McGriff, Rolen join Baseball Hall of Fame
Among the achievements shared by the two members of the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2023 — the road to Cooperstown for Fred McGriff and Scott Rolen included developing their games while playing American Legion Baseball.
McGriff and Rolen became the 84th and 85th Legion Baseball alumni enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame with the 2023 induction ceremony on July 23 in Cooperstown, N.Y.
“My goal was simply to make it to the big leagues,” said McGriff. “I exceeded every expectation and then some.”
McGriff played for Post 248 in Tampa, Fla., while Scott Rolen played Legion Baseball in Jasper, Ind.
McGriff was a unanimous selection by the Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee. The “Crime Dog” played 19 seasons in the major leagues for six teams: the Atlanta Braves, Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers.
A five-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger Award winner and one-time World Series champion — with Atlanta in 1995 — McGriff finished his career with 493 home runs, 1,550 RBIs and a .284 batting average.
Fellow Legion Baseball alum Albert Pujols (Post 340/Independence, Mo.), Rolen’s former teammate in St. Louis, spoke about him in a video presentation before Rolen’s formal induction. “Scotty got some big hits for us, especially in the playoffs,” Pujols said. “He was an animal, especially when we needed it the most.”
During his induction speech, Rolen said, “I dreamed of being a major league baseball player, but I was not raised to be a major league baseball player. I was raised to be honest, to work hard, to be accountable for my words and actions and to treat people with respect.”
The 2005 American Legion Baseball Graduate of the Year, Rolen played 17 seasons in the major leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and Cincinnati Reds. He was the 1997 National League Rookie of the Year as well as a seven-time All-Star and eight-time Gold Glove Award winner. Rolen was also part of the 2006 World Series champion Cardinals.
Rolen is just the 18th third baseman elected to Cooperstown, the lowest total of any fielding position, and the first since Chipper Jones in 2018.
As part of the ceremony, the Hall of Fame also acknowledged the USS Cooperstown, the U.S. Navy’s newest Independence-variant littoral combat ship which honors the 70 Baseball Hall of Famers who served during wartime.
“It was an incredible honor to be part of the commissioning back in May,” said Hall of Famer Johnny Bench.
