Prior to the season, I wrote the following about Scott Rolen:
Provided he can stay healthy (easier said than done), Scott Rolen is 17 home runs away from 300. Sure the third baseman’s best years are behind him, but 17 home runs is not out of the picture.
I’ll be honest, I kinda figured it would happen. The 35 year-old had a little bit of a resurgence last year, and it looked like it could carry over into 2010.
But did I ever think it would happen before July? Nope.
Well, courtesy of a fourth inning blast that ricocheted off the foul pole in left…it happened Monday night.
Fittingly, it came against the team that Rolen has hit exactly half of his 300 career home runs FOR…the Philadelphia Phillies.
“I don’t know what to say about it,” the 1997 National League Rookie of the Year said following the game. “I’m excited about it. My family is here and they’re excited about it.”
And if you are keeping track, Rolen is now the 128th player to reach the milestone for his career and the third (Derrick Lee and Alfonso Soriano are the others) this season.
As far as hitting home runs as a member of the Reds, only two other players ever reached 300 home runs in a Cincinnati uniform. Frank Robinson did it in 1965, whereas Johnny Bench accomplished the feat in 1978.
Coincidentally, the Hall of Famers also sit first (Bench with 389 career home runs) and second (Robinson with 324) all-time among anyone who played in the Queen City. Rolen resides somewhere between Duane Walker and Ryan Freel with 20 career jacks while with Cincy.
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