Topic: Scott Rolen

Scott Bruce Rolen (born April 4, 1975) is a Major League Baseball third baseman for the Cincinnati Reds. He is an eight-time Gold Glove winner and six-time All-Star.

Drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2nd round of the 1993 amateur draft, Rolen reached the majors in 1996. In the next season, he was named National League Rookie of the Year, becoming the first Phillie since Dick Allen in 1964 to win the award. In 1998 he won his first of eight Gold Glove awards. Only Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson (16) and Mike Schmidt (10) have more at third base. Rolen was supposed to be one of the key pieces in the Phillies revival. However, claiming that management was not trying hard enough to win, Rolen demanded a trade. On July 29, 2002, Philadelphia traded Rolen and Doug Nickle to the St. Louis Cardinals for Plácido Polanco, Mike Timlin, and Bud Smith. Later that year, he received an eight-year deal worth $90 million.

Rolen's 2004 season was arguably one of his best to that point. For much of the season, he led the National League in RBIs, often ranked among the league leaders in most offensive statistics, and had the highest vote total of any player for the All-Star Game. Despite being injured for the last stretch of the season, he finished the year with a career-high .314 batting average, 34 home runs, and 124 RBIs. He finished fourth in the National League MVP voting. Rolen, along with Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds earned the nickname "MV3" for their phenomenal 2004 seasons. The 2004 Cardinals won the National League Central Division with 105 wins. Rolen's two-run home run in the 6th inning of game 7 of the NLCS won the National League pennant for St. Louis by defeating the Astros in 7 games. However, the Boston Red Sox swept the Cardinals in four games to win the 2004 World Series.