Scott Rolen elected to baseball's Hall of Fame
Slick-fielding third baseman Scott Rolen was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame with five votes to spare above the 75% needed
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.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 appeared 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’s 76.3% of the vote was the smallest margin for an electee since Al Simmons got 199 votes in 1953 for 75.38%, one more vote than needed. Ferguson Jenkins (75.4% in 1991), Ralph Kiner (75.41% in 1975) and Willie Keeler (75.55% in 1939) made it with one ballot to spare.
First baseman Todd Helton was second with 281 (72.2%) and reliever Billy Wagner third with 265 (68.1%)
Rolen will join Fred McGriff, elected last month by the contemporary baseball era committee, as the inductees at Cooperstown on July 23.
Among 14 players appearing on the ballot for the first time, Carlos Beltrán received 181 votes. Beltrán’s vote total likely was impacted by his role in the Houston Astros cheating scandal en route to the 2017 World Series title.
Rolen increased his votes from 63.2% last year and 10.2% in his first ballot appearance in 2018.
Helton moved up from 52% and can have five more appearances, while Wagner rose from 51% and has two additional chances.
Next year’s first-time eligibles include Adrián Beltré, Joe Mauer, David Wright, José Bautista and Matt Holliday.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports