With his hall-of-fame career behind him, Scott Rolen is enjoying a simpler life away from the demands of being an MLB player.
For some athletes, once the career they have dedicated and sacrificed their daily lives to comes to an end, either by choice or force, moving on to the next chapter of personal purpose can be challenging.
For Rolen, 49, transitioning back to the kid from Jasper, Indiana, with a population just a whisker above 16,000, is a model for others. By choice and on his schedule, Rolen, while still “dipping a toe” in baseball commitments, splits his time between Indiana and Southwest Florida.
Although he had committed to play basketball at the University of Georgia, once being drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1993, baseball became his career-long occupation.
Following his years of experience competing at the game’s highest level from his home in Indianapolis, Rolen offers his services an hour’s drive south at the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington.
Rolen has completed his sixth season with IU’s baseball program, serving as special assistant to head coach Jeff Mercer, and works directly with student-athletes. For those on the roster hoping to one day have a choice to play pro ball, Rolen is their connection on what to expect. Having a seven-time MLB All-Star in the recruitment process is also beneficial for students who are considering the IU program.
Rolen said being associated with an NCAA-Division l program in the Big Ten is special. He’s able to offer his experiences gained on the diamond to students who offer their undivided, unjaded attention.
When not in “America’s Heartland,” Rolen can be seen in “The Home of Baseball”—Cooperstown, New York.
Rolen made the trip to Upstate New York for the Hall of Fame’s annual Sunday induction ceremonies last month. Two days earlier, he visited the St. Louis Cardinals, a team that he played with for parts of six seasons and participated in the club’s 2006 World Series championship.
Arriving at Doubleday Field, one street down from the baseball museum, Rolen is anxious to teach baseball. On an early Friday morning, he’s lending his time for Turn Two With Ozzie, an educational program in its 21st year. This interactive meet-and-greet allows a couple dozen fans, for a cost, to spend time with four hall-of-famers and learn more about the skills required to play various positions on the field.
Rolen, just one year removed from his induction to the hall of fame, is outwardly much more comfortable at his return to Cooperstown.
“I’m a lot more relaxed,” Rolen said to The Epoch Times as he watched the dozens of mostly children filing into Doubleday’s infield. “This weekend I want to spend some time in the plaque gallery. Last year, the weekend went so fast, it was so crazy. I didn’t get to see as much as I wanted.”
Giving back to others as an ambassador for the game, whether with the IU baseball program or with Hall of Fame requests, is important enough for Rolen to participate in, he said. On his time, on his terms, and keeping family in mind, he is living to the best of both his passions.
Standing a few feet from third base on the infield grass with a morning fog slowly disappearing inside the field, Rolen spoke of offering advice to one of this year’s inductees and what he could expect when it would be his time to deliver his acceptance speech.
“I called Todd [Class of 2023 Hall of Famer Todd Helton] when he was elected this past winter,” Rolen, who played in more than 2,000 MLB games, collected more than 2,000 hits, and won eight Rawlings Gold Gloves,“ he said. ”We talked about the accommodations here [Cooperstown], how long he'll have to give his speech, and just how fast it will all go on Sunday.”
Even while on the road in Cooperstown, Rolen and his family stay close. While participating in the Saturday morning golf tournament with the hall of famers, Rolen’s partner is his son Finn. For the evening’s “Parade of Legends”—as the game’s greatest of all time sit in flatbed trucks and pass by thousands of fans on Main Street—Rolen and his wife Niki wave to the well-wishers calling out to them.
With IU baseball in the off-season, Rolen can be seen in Florida’s Manatee County. The City of Holmes Beach, with a population a tick above 3,000, like Jasper, the small-town aura on Anna Maria Island attracted Rolen so much that he settled down roots. As part of the Bradenton-Sarasota metropolitan area, Rolen is co-owner of The Ugly Grouper, a popular seafood eatery in Holmes Beach. The seafood specialty offers a 3,000-pound metal fish sculpture that qualifies as an easy marker when searching for the building.
Leisure time is precious to Rolen and is his priority now, since such time came at a premium during his former occupation. Working with students, representing the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, or kicking it back a notch in Holmes Beach, Rolen is in a position that so many desire—personal freedom.
“I’m just pinching myself. Life is really good,” Rolen said.
