COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (AP) — 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 of 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.”
McGriff, a five-time All-Star first baseman elected by the Contemporary Baseball Players Era Committee in December, played for Toronto (1986-90), San Diego (1991-93), Atlanta (1993-97), Tampa Bay (1998-2001 and 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.”
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. While Yogi Berra (1972) has no logo because the head is tilted on his plaque, it appears he’s wearing New York Yankees pinstripes.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports