Scott Bruce Rolen (born April 4, 1975) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, and Cincinnati Reds from 1996 to 2012. He was a seven-time All-Star and the 1997 National League Rookie of the Year, and won the 2006 World Series as a member of the Cardinals. Regarded as one of the best defensive third basemen of all time, Rolen also won eight Gold Glove Awards over his career. Following his retirement, in 2018, he was hired as Director of Player Development for Indiana University's baseball team. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as part of its class of 2023. Early life Rolen was born in Evansville, Indiana, and attended Jasper High School in Jasper, Indiana. During his senior year at Jasper in 1993, he was named Indiana Mr. Baseball, played tennis, and was named to the Indiana high school basketball All-Star team. Career Draft and minor leagues (1993–1996) After a flurry of scholarship offers from schools like Oklahoma State and the University of Alabama, Rolen ultimately committed to playing college basketball for the Georgia Bulldogs. That commitment was complicated when the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB) selected Rolen in the second round of the 1993 MLB Draft. Rolen told reporters after the draft that he hoped he could forge a deal that allowed him to play for the Phillies farm system in the summer and on the Georgia basketball team in the winter. On July 22, however, Rolen chose to forego his commitment to Georgia to sign with the Phillies and focus on baseball; he was subsequently assigned to the Rookie-level Martinsville Phillies of the Appalachian League. He played 25 games in his first season of professional baseball, batting .313 with five doubles and 12 runs batted in (RBIs) in 80 at bats. After attending spring training with the Phillies, Rolen opened the 1994 season with the Low A Spartanburg Phillies of the South Atlantic League. While his offensive metrics in Spartanburg were strong, batting .295 with 10 home runs, 30 doubles, and 61 RBIs by the last week of August, Rolen's 35 defensive errors in that same span caused concern among sports analysts. Manager Roy Majtyka defended Rolen's defensive performance, saying, "I've seen bad hops that hit him in the head be ruled