Former scout Trcka signed Hall of Famer Rolen, several other big leaguers

BY STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Scott Rolen, who was a standout at Jasper (Ind.) High School and for 17 Major League Baseball seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and Toronto Blue Jays, will be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., this summer.
July 23 is the big induction day.
The man who signed the future Hall of Famer who was selected in the second round of the 1993 MLB First-Year Player Draft is also a Hoosier.
Hobart’s Scott Trcka was an area scout with the Phillies when he secured Rolen.
“I followed him all summer,” says Trcka, who saw Rolen play multiple times and became friendly with his family. “I did all the leg work. I did all the (research on) make-up and signability.”
The popular theory in the scouting world was that Rolen would pursue his hoops option instead of baseball.
“Indiana’s a basketball heaven,” says Trcka. “Both of his parents (Ed and Linda) were teachers. He had a scholarship for basketball at (the University of) Georgia.
“(Other scouts) didn’t think he would sign. I had a handshake. It was a tough negotiation. It was a long summer. But it got done.
“He was not like a $1,000 college senior. He was a high school player and you needed to spend some time on him.”
It was a different environment three decades years ago.
“Today they’d walk away from a guy like that or drop a ton of money on him,” says Trcka. “Compared to the player he is, I gave him nothing. I gave him fair money for the round and the place. I didn’t over do it.
“It was a trust thing.”
At Jasper, Rolen was a third baseman, shortstop and pitcher.
“He had a fastball he could pump up to 93 (mph),” says Trcka. “He showed his arm strength then and all it did was improve. When he got up to the big leagues he had a rocket.
“With his arm and his agility he could’ve played shortstop in the big leagues.”
Track notes that average major league runner gets down down the line from the plate to first base in 4.3 seconds. Rolen was clocked in 4.01.
“That’s flying — especially for a big man.” says Trcka of player who was 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds in the majors. “He had pretty good instincts on the bases. He’d take that extra bag.
“He was a special guy.”
Rolen went into the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2019 and is now Director of Player Development at Indiana University.
In a New York Times article by Tyler Kepner dated Jan. 24, 2023, Trcka is credited with Dick Lawlor and Marti Wolever as scouts that recommended Rolen to former Phillies scouting director Mike Arbuckle.
Like so many relationships he made in 27-plus years as an MLB scout, Trcka enjoyed the one he made with Rolen’s parents. He still gets Christmas cards from them and still hears from players, families, coaches and other scouts.
“It was a great game,” says Trcka. “I loved it. Even though the job did take me away from the family, I couldn’t ask for a job that I enjoyed more.”
In various capacities Trcka scouted for the Phillies 1989-2001 and 2013-16, San Diego Padres 2002-05 and New York Mets 2006-12.
He covered winter ball in the Dominican Republic from 1998-2001. In 2005, he was assigned four MLB teams in spring training along with 24 minor league teams during the season. In 2007, he spent two weeks covering pro baseball in Japan.
“It was a good job,” says Trcka. “I enjoyed my time. I met a lot of great people. If you were to tell me I’d have access to go into major league clubhouses and things like that when I was a kid, I would probably lose my marbles and couldn’t wait to grow up.
“I signed a lot of big leaguers. That was the biggest thrill.”
Besides Rolen, Trcka also signed the following MLB players as an area supervisor: Steve Parris (1989, fifth round), Gary Bennett (1990, 11th), Mike Grace (1991, 10th), Tony Fiore (1992, 28th), David Doster (1993, 27th), Kevin Sefcik (1993, 33rd), Jason Boyd (1994, eighth) and Kevin Plawecki (2012, first, 35th overall selection).
New Haven (Ind.) High School graduate Doster played mostly second base at Indiana State University and in the bigs and Japan.
Westfield (Ind.) High School alum Plawecki was a catcher at Purdue University and played his eighth MLB season in 2022.
As a crosschecker, Trcka recommended Pat Burrell, Jason Michaels, Jorge Padilla, Brett Myers, Marlon Byrd, Gavin Floyd, Khalil Greene, Tim Stauffer, Colt Morton, Dirk Hayhurst and Aaron Nola.
The first time Trcka saw LaTroy Hawkins he was a lanky freshman at Gary (Ind.) West Side High School.
“He was a good kid,” says Trcka. “I really liked him. He had a whip for an arm. You knew he was going to be pretty good.
“He turned out to be a real gem.”
Hawkins went on to pitch 21 seasons in the majors and went in the IHSBCA Hall of Fame in 2018.
Trcka helped fellow scout Bill Bryk conduct tryout camps for the Pittsburgh Pirates in northwest Indiana.
It was during the change toward more analytics and less traditional scouting that Trcka was let go by the Phillies.
“Everything has changed now,” says Trcka. “Baseball people don’t run the game anymore.
“It was once a great game, but it’s far from that anymore. Statistical information doesn’t tell what a real player is about inside.”
Not that Trcka ignored the numbers.
When scouting college players, he always sought out the press box and found the stat sheet.
He wanted to know how many times a batter struck out or walked and how many stolen bases a player had.
“Doubles were always big,” says Trcka. “Doubles can show what the future holds for you as far as home run power.
“We looked at all that stuff. All scouts did that. Not just me.”
What about WAR (Wins Above Replacement)?
“I don’t know how to do it and I don’t want to know,” says Trcka. “It was a different time. I know you’ve got to move with the times, but when something’s not broke don’t fix it.”
In recent years, Trcka has been focused on his family including grandchildren.
When he happened to be watching a game on TV and saw a batter make the last out in one inning and start on second base in extra innings, he was introduced to what commonly is called the “ghost runner.”
“What’s going on in this game?,” says Trcka. “They’re doing a fine job of trying to destroy the game.
“It’s a sad commentary.”
The son of Dick and Joan Trcka, Scott spent his first three years of high school at Hobart and his senior year at Calumet, graduating in 1976.
As a Warrior, Trcka played for his father and against future big league slugger Ron Kittle, who was a senior at Gary Wirt High School.
Dick Trcka spent 28 years in a variety of coaching roles at Calumet and won more than 200 games as head baseball coach. The field at what is now Calumet New Tech bears his name.
Scott Trcka was Director of Player Personnel and Development for the summer collegiate wood bat Northwest Indiana Oilmen in 2019.

