Baseball's Hall of Fame or Hall of Shame (46 page)

Scott Rolen

Another player who has missed a significant amount of playing time is Scott Rolen. After having one of his best years in 2004, Rolen appeared in only 56 games the following season. Then, after having another solid 2006 campaign, Rolen missed almost two months of both the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Prior to that, though, he established himself as arguably the best all-around third baseman in baseball for most of a ten-year period. He has excellent power, is an extremely productive hitter, and is unquestionably the finest fielding third baseman in the game.

Rolen first came up with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1996, spending parts of seven seasons with the team before being dealt to St. Louis in 2002. He had his best year in Philadelphia in 1998, when he hit 31 home runs, knocked in 110 runs, scored 120 others, batted .290, and won the first of his seven Gold Gloves. He had another outstanding year for the Phillies in 2001, hitting 25 home runs, driving in 107 runs, scoring another 96, and batting .289. Splitting 2002 between the Phillies and Cardinals, Rolen hammered 31 homers, knocked in 110 runs, and scored 89 others. The following season, his first full one with the Cardinals, Rolen hit 28 homers, drove in 104 runs, scored another 98, batted .286, and finished second in the league with 49 doubles. Rolen had the finest year of his career for St. Louis in 2004, when he established career highs with 34 home runs, 124 runs batted in, and a .314 batting average, while also scoring 109 runs. At the end of the season, he finished fourth in the league MVP voting. After missing most of 2005 with a bad back, Rolen returned in 2006 to hit 22 homers, drive in 95 runs, score 94 others, and bat .296. Unfortunately, injuries caused him to miss a total of 97 games over the next two seasons, the second of which he spent with the Toronto Blue Jays after being traded for fellow third baseman Troy Glaus. Rolen combined for only 19 home runs and 108 RBIs in 2007 and 2008, greatly diminishing his status as a future Hall of Famer.

Nevertheless, Rolen’s resume is a rather impressive one. In all, he has topped the 25-homer mark seven times, surpassing 30 on three separate occasions. He has also driven in more than 100 runs five times, scored more than 100 runs twice, accumulated at least 45 doubles three times, and batted as high as .290 four times. Here are his career numbers:

Rolen will turn 34 shortly after the 2009 season gets underway, so, if he can remain healthy, there is still ample time for him to compile the kind of numbers that will make him a viable Hall of Fame candidate when his career is over. However, Rolen has yet to lead his league in any major statistical category, and he has finished in the top five a total of only five times. He also has placed in the top ten in the league MVP balloting only once. Still, Rolen has been selected to five All-Star teams, has already put together five Hall of Fame type seasons, and was the best third baseman in baseball in at least two of those years ( 2002: 31 HR, 110 RBIs, .266 AVG; and 2003: 28 HR, 104 RBIs, .286 AVG). He also vied for that honor with the Braves’ Chipper Jones in 1998, and the Dodgers’ Adrian Beltre in 2004. If he is able to string together another three or four solid seasons, Rolen will probably go down as the finest all-around third baseman of his era. Thus, his legacy is likely to be determined by whether or not he is able to remain healthy.

Chipper Jones

The Atlanta Braves Chipper Jones is someone who, like Derek Jeter, could just as easily be classified as someone who has already achieved borderline Hall of Fame status. In his 14 seasons with the Braves, Jones has already posted statistics that will undoubtedly prompt numerous members of the BBWAA to enter his name on their ballots when he eventually becomes eligible for induction. Nevertheless, I chose to include Jones here as a Potential Hall of Famer. Since he will not turn 37 until the 2009 campaign begins, Jones figures to compile the necessary numbers the next few seasons that should further enhance his chances of being inducted into Cooperstown when his playing days are over.

Jones became the Braves’ regular third baseman in 1995, his first full season with the team. As a rookie, he hit 23 home runs and drove in 86 runs, while scoring another 87. The following year, Jones established himself as the best third baseman in the game, a title he held for the next six seasons, before moving to the outfield in 2002. In the six years from 1996 to 2001, Jones averaged 34 home runs, 109 runs batted in, and 114 runs scored. He topped the 30-homer mark and batted over .300 five times each during that stretch, and knocked in and scored more than 100 runs each season. Jones was particularly outstanding from 1998 to 2001. Here are his numbers from those four years:

   
1998:
34 HR, 107 RBIs, .313 average, 123 runs scored

   
1999:
45 HR, 110 RBIs, .319 average, 116 runs scored

   
2000:
36 HR, 111 RBIs, .311 average, 118 runs scored

   
2001:
38 HR, 102 RBIs, .330 average, 113 runs scored

Jones’ exceptional performance in 1999 helped lead Atlanta to the National League pennant and earned him league MVP honors. Jones has finished in the top ten in the voting five other times. He also has been selected to six All-Star teams, and, although he has led the league in a major statistical category only twice, he has finished in the top five 14 other times. In all, Jones has surpassed 30 homers six times, driven in more than 100 runs nine times, scored more than 100 runs eight times, and batted over .300 ten times.

