Philadelphia Phillies: 50 greatest players of all-time

Scott Rolen‘s success in Philadelphia is both ignored and a curse that’s hung over third base for nearly two decades.

Rolen was drafted out of Jasper High School in the second round of the 1993 June Amateur Draft. He made his Major League Aug. 1, 1996 and hit .254 with four home runs in 37 games the remainder of that season.

In his first full season with the Phillies, Rolen hit .283 with 35 doubles, 21 home runs and 92 RBI, earning Rookie of the Year honors. Rolen followed in 1998 with his best overall season with the Phillies, hitting .290 with 31 home runs, 110 RBI and his first Gold Glove Award.

Rolen’s solid production continued the next three seasons, averaging 26 home runs and 91 RBI per season, while adding two more Gold Glove Awards. However, he had troubles with manager Larry Bowa and felt the organization wasn’t doing all it could to put a winning product on the field. Because of the rift, Rolen was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals on July 29, 2002.

He made his first All-Star team while still wearing a Phillies uniform in 2002 and finished the season with 31 home runs, 110 RBI and his fourth Gold Glove Award.  He had an excellent string of five consecutive All-Star appearances and four Gold Glove Awards from 2002 through 2006.

Rolen was again traded, this time to the Torontor Blue Jays and then to the Cincinnati Reds in 2009. Injuries limited Rolen’s time on the field, but he still made two more All-Star appearances late in his career. He retired with 316 home runs, 1,287 RBI, 2,077 hits and eight Gold Glove Awards.

Rolen received 17.2 percent of the votes for the Hall of Fame in his second year on the ballot.