Along with that realization came some stress. It wasn’t until the past year that Rolen felt he had a great shot to get in. In his first year of eligibility, Rolen received just 10.2%, the lowest first-ballot percentage of a player later elected. “In my life I am a friend, I am a brother, I am a son, I am a husband and I am – the greatest gift – a father.”Īnd then, looking directly at his family seated in the front row, he produced a Hall of Fame cap from behind the dais, put it on briefly and then tipped it to them.Rolen, a seven-time All-Star and eight-time Gold Glove winner, was selected on 297 of 389 ballots cast by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America - or 76.3%. And today.I am a National Baseball Hall of Famer. Louis Cardinal, I am a Toronto Blue Jay, I am a Cincinnati Red. “My daughter, who was five at the time, soon joined Mom waving and eventually began wearing a cap of her own to tip it back at her dad. In acknowledgment, I would subtly tip my cap my tapping it twice. “At the start of every home game, as the ball was being thrown around the horn, and I waited to hand it to our starter, Mom would stand and wave at me in the stands. ‘Well, do that then,’ put me on this stage today.” ‘Well, do that then.’ It turns out that, ‘Well, do that then’ carried me into the minor leagues and gave me a simple mindset that I would never allow myself to be unprepared or outworked. I can outhustle, outwork and beat everybody up and down the floor.” It doesn’t appear guys are playing too hard up here. “How the hell do I know? You say you can’t dribble, you can’t shoot, you’re out of shape an d you’re completely overmatched. “Well, what are you going to do, Scotty?” I’m completely out of basketball shape and everybody in the entire gym, including the coach, is better than me. “I had previously been drafted by the Phillies and spent the summer playing high school b baseball, not basketball and had not picked up a basketball for two months.”Īfter a three-day mini-camp he told his father he had a minor problem he needed advice with. One such is a series of two games between the Indiana All-Stars and the Kentucky All-Stars played at the end of the summer. “Without much surprise, there’s a heavy tradition of basketball in the state of Indiana. He recounted the most important lesson life lesson he learned from his father. Seeing Mom and Dad walk to their seats from my position at third base was a feeling never topped again my 17 years.” The greatest moment in my career happened that day. “They made it in the first game of the doubleheader in the top of the fourth inning. Because Mom’s claustrophobic and won’t get on a plane. That day my parents drove overnight from Florida. “My Major League career started on Augon a scorching hot day in Veterans Stadium in a doubleheader against the St. The most cherished experience happened in Philly. I was drafted, developed, given the opportunity and challenged to play with a full effort and a toughness that I hope middle infielders felt deep inside on the double play ball.” Thank you for teaching me to play the game with a genuine effort and honesty on the field and with the media. “I’ve had the privilege of playing with four organizations.Each one had its own personal time stamp on my life and career. He name-checked the four organizations he played for in his career: Phillies, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Reds starting with the team that drafted and signed him out of Jasper (Indiana) High School in 1993. He spoke lovingly of his wife, Niki, and their children, Raine and Finn. Rather, I was taught please, thank you, excuse me and I’m sorry.” Exit velocity, launch angle or spin rate. “I was not taught in today’s terminology. I was raised to be honest, to work hard, to be accountable for my words and actions and to treat people with kindness and respect. “I dreamed of being a Major League baseball player, but I was not raised to be a Major League Baseball player. My role models lived in the same house as me,” he said, referring to his father Ed and his mother Linda. My story begins and ends with the people sitting in front of me. “Baseball was my career but it is not my story. The theme throughout his 16-minute address was family. Here are some highlights from the former Phillies third baseman’s remarks: In fact, several longtime observers of Induction Weekend ranked it at or near the top of the best they’ve ever heard. – Scott Rolen delivered a moving, emotional speech Sunday at the Clark as he was formally inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. A look into Scott Rolen's emotional speech from Baseball Hall of Fame induction originally appeared on NBC Sports PhiladelphiaĬOOPERSTOWN, N.Y.
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