ST. LOUIS — Scott Rolen didn't get his call to Cooperstown on Tuesday. But, that call could be closer than ever.
Rolen received 63.2% of the vote on the Baseball Writers Association of America ballot for the 2022 election cycle. That's a jump from 52.9% in 2021 and 35.3% of the vote in 2019. A player needs 75% of the vote to get elected.
2022 was Rolen's fifth year on the BBWAA ballot, so he has five more years to get to 75%.
Rolen had the fourth-highest vote total of anyone on the BBWAA ballot after David Ortiz, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Ortiz was the only player elected.
Bonds, Clemens, Curt Schilling and Sammy Sosa now fall off the BBWAA ballot.
You can see the entire results by clicking here.
When you look at the raw numbers, Rolen's inclusion in the National Baseball Hall of Fame looks like a slam dunk.
Rolen has the 10th most WAR, or "wins above replacement", of any third baseman in baseball history. All of those ahead of him are already in the Hall of Fame except for Adrian Beltre, who will get in once eligible.
Rolen is most remembered as one of the greatest defensive infielders of all-time.
When it comes to defensive runs saved, which compiles multiple stats to try and determine how many runs an individual defender saved, Rolen is behind only Brooks Robinson and Adrian Beltre at third base.
For his 17-year career, Rolen was a .281 hitter with a .364 on-base percentage and .855 OPS. He hit 316 home runs, drove in 1,287 runs and compiled 2,077 hits for the Phillies, Cardinals, Reds and Blue Jays. Rolen was the 1997 NL Rookie of the Year, a 7-time Al-Star, 8-time Gold Glover and 2006 World Series Champion.
Rolen was inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2019.