[PTjvs]

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Scott Rolen 31 yrs old:

1996-2006 (11.5 years)

.286 1398H 245HR 3372B 917RBI 97SB

3 years he played in fewer than 100 games (96, 02, 05).

Rolen has had more than 100 RBI 4 times (104, 107, 110, 124), batted over .300 1 time (.314) and never had more than 174 hits in a season. Scott has topped 30 HR in a season twice (34 & 31), and spots a nice .895 career OPS. He has finished in the top 10 of the MVP voting one time, 4th in 2004.

Rolen is a very fine player, but I really can't see how he can be considered a HoFer in his prime when he is an underdog to make it to 2000 hits or 350 HR.

In this era, he has IMO no more than an outside shot at the HoF, driven mostly by his generally superlative defensive ability at 3B moreso than being a transcendant offensive player.

jvs

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rolen's defense is worth a lot of runs saved each year, and the hall voters love gold gloves. i will admit that he may not make it into the hall (like ron santo, a very similar player), but if he has a normal decline phase, it would be a crime to leave him out.

also, there is no way he's an underdog to get to 2000 hits. before the season began, with his injury concerns, i might have bought into this, but not now.

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He has roughly 1400 hits in his first 11.5 years. At that rate, he'd need to play another 6 years or so to get to 2000 hits, at which point he'd be 37. That's assuming no decline in his skills. He will probably end up not too far from 2,000 one way or the other.

In any event, you are basing a lot of his possible HoF credentials on his glove; they didn't walk Pujol's glove to get to Rolen's glove; they walked his bat to get to Rolen's bat.

That said, I rue the day Cincy DIDN'T go get Rolen from Phi when they had the chance.

jvs