Scott Trcka.

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Huff helping Purdue Fort Wayne in different ways in second year with baseball program

By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Justin Huff has a new role in his second year on the Purdue Fort Wayne baseball coaching staff.
His family came to Fort Wayne when wife Jenna Huff — who hails from Tecumseh, Mich. — was hired as news director at WANE-TV (Ch. 15) and he reached out to Mastodons coach Doug Schreiber.
A director of player development position was created for Huff for 2020-21 with the idea that something else might open up in the future. In that job, he was restricted from actual coaching so he kept charts, gave analytics insights and helped in the dugout during games.
In 2021-22, Huff is in the volunteer coach post with all its responsibilities.
“Coach Schreiber has empowered me to do a lot of the practice scheduling,” says Huff. “I would make sure transitions were efficient.”
On a staff that also features Brent McNeil and Ken Jones, Huff also helps with hitters and infielders, leads outfielders and is expected to coach first base when PFW — a member of the NCAA Division I Horizon League — opens its 2022 season Feb. 18 at Georgia State.
“The challenge is we’re not on the field,” says Huff, noting that the Mastodons last practiced outdoors in November.
At the beginning of the fall, the team took advantage of warmer temperatures and put in 20 hours per week of team practice.
“(Hitters) got 50 to 60 (at-bats) and (pitchers) 20 to 22 innings,” says Huff. “You got to figure out exactly what you have. This year we’ve got 19 new guys so we saw how they fit with the returnees.
“There were intrasquad games in the weekends and got the players accustomed to our system and our routines.”
Then came a four hours-a-week phase where coaches could break down player’s mechanics and make adjustments if necessary.
“It’s not like going 0-of-4 in scrimmage,” says Huff. “There’s no failure.
“They’re getting their bodies ready to go and getting their timing down.”
Hitters were going to face live pitching for the first time Thursday (Jan. 20) with 20 hours-a-week workouts starting back up Jan. 28.
Huff came to Indiana from Gordon State College in Barnesville, Ga., where he was interim head coach during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic-shortened season. With just one assistant, he was charged with all positions except infielders.
A shortstop as a player, Huff is a 2003 graduate of Westover High School in Albany, Ga.
Huff also played five years of American Legion ball for Albany Post 30 and manager Larry Cook. Albany went to the Legion World Series in 2001 — the year Brooklawn (N.J.) Post 72 beat Lewiston (Idaho) Post 13 for the title in Yakima, Wash.
“He was a very strategic guy and super-competitive,” says Huff of Cook. “He never stopped coaching me. He challenged me and made me better.”
Huff made collegiate stops of two years at Darton College in Albany (now merged with Albany State University) and one each at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C., and Valdosta (Ga.) State University. His head coaches were Glenn Eames (with assistant Jamie Corr) at Darton, American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer Gary Gilmore (with assistant Kevin Schnall) at Coastal Carolina and National College Baseball Hall of Famer Tommy Thomas at Valdosta State.
Huff credits Eames for showing him how to care for fields and Corr for his organization, practice plan and how to run a program.
At Darton, Huff played against Young Harris (Ga.) College featuring his cousin Charlie Blackmon. After playing for the Mountain Lions in 2005 and 2006, lefty-swinging outfielder Blackmon was selected in the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft out of Georgia Tech and made his MLB debut for the Colorado Rockies in 2011.
