Source: Jim McIsaac / Getty
COOPERSTOWN, NY.–Scott Rolen was inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday. He mentioned how special it was to grow up and play high school baseball in Jasper, but he says he will always remember the first Major League game his parents attended to see him play.
Rolen’s Major League career began on August 1, 1996 on a hot day in a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals.
“My parents drove overnight from Florida because Mom is claustrophobic and won’t get on a plane and has a fear of snakes. They made it to the first game of the doubleheader in the top of the fourth inning. The greatest moment of my career happened that day. Seeing Mom and Dad walk to their seats from my position at third base was a feeling never topped again in 17 years,” said Rolen in his Hall of Fame Speech Sunday in Cooperstown, New York.
While growing up in Jasper, he played multiple sports. Rolen received a Division I offer to play basketball before the Philadelphia Phillies selected him straight out of Jasper High School in the second round of the 1993 amateur draft.
Rolen was an All-Star seven times, won eight Gold Gloves, and won a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006.
“In baseball, I am a Jasper Wildcat. I am an Indiana Bull. I am a Philadelphia Phillie. I am a St. Louis Cardinal. I am a Toronto Blue Jay. I am a Cincinnati Red. Today because of all of your support, I am a Hall of Famer. In my life, I am a friend. I am a brother. I am a husband and I am the greatest gift…a father,” said Rolen.
Rolen has two children. When he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, Rolen celebrated the announcement with his parents, wife, and children. In 2018, when he first appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot, Rolen’s son predicted that his father would someday be inducted.
On July 18, 2018, Rolen was hired as the Director of Player Development for Indiana University baseball.
First baseman Fred McGriff was also selected to the Hall of Fame.
