A favorite former Jay for a lot of us, Scott Rolen turns 35 today.
Scott's had a pretty terrific 14 season MLB career. He's hit .284/.370/.498 with 283 home runs, 19 of which he hit in his season and a half with us. He was Rookie of the Year back in 1997, has played in 5 All-Star games and has 7 Gold Gloves.
With us, his defensive play was one of the best parts of watching the Jays, the last couple of seasons. He was also pretty amazing at the plate, particularly last year. But the best thing he did for us may turn out to be asking to be traded, if Zach Stewart turns into the pitcher we think he can be. I'm kind of losing hope for Josh Roenicke, though you should never give up on a reliever that can throw mid 90's, but he's 27 now and didn't make the team out of spring. If he's going to become an important part of a major league bullpen, it better get on it soon. Edwin Encarnacion? Who knows, but there is a chance he'll be better, at least offensively, than Rolen will be this year.
But I will miss watching him play, he's one of those guys that makes it worth watching a game all by himself. Happy birthday Scott. Hope you have a good one and a good year.