Gilmore led the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers to the 2016 College World Series title.
“(Gilmore and Schnall) are two of the best coaches in the country,” says Huff. “I sat and watched how they were planning out the game and their style of offense that really helped me down the road.”
An offensive-minded coach, Huff prefers aggressiveness and small ball tactics.
When Huff was on the team at Coastal Carolina, he was a teammate of Andy DeLaGarza, a product of Norwell High School in Ossian, Ind. His father — Mark DeLaGarza — runs the Summit City Sluggers travel organization in Fort Wayne.
From Thomas, Huff says he learned how to care about players and build relationships.
Former big leaguer Phil Plantier was Huff’s manager with the independent South Coast League’s Macon (Ga.) Music in 2007 and witnessed the differences between the pro and college style.
“I worked with him on hitting stuff,” says Huff. “I wanted to pick his brain as much as I could.”
When he was done as a player, Huff went into the banking industry while completing his undergraduate and Masters of Business Administration degrees.
He helped coach at Deerfield-Windsor Academy in Albany and with Leesburg American Legion Post 182 before spending five years at Darton with head coach Scot Hemmings. The Cavaliers won their first Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association title in 2015.
“He had ways to motivate players and was very organized,” says Huff of Hemmings. “The development of players was incredible there.”
When Jenna took a job at station in Macon, Justin helped coach the varsity and was middle school head coach at Tattnall Square Academy. The Trojans won the 2016 Georgia High School Athletic Association Class A state championship.
Travis McClanahan was head coach when Huff joined the staff at Gordon State. The Highlanders went 50-9 and lost to Walters State in the National Junior College Athletic Association East-Central District in 2019.
Justin and Jenna Huff have been married for 10 years and have four daughters — Devon (8), Canon (6), Fallon (4) and Lennon (2).

Justin Huff (Purdue Fort Wayne Photo)

Madia helps manage many moving parts for Purdue baseball

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

John Madia sees a vibrant future for college baseball in general and Purdue University baseball in particular.

“The sport — to me — is on a similar trajectory as college basketball,” says Madia, the director of player development for the Boilermakers in West Lafayette, Ind. — a role created for the 2020 season. “The lights are getting brighter. The stage is getter bigger.

“College baseball has a very good chance to be a healthy revenue generator for universities.”

Madia sees momentum building for the idea of starting the season — at least at the NCAA Division I level — later and playing into July.

“We’re in total favor of that,” says Madia, who earned baseball letters at Purdue in 1975, 1976 and 1978 and came the Boilers to take the new position of director of baseball operations in 2015. “Team would playing in better weather in north and it would level the playing field. We’d have a better chance of keeping top talent in-state.

“It would not surprise me if 6,000 to 8,000 a game at Alexander Field with that model. People in the community to can go out to nice venue at a reasonable price. Purdue is very well-placed. Our ability to add seating is easy. We have very generous concourse areas and room for more seating down the left field line.”

That’s the future. In the present, Madia is helping the program maximize its potential while getting ahead of challenges.

Madia’ efforts complement those of Boilers head coach Greg Goff, assistants Cooper Fouts, Chris Marx and Harry Shipley and supervisor of operations Tim Sarhage.

