Former Reds third baseman Rolen elected to Hall of Fame

Rolen gets enough votes in sixth year on ballot

Former Cincinnati Reds third baseman Scott Rolen was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

Rolen played the final three full seasons of a 17-year career with the Reds after being acquired in a trade on July 31, 2009. The Reds sent Edwin Encarnación, Josh Roenicke and Zach Stewart to the Toronto Blue Jays to acquire him.

“Trading two young pitchers was a stumbling block, but we finally gave in to get Rolen,” then General Manager Walt Jocketty said. “We felt there are a lot of things Scott will provide for this club that were lacking. He is a veteran, and I had a lot of experience with him when we were together in St. Louis. He’ll bring a lot to our club. He is still playing well — a good RBI guy who still plays good defense. He’ll be a big asset.”

Rolen hit .285 with 34 home runs in 2010, helping to the Reds to the National League Central Division championship and their first playoff berth in 15 years.

Rolen was an all-star in 2010 and again in 2011 when he hit .242 with five home runs. He was limited to 65 games that season and didn’t play past July 20.

In 2012, Rolen played a role in the Reds winning another division title. He hit .245 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs in 92 games.

Rolen was the only player among 28 on the ballot this year who received enough votes for the Hall of Fame. He received 297 votes and needed at least 292. He was named on 76.3% of the ballots. This was his sixth year on the ballot.

Rolen will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., on July 23, along with Fred McGriff, who was elected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee in December.

In his career, which started in 1996 with the Philadelphia Phillies, Rolen hit .281 with 1,287 RBIs and 1,211 runs scored. He played with the Phillies until being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2002. The Cardinals dealt him to the Blue Jays in 2008.

One other former Red received a Hall of Fame vote this year: Bronson Arroyo.

Here are the complete voting results: Rolen 297 (76.3%); Todd Helton 281 (72.2); Billy Wagner 265 (68.1); Andruw Jones 226 (58.1); Gary Sheffield 214 (55.0); Carlos Beltrán 181 (46.5); Jeff Kent 181 (46.5); Álex Rodríguez 139 (35.7); Manny Ramírez 129 (33.2); Omar Vizquel 76 (19.5); Andy Pettitte 66 (17.0); Bobby Abreu 60 (15.4); Jimmy Rollins 50 (12.9); Mark Buehrle 42 (10.8); Francisco Rodríguez 42 (10.8); Torii Hunter 27 (6.9); Arroyo 1 (0.3); R.A. Dickey 1 (0.3); John Lackey 1 (0.3); Mike Napoli 1 (0.3); Huston Street 1 (0.3); Matt Cain 0; Jacoby Ellsbury 0; Andre Ethier 0; J.J. Hardy 0; Jhonny Peralta 0; Jered Weaver 0; and Jayson Werth 0.

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