Why Scott Rolen is headed to the Baseball Hall of Fame - ESPN

Editor's note: This story originally ran on Jan. 25 when 2023 Hall of Fame voting results were announced. Scott Rolen and Fred McGriff will be inducted in Cooperstown on Sunday, July 23.

Congrats to Scott Rolen, who will join Fred McGriff on induction day in Cooperstown, New York, as the newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Rolen made electoral history with his selection: He now has the lowest first-year vote percentage — just 10.2% — of any player to eventually get to the 75% required from the writers since modern voting procedures began in 1966.

Rolen's meteoric rise over six ballots has some fans wondering… well, to put it politely, what the heck is going on here. Scott Rolen?!? For them, he doesn't pass the «eye test» for Hall of Fame status — a test that usually seems to top out with the likes of Willie Mays, Henry Aaron, Johnny Bench and Ken Griffey Jr., as if the Hall of Fame should only elect the most indisputable of candidates.

With that mind, let us dig into Rolen's career a little bit. Here are six reasons he is headed to Cooperstown.

1. His WAR is Hall-worthy.

We'll start with his career WAR. Yes, it's not the Hall of WAR, but it's a reasonable starting point that helps explain why the baseball writers got around to supporting Rolen. The Hall of Fame has always been about electing the best players — some combination of career value and peak excellence. WAR is a guide to career value and helps us assess a player more effectively than relying on the eye test or a gut feeling. No, it's not the complete answer, but it's an important part of the equation and gives us context beyond numbers like hits or home runs that ignore position or defense.

Rolen's career WAR of 70.1 fits right in with recent Hall of