Today, Scott Rolen will be enshrined in Cooperstown.
Rolen played 17 seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, and Cincinnati Reds.
The eight-time Gold Glover and seven-time All-Star was very popular during his career and was a player who had the respect of even his fiercest rivals.
One such rival was Houston Astros legend Jeff Bagwell, who played against Rolen several times when the Astros and Cardinals were both in the NL Central.
Bagwell was on the other side when Rolen hit a go-ahead home run in Game 7 of the 2004 NLCS, which propelled the Cardinals to their first World Series since 1987.
Earlier on Sunday, Bagwell caught up with Harold Reynolds and discussed Rolen’s greatness.
"He just did everything right…"
Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell knew Scott Rolen was destined for greatness from the first time he competed against him. pic.twitter.com/whH8vdwog6
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) July 23, 2023
Bagwell first saw Rolen when the latter was still with the Phillies.
He recalled watching him as a rookie and being very impressed with the way he played the game.
When the Astros and Phillies were facing off against one another and Rolen got a hit, Bagwell turned to him and told him that he played the game the right way.
Bagwell praised Rolen for his defensive prowess and the way he grinded everything out, even going as far as to say the legendary third baseman “did everything right.”
The Astros former slugger was also impressed by the fact that Rolen never stopped in his pursuit of greatness and remained the same hard-nosed player he was as a rookie throughout his 17-year career.
Today, Rolen will finally be rewarded for all of the hard work he put in as a player.
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