Xavier Scruggs welcomes Scott Rolen's induction into the Hall Of Fame wholeheartedly - "One of the Best Third baseman to ever play our game" 

Tuesday saw Scott Rolen elected to Cooperstown by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Another inductee into the two-person 2023 Hall of Fame class this year is Fred McGriff, who received a unanimous vote from the 16 members of the Contemporary Era Committee in December.

The BBWAA's Hall of Fame ballot for this year included 28 players, including Rolen. Only five votes separated him from the necessary 75 percent of votes for induction, and he was listed on 76.3 percent of the ballots that were cast.

"One of the Best Third baseman to ever play our game" - Xavier Scruggs

"Don't tell me he doesn't deserve to be in because he's done everything he needed to do."

Xavier Scruggs reacts to the news that Scott Rolen got the call to the Baseball Hall of Fame. - MLBNetworkRadio

The Baseball Writers' Association of America selected the seven-time All-Star and eight-time Gold Glove winner via 297 out of 389 ballots, or 76.3%, in his sixth appearance on the ballot. To win, the candidate needed 292 votes.

He was the 18th third baseman to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, the fewest of any position. Rolen will be inducted into Cooperstown on July 23 along with Fred McGriff, who was chosen by the current baseball Hall of Fame Committee last month.

Scott Rolen deserved to become a Hall of Famer

Scott Rolen was a baseball player for Philadelphia (2002-07), Toronto (2008-09), and Cincinnati (2009-12), averaging.281 with 316 home runs and 1,287 RBIs. He was unanimously named National League Rookie of the Year in 1997 and hit.421 in the 2006 World Series for the Cardinals.

"One of the greatest 3B of all-time! Scott Rolen has been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame." - Cardinals

Rolen received the 10th lowest percentage among players chosen by the authors, and his five-vote margin was tied for the 12th-smallest. Rolen climbed from 10.2% on his first ballot in 2018 to 63.2% this year.

It turned out to be the player with the lowest first-ballot percentage who was later elected. Duke Snider's 17% in 1970 had set the previous record. Snider received 86.5% of the vote back in 1980.

"Insane defensive plays. Countless clutch hits. Scott Rolen’s Hall of Fame career had it all." - MLB

Carlos Beltran received 181 votes as one of the 14 players making their first appearance on the ballot. Due to his involvement in the Houston Astros' 2017 World Series-winning cheating incident, Beltrán's vote total most likely suffered.