Scott Rolen
Tuesday could be a memorable day for third baseman Scott Rolen as the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will announce inductees for the Class of 2023. 

Rolen, who spent seven seasons in Philadelphia, is in his sixth year of eligibility on the Hall of Fame ballot. He received 63.2% of the Baseball Writers' Association of America vote last year, falling 47 votes shy of election. A player has to hit the 75% threshold for induction. 

As of Tuesday morning, according to data compiled by Ryan Thibodaux of BBWAA votes made public, Rolen is on 79.7% of the ballots - or 153 of the 183 ballots. In totality, Thibodaux estimates there to be 396 eligible BBWAA voters, meaning Rolen must appear on 296 ballots to hit 75%. 

Rolen was a second-round draft pick by the Phillies in the 1993 draft. He broke into the Majors in late 1996 before winning the Rookie of the Year Award in 1997 while hitting .283 with 21 homers and 92 RBIs. 

The Indiana native was a seven-time All-Star and won eight Gold Gloves. He posted a .282 average over seven seasons in Philadelphia with 150 homers and 559 RBIs. 

During his 17-year career with the Phillies (1996-2002), St. Louis Cardinals (2002-07), Toronto Blue Jays (2008-09) and Cincinnati Reds (2009-12), Rolen hit .281 with 316 home runs and an .855 OPS in 2,038 games, ranking fifth in the majors during that span in doubles (517), 11th in extra-base hits (876) and hit by pitches (127), 16th in RBI (1,287) and 17th in runs scored (1,211). 

As good as Rolen was with the bat, he was even better with the leather. The eight Gold Gloves ranks fourth most all-time for third basemen behind only Brooks Robinson (16), Mike Schmidt (10), and Nolan Arenado (10). 

The Phillies dealt Rolen to St. Louis at the 2002 trade deadline. The move followed a tenuous stretch regarding contract negotiations and a public dispute between Rolen and Phillies ownership over a commitment to putting a winning product on the field. 

"I looked at this whole thing," Rolen told ESPN's Jayson Stark before the 2002 season. "I looked at history. I looked at the whole deal. And let's start with a fact. Let's go back 15 years. Thirteen times in the last 15 seasons, they've had losing seasons. That's history. That's a fact. And that's a 15-year period. That's a long time. 

"I'm not just a player. I'm a fan. I'm a fan of the game. And the way I look at this is: Fans deserve better than that. Fans deserve a better commitment than this ownership is giving them. I'm tired of empty promises. I'm tired of waiting for a new stadium for the sun to shine." 

From 1997-2004, Rolen’s 46.2 WAR ranked third in MLB, trailing only Barry Bonds (71.2) and Alex Rodriguez (62.4). Rolen’s WAR was higher than every Hall of Famer who played within that period, including Jeff Bagwell (44.1), Chipper Jones (43.7), Larry Walker (43.4) and Derek Jeter (41.7). 

If elected, Rolen will become just the 18th third baseman elected to Cooperstown. 

There are 28 candidates on the current Hall of Fame ballot, with 14 players making their debut.
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