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Re: Rolen expected to retire
In the FWIW department, Fangraphs has Rolen 11th all-time among 3B:
ARod: 114.6
Schmidt: 110.6
Matthews: 107.2
Boggs: 94.7
Robinson: 94.6
Brett: 91.5
Jones: 90.3
Santo: 79.4
Killebrew: 78.5 (I wasn't aware Killebrew played that much 3B -- over 700 games)
Molitor: 75.2
Rolen: 75.0
Nettles: 71.8
Of course, a big part of that comes from Rolen's defense. Of the guys above him, only Schmidt and Boggs were his peers defensively (Brooks Robinson had no peers...), but he's got multiple seasons worth of PA less than most of those guys due to injury issues.
Third base has generally been a tough position when it comes to HOF voting and Rolen is right there on the border. But in this era where a bunch of guys with steroid questions are going to be backing up the ballot, I think Rolen gets in to spite them.
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Games are won on run differential -- scoring more than your opponent. Runs are runs, scored or prevented they all count the same. Worry about scoring more and allowing fewer, not which positions contribute to which side of the equation or how "consistent" you are at your current level of performance.
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