Scott Rolen has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame for the second time in three years, avoiding being on the BBWAA ballot.
None of the other 27 players listed on the 2023 Hall of Fame ballot cleared 75 percent of the vote, though two did. The results of the voting were revealed Tuesday in a broadcast on MLB.com.
Rolen, a longtime third baseman, was named with 76.3% of the vote. Former Rockies first baseman Todd Helton, who won 72.2% of the vote in his fifth attempt at the polls, is gone.
Players can appear on the ballot for 10 seasons after a five-year waiting period after retirement, provided they receive at least 5% of the votes in the voting cycle.
“They don’t think about it,” Rolen said on MLB Network. “You think about doing the best you can, play for your team and play the game the best you can and there’s such a long way, I never thought the Hall of Fame would be the answer.”
Rolen was a seven-time All-Star in his 17-year career, playing for the Phillies, Cardinals, Blue Jays and Reds. His eight Gold Gloves are the fourth most for a third baseman. In the year The 1997 NL Rookie of the Year was a member of the Cardinals when the club won the 2006 World Series.
Rolen, who ranks fifth in WAR among third basemen in WAR according to Baseball-Reference.com, was named with just 10.2% of the vote in his first year of eligibility in 2018, but quickly gained support in each passing voting cycle.
A similar upward trend is true for Helton, which started 2019 at 16.5%. A .316 career hitter in 17 seasons, all spent with the Colorado Rockies, Helton was a four-time Silver Slugger winner and three-time Gold Glover. The work in the first place.
Players named in at least half of the ballots included Billy Wagner (68.1%), Andrew Jones (58.1%) and Gary Sheffield (55%).
Wagner, one of the leading relievers of his era, received steady support. Last year, he won support with 51% of the vote. Next year will be the 9th qualifying season.
Rolen’s narrow election means the BBWAA has still declined to elect new members just nine times in its voting history. The writers didn’t select anyone in 2021. Last year, only Red Sox great David Ortiz was selected by the writers.
A three-year stretch in which the BBWAA selected just two players ties an all-time low. In 1966, since the annual election became permanent, the writers were unable to select at least two players in any three-year period. During the three-year span that ended in 1968 and the 1996-1998 season, they selected only two players.
Interestingly, only a few years after the selections were voted on by the writers. In the three-year period ending in 2019, the BBWAA elected 11 new Hall of Famers and in the five-year period from 2015 to 2019, 17 new Hall of Famers were inducted by the writers.
Unlike in 2021, if no new Hall of Famers are elected by either the writers or all-time committee — the first time that has happened since 1960 — at least two new players will be speaking at induction ceremonies July 23 in Cooperstown. The soft-spoken Fred McGriff will be inducted into the Hall with Rolen after being elected to the time committee at the winter meetings in San Diego in December.
Progress has been slow for a few more controversial inductees whose performances have met traditional Hall of Fame standards, but whose cases have been marred by associations with PEDs.
Alex Rodriguez, who had 3,115 hits, 696 homers and 2,086 RBIs, received 35.7% of the vote in his second year on the ballot. Rodriguez missed the 2014 season on suspension for violating MLB’s PED policies.
Similarly, Manny Ramirez, who hit 555 homers while posting a .312 career batting average but was suspended twice for PED violations, showed little improvement in his seventh inning. After landing at 28.9% last year, Ramirez has jumped to 33.2% this time around.
In contrast, fearsome swashbuckling Sheffield raised a bit of a stir in his ninth year of eligibility. Last year it was 40.6%. Sheffield, who hit 509 homers but was named in the 2007 Mitchell Report, was not disciplined for PED use. Next season will be his 10th and final chance to earn a writers’ pick.
Only two of the 14 people who appeared on the ballot for the first time received the necessary 5% support to be considered next time.
One of those first-timers was Carlos Beltran, who received 46.5% of the vote. Beltran’s Hall case is strong on a career record of 435 homers, 312 steals, 2,725 hits and one of baseball’s most impressive single-season records.
Beltran was a central figure in the controversial sign-stealing scandal that marred the 2017 Houston Astros World Series title, for which Beltran played. His association with the controversy later led to his resignation as manager of the New York Mets before his first season in that role.
While it’s unclear what role the scandal played in Beltran’s absence on the first ballot, the level of support bodes well for the future and possibly other standout candidates on that Astros team.
The only other starter on the ballot is reliever Francisco Rodriguez, whose 437 saves were enough to get 10.8% of the vote.
While the polls have been stagnant in recent years, next year could see a more active campaign week with more interesting candidates qualifying. The list of newcomers is led by third baseman Adrian Beltre, shortstop Joe Moyer and second baseman Chase Utley.