NEW YORK — One of the weakest ballots in recent memory proved to be the perfect vehicle for Scott Rolen to make a historic leap to Hall of Fame immortality on Tuesday.
In becoming only the 18th third baseman elected to the Hall, Rolen is also the first player in history to receive less than 17% in his first year on the Baseball Writers Association ballot and go on to eventually make it. As it was, he made it by a scant five votes, jumping to 76.3% from the 63.2% he received last year.
Undoubtedly, the soft ballot, in which there weren’t any no-brainers, was a boon to all of top vote-getters from last year, Todd Helton and Billy Wagner especially, who moved to the doorstep of election. Helton jumped from 52% to 72.2% and Wagner from 51% to 68.1%.
