The idea of Rolen being a Hall of Famer likely still rubs some Phillies fans raw. Like Eric Lindros, like Carson Wentz, like Ben Simmons, Rolen began his career in Philadelphia as a beacon of hope and left under a dark cloud.
But anyone harboring animosity toward him for turning down a $140 million contract offer, coming into conflict with a couple of Phillies icons, and forcing the franchise to trade him in 2002 should have gotten over that anger long ago. If anything, the years since his departure — and the strides that the Phillies have made over that time — should cast his tenure in a better light.
Rolen became the Phillies’ everyday third baseman late in the 1996 season and was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in July 2002. They had a losing record in six of those seven seasons, were in the midst of a 17-year stretch in which they finished above .500 twice, and were notorious for being a big-market team that behaved like a small-market one.
Just as damaging to his perception among the team’s fans, Rolen drew the ire of two popular, old-school baseball men. Dallas Green, a senior adviser for the Phillies at the time, said in August 2001 that Rolen was “satisfied with being a so-so player. He’s not a great player. In his mind, he probably thinks he’s doing OK.”
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