The Hall of Fame gained another legend late on Tuesday when it was announced that Scott Rolen had been voted in by the BBWAA.
Rolen, a veteran of 17 MLB seasons, spent the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals, but also made brief stops with the Toronto Blue Jays and Cincinnati Reds.
Some have questioned Rolen’s credibility for the Hall of Fame, citing certain other players such as Jeff Kent, Gary Sheffield, Todd Helton, and Don Mattingly as more deserving candidates.
However, there is one stat that proves Rolen does in fact belong in Cooperstown.
Among the players mentioned, Rolen has the highest career WAR out of all of them, having posted a 70.1 mark over his 17-year career.
There's been a fair bit of whining on Twitter the past few days, so let's put something to bed. WAR is not the end-all baseball stat, but it's designed to compare players using one number.
Rolen: 70.1
Kent: 55.4
Sheffield: 60.5
Helton: 61.8
Mattingly: 42.4So stop. #STLCards
— Just Blew In From Stupid Town (@johnrabe) January 26, 2023
Rolen also accomplished a great deal during his time in the big leagues.
He earned National League Rookie of the Year honors in 1997, won eight Gold Gloves, earned seven All-Star nods, received a Silver Slugger Award, and won a World Series ring with the Cardinals in 2006.
Of course, WAR is not the be-all, end-all baseball stat.
But it does measure the total contributions of player with just one number.
Rolen’s accomplishments speak for themselves.
He also hit a total of 316 home runs, had a lifetime batting average of .281, 2,077 total career hits, and 3,628 total bases during his storied career.
It took six years for Rolen to get the call, but his numbers and accomplishments didn’t go unnoticed and were ultimately enough for him to be put in the Hall of Fame.
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