Cincinnati Reds’ Scott Rolen envisages a good season – MLB News
The Cincinnati Reds’ third baseman Scott Rolen expressed his hope on Friday, February 24, that he will have a better season this year than the one in 2011. A lot of things did not go his way due largely to the shoulder injuries he had.
While the 36-year-old player was expected to make his appearance in at least 120 games, he could not go beyond 65 games when he fell injured in April. Being in the final year of the contract with the Cincinnati Reds, Rolen will indeed be in pursuit of doing
something extraordinary for the team.
With the soreness in his shoulder lingering the past year, he could not execute what he otherwise would have achieved with his fitness. That is what he acknowledges himself as well. This year, he says, he wants to play.
"Certainly at the end of the season, I wasn't tired. I was unfulfilled," Rolen said. "I try not to be a huge numbers guy, but I do like to see games played and my body ache like h**l at the end of a season. I could actually walk when the season was over.
I'm not used to that. This year, I want to play.”
Numbers are in no way important for Rolen given the accomplishment he has as third baseman. If achievements are anything to go by, he has remained the Gold Glove winner no less than eight times (1998, 2000, 01, 02, 03, 04, 06 and 10). When he came as rookie
in the club, he was entitled to the Rookie of the Year award in 1997 and remained a Silver Slugger in 2002.
It is for this reason that numbers do not necessarily hold much charm for him.
“I'm not going to look at numbers. I'm not going to look at anything along those lines, stats. I want to stay healthy and play the season.”
With a .282 average in 1946 games, Rolen has a .494 slugging percentage, hitting 1248 RBIs and 308 home-runs throughout his career with 1185 runs to his credit. It has to be seen how Rolen, in his final year of his contract with the Reds, performs during
the upcoming 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
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