Jones was shifted to the outfield in 2002, where he had two more productive seasons, topping 25 homers, driving in better than 100 runs, and batting over .300 both years. He returned to his more natural position of third base in 2004 and subsequently suffered through three injury-plagued campaigns from 2004 to 2006. Yet, he remained a productive hitter, topping 20 homers in each of those years, while also driving in more than 85 runs and batting over .290 twice. Healthy again in 2007, Jones hit 29 home runs, knocked in 102 runs, scored 108 others, and finished second in the N.L. batting race with a mark of .337. He then led the league in hitting in 2008 with a batting average of .364. These are his career numbers heading into 2009:

As currently constituted, those figures may well be good enough to get Jones elected to the Hall of Fame, especially when one considers that he has hit more home runs as a third baseman than all but three men who ever played the position. His statistics are far superior to the numbers posted by several third basemen currently in Cooperstown, including Frank “Home Run” Baker, Jimmy Collins, Fred Lindstrom, and George Kell. Of course, it must be remembered that Baker and Collins competed during the Deadball Era. But, let’s take a look at Jones’ statistics alongside those of Lindstrom and Kell, both of whom played during excellent eras for hitters (Lindstrom played during the 1920s and 1930s; Kell competed during the 1940s and 1950s):

Jones is clearly a much better offensive player than either Lindstrom or Kell. He has much more power than either man, is far superior as a run-producer, and hits for a comparable batting average while posting significantly higher on-base and slugging percentages. In fact, Jones is on pace to surpass all other third basemen in terms of total offensive productivity, with the exception of Mike Schmidt, Eddie Mathews, and George Brett. Therefore, it does not seem unreasonable to project Jones as a potential Hall of Fame candidate when he eventually becomes eligible for induction.

Vladimir Guerrero

Rightfielder Vladimir Guerrero is a general manager’s dream, that rarest of baseball gems. He is a five-tool player—one that can hit, hit with power, run, field, and throw. Guerrero had “superstar” written all over him when he first joined the Montreal Expos as a 20-year old.

Shortly after Guerrero came up to the Expos, he began to impress everyone with his tremendous plate coverage, outstanding bat speed, and powerful throwing arm. He became Montreal’s regular rightfielder midway through the 1997 campaign. In each of the next five seasons, Guerrero topped 30 home runs, 100 runs batted in, and 100 runs scored, while batting well over .300. His three best years with the Expos came in 1999, 2000, and 2002. In 1999, he hit 42 home runs, knocked in 131 runs, scored 102 others, and batted .316. The following year, he finished with 44 homers, 123 runs batted in, 101 runs scored, and a .345 batting average. In 2002, Guerrero came within one home run of joining the handful of players who have hit 40 home runs and stolen 40 bases in the same season. He hit 39 home runs, knocked in 111 runs, scored 106 others, stole 40 bases, and batted .336. A bad back limited Guerrero to just 112 games and 394 at-bats the following season. Yet, after returning from the disabled list, he still managed to hit 25 home runs, drive in 79 runs, and bat .330.

At the end of the 2003 season, Guerrero signed a free-agent deal with the Anaheim Angels, who, because of concerns about his back, were one of the few teams willing to take a chance on him. Guerrero rewarded their faith by hitting 39 home runs, driving in 126 runs, scoring another 124, batting .337, and collecting 206 hits, in leading the Angels to the A.L. West title and being named league MVP. He followed that up with outstanding performances in each of the next three seasons as well, averaging 31 home runs over that span, while knocking in more than 100 runs and batting well over .300 each year. Guerrero’s offensive production fell off somewhat in 2008, a year in which he failed to drive in at least 100 runs for the first time in his 10 full seasons in the majors. But he still hit 27 home runs, knocked in 91 runs, and batted over .300 for the twelfth consecutive year. In all, Guerrero has topped 30 homers eight times, driven in more than 100 runs nine times, scored more than 100 runs six times, collected at least 200 hits four times, and stolen more than 30 bases twice. He has led his league in runs scored once, and in hits once. He has been selected to eight All-Star teams and has finished in the top ten in the league MVP voting six times, making it into the top five on four separate occasions. Prior to the start of the 2009 season, these are his career numbers: