fangraphs= |cube=r/scott-rolen
* [http://stlcardinals.scout.com/a.z?s=321&p=8&c=1&nid=2900157 Scott Rolen page at Scout.com]
* [http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080112&content_id=2344452&vkey=hotstove2007&fext=.jsp Rolen-Glaus deal near completion]###@@@KEYEND@@@###
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