Scott Rolen has been elected to the Hall of Fame

Longtime major league third baseman Scott Rolen was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame by the BBWAA in the results of balloting announced Tuesday evening.

Rolen got 76.3 percent of the vote, five votes over the 75 percent required for induction.

Others who came close to induction: Todd Helton, with 72.2 percent and Billy Wagner, with 68.1 percent. Those two could be inducted in future years; most players who get that close are eventually inducted. The full list of votes is here.

Scott Rolen played 17 years in the major leagues, mostly with the Phillies (as shown above in 1997, when he won the NL Rookie of the Year award) and Cardinals, but he also spent time with the Reds and Blue Jays. He won a World Series ring with the Cardinals in 2006.

Overall, Rolen batted .281/.364/.490 with 517 doubles and 316 home runs. He had 2,077 career hits and won eight Gold Gloves. All of that produced 70.1 bWAR. One of Rolen’s top 10 career comps on his baseball-reference page is Ron Santo, and Rolen’s career numbers aren’t too dissimilar to Santo’s (.277/.362/.464, 342 home runs, 2,254 hits, five Gold Gloves, 70.5 bWAR). Third base has in the past been under-represented in the Hall, so it’s good to see Rolen added. Next year, it’s likely Adrian Beltre will join the ranks of third basemen in Cooperstown.

Congratulations to Rolen on his election. Induction weekend, which will also include Fred McGriff (and a speech by Frick Award winner Pat Hughes), will take place in Cooperstown July 21-24, with the player induction ceremony Sunday, July 23.