Rolen picks Cards cap, McGriff sans logo for HOF

Scott Rolen will have a St. Louis Cardinals cap on his Hall of Fame plaque, and Fred McGriff will not have a team logo.

Rolen, a seven-time All-Star third baseman elected last month by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, played for Philadelphia (1996-2002), St. Louis (2002-07), Toronto (2008-09) and Cincinnati (2010-12).

“I believe this decision accurately represents a pivotal portion of my career based on our teams’ successes in St. Louis,” Rolen said in a statement issued by the Hall on Friday. “I am grateful to Philadelphia, St. Louis, Toronto and Cincinnati for the opportunities given to me as a player, but more importantly, for how they embraced me and my family.”

Rolen played more games with the Phillies (844) than with the Cardinals (661) and had more career WAR in Philadelphia (29.2 to 25.2 in St. Louis), per Baseball-Reference.com, although he won a World Series with the Cardinals in 2006 and his best season came there in 2004, when he finished fourth in the MVP voting.

He left the Phillies on sour terms when the club failed to sign him to a long-term extension and traded him to the Cardinals in 2002. After criticism from team officials, Rolen responded by saying, “I don’t feel as welcome here in this organization as I have in the past” and questioned the Phillies’ commitment to winning.

McGriff, a five-time All-Star first baseman elected by the contemporary baseball era committee in December, played for Toronto (1986-90), San Diego (1991-93), Atlanta (1993-97), Tampa Bay (1998-2001, 2004), the Chicago Cubs (2001-02) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (2003).

“In discussing my career with the Hall of Fame,” McGriff said in a statement, “we decided that with no logo on my plaque, I can equally represent these cities and the incredible fans in Toronto, where I got my start, Atlanta, where we won the World Series, and my hometown of Tampa Bay, as well as my time in San Diego.”

McGriff helped the Braves reach two World Series, winning a title in 1995. He played his most games with the Braves but had his most career WAR with the Blue Jays (19.4 to 11.1). With the Blue Jays, McGriff led the American League in home runs (36) and OPS (.924) in 1989 and was second in home runs in 1988, putting up those numbers in a lower-scoring environment compared with his time with the Braves. He also led the National League with 35 home runs while with the Padres in 1992.

Both will be inducted into the Hall on July 23.

Catfish Hunter (1987), Tony La Russa (2014), Greg Maddux (2014), Roy Halladay (2019) and Mike Mussina (2019) all have caps with no logos. Yogi Berra (1972) has no logo, but because the head is tilted on his plaque, it appears he is wearing New York Yankees pinstripes.

ESPN’s David Schoenfield and The Associated Press contributed to this report.