Former Phillies Rookie of the Year Scott Rolen Has Tough Reds Playoff, Reportedly Will Retire

This was probably not the way he wanted to go out.  According to Bob Nightengale of USA today, Scott Rolen will retire.  Nightengale tweeted that Rolen "is preparing for retirement" but will delay any announcment.

Rolen made a key error in game 3 that led to the go-ahead run for the Giants.   Granted, the Reds could have still lost the game even if Rolen made the play for the third out, but the decisive runs were a direct result of his error.   Afterwards, Rolen lamented his error to Cincinnati Reds beat writer John Fay, saying he would have played the ball the same way no matter what:

“I wasn’t able to make the play and it cost us the game…I don’t think I’d have played it any differently,” he said. “I’d have tried to catch it if I got a chance to do it again. With a man on third there, it’s not the ground ball that I want to see. I just want to be aggressive and make the play. I knew it was kind of a do-or-die play. I don’t think (shortstop Zack Cozart) could have gotten there. I’d probably play it that way again and hopefully get a better result.”

Batting with two on and down two with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning in a decisive game 5, Rolen struck out.   There the Reds'  season ended with Rolen's strikeout as the last thing Reds fans got to see.  Ouch.

After winning the Rookie of the Year award in 1997 in Philadelphia, Rolen's relationship soured with Phillies management and was shipped to St. Louis mid-season 2002.   After declaring St. Louis "Baseball Heaven" upon the trade, Rolen's relationship also soured there, particularly with manager Tony La Russa.  After a trade led to stint with the Toronto Blue Jays, Rolen requested a trade to a midwest team and the Blue Jays obliged and traded him to the Cincinnati Reds.

Rolen ends his career with a .281 batting average, 316 home runs, and 1287 RBI.