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July 21 (UPI) -- Scott Rolen and Fred McGriff will become the newest players inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y. The induction ceremony will air at 1:30 p.m. EDT on MLB Network and MLB.com. Dozens of baseball legends and thousands of fans are expected to join Rolen and McGriff at the ceremony, which will be held at the Clark Sports Center, a mile away from the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
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"I haven't really processed all of this yet," Rolen told reporters during a video conference call. "It's an intimidating group, without a question. I'm very honored to be in it.
"I'm a pretty small fish in that pond. It's a pretty good pond to be in though. For me to say, me and Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron [are in Hall of Fame together] ... that's not a real situation.
"These guys are true legends and I get a chance to share that gallery with them, for which I am greatly honored."
Rolen, 48, spent 17 seasons between the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and Cincinnati Reds.
The 1997 National League Rookie of the Year entered the league as a second-round pick by the Phillies in the 1993 MLB Draft. Rolen was a seven-time All-Star, eight-time Gold Glove winner and won a World Series in 2006 with the Cardinals.
The third baseman hit a career-high .314 in 2004 for the Cardinals. He also recorded career-highs with 34 home runs and 124 RBIs that season. Rolen hit .281 with 316 home runs in 2,038 career games. He totaled 2,077 career hits.
Rolen's 4,081 assists as a third baseman rank 11th all-time for the position. His 2,023 games played at third base rank 12th in MLB history. He retired after the 2012 season, which he spent with the Reds.
McGriff, 59, played for the Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers over his 19-year MLB tenure. The ninth-round pick by the New York Yankees in the 1981 MLB Draft joined the Blue Jays in a 1982 trade from the Yankees.
McGriff hit .284 with 493 home runs over 2,460 MLB appearances. The first baseman was a five-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger Award winner. "Crime Dog" won the 1995 World Series while with the Braves. He was the 1994 All-Star Game MVP.
McGriff led the American League with 36 home runs in 1989. He led the National League with 35 homers in 1992. He hit a career-high .318 in 1994 for the Braves. McGriff spent his final season in 2004 with the Rays.
He ranks 103rd all-time with 2,490 career hits. McGriff's 1,775 double plays turned as a first baseman rank fifth in MLB history. His 2,239 defensive games at the position rank third all-time.
McGriff ranks 29th on the all-time home runs list.
Rolen received 76.3% of the votes in his sixth-year of eligibility for election by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
McGriff was a unanimous selection for induction by the 16-member contemporary baseball era committee, which voted at the 2022 winter meetings.
The star infielder failed to be elected after 10 appearances on the baseball writers' ballot. He received 39.8% of the vote in 2019, his final year of eligibility on that ballot, which requires at least 75% for induction.
Longtime Colorado Rockies third baseman Todd Helton, who hit .316 with 369 home runs, a batting title and five All-Star selections over 17 seasons, just missed out on the 2023 Hall of Fame class. Helton received 72.2% of the baseball writers' vote.
Helton will be on the ballot for the sixth time in 2024. Billy Wagner, Andruw Jones, Gary Sheffield, Carlos Beltran, Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez are among the other baseball legends on the ballot for 2024.
The 2024 induction ceremony will be held July 21, 2024, in Cooperstown.