There’s a planning meeting each morning because there are a lot of moving parts.

“As much as possible we want to anticipate as many scenarios as we can

proactive rather than reactive,” says Madia. “When we’e prepared it takes the stress off our program and student-athletes.

“We want to make sure everyone knows their role and how it can help us be successful on the field, classroom and community.”

In D-I baseball, besides areas like strategic and practice planning, training and travel, there are other things to navigate like NCAA regulations, compliance, player needs and alumni.

“We always boil it down to this: We have to do a great job with our student-athletes,” says Madia. “We them to look back and say I had a great student-athlete experience at Purdue. That’s going to bode well for our future.”

To achieve this goal, the school has assembled high baseball I.Q. personnel and added many resources — academic, cultural, time management and medical (which addresses physical and mental well-being). 

Of course right now, COVID-19 protocols are a major issue. The virus halted the 2020 season after 14 games (the Boilers went 7-7).

“These kids have ever been exposed to anything like that,” says Madia. “Players have had relatives with virus.”

NCAA D-I rules allow a 45-day window for fall practice. Purdue started in September ended in late October. 

“We were plowing new ground,” say Madia. “We never had to plan a fall around a COVID world.

“Following strict guidelines put in place by the university, players are tested every week.

“If there’s an exposure, there’s a very aggressive protocol to get them out of the bubble,” says Madia. “We spent a lot of time as a staff to build natural bubbles within the program/ The ame guys with each other everyday.

“We had to single out baseballs for them. Equipment was wiped down. It was a lot of work and planning but it kept us safe.

“We got through entire fall without any major disruptions.”

Moving back to the individual phase, they’ve gone from 20 hours a week of practice with athletes to eight.

The Boilers have a relatively large number of newcomers. It’s been a challenge to build camaraderie while social distancing.

“Coach Goff really likes to do a lot of team activities and build that rapport and culture of family,” says Madia.

Purdue goes virtual after Thanksgiving. Most students will leave campus next Wednesday and not return until January. 

Madia says they must test negative for COVID before being allowed back on-campus.

“In-season we’ll probably be testing our guys everyday,” says Madia. “It looks like the Big Ten (Conference) will not allow non-conference games. The protocol is same for all conference schools.”

If there are more Big Ten games than usual — say four-game weekend schedules instead of three — Madia wonders if teams will be allowed more than the usual 27-man travel roster.

Prior to returning to Purdue in his operations role, Madia worked in industry as an executive with Dow Chemical and CH2M as a global business and HR leader. 

He has long been on the Purdue Athletic Advisory Board and held various advisory roles to the College of Agriculture. 

He has coached amateur baseball and served on the board of the Indiana Bulls travel organization. He was an associate scout for the Baltimore Orioles.

Former Purdue head coach Doug Schreiber brought Madia on as director of operations. In that role, he was responsible for alumni outreach, player and staff professional/career development and other general marketing/operations duties to advance the program.

“I always viewed Purdue as one of the best decisions I made in my life,” says Madia. “Coming out of Purdue University can definitely open doors for you. It’s up to you to kick them in.

“I’ve always maintained good relationships with coaches and players. This is one way of giving back and staying involved.

“I’ve had a ball with it. With a new position you get to determine what that looks like when you stand it up.”

A lefty swinger and thrower, Utica, N.Y., native Madia played first base for Joe Sexson and Dave Alexander when the Boilers played across campus at Lambert Field. He missed the 1977 season with injury.

“Coach Sexson would make a great mayor,” says Madia. “He knew everybody. He had a great way of communicating with each player as an individual.

“He was a fun guy to be around. He was also ultra-competitive.”

Alexander, who died Feb. 26, 2020 at 79, was the coach for Madia’s last two Purdue seasons and two became close friends after that.

“He took the whole game of baseball to another baseball with his knowledge and I.Q.,” says Madia of Alexander. “He taught you how important it was to appreciate and honor the game.”

Alexander brought intensity to the diamond.

“If you were meek and didn’t want to bring it everyday you weren’t going to be very successful around Coach Alexander,” says Madia. “Everybody saw that side of Alex. the side they didn’t see was how loyal he was to the guys that played for him. He would do anything for you. When you were done playing for hm was the time to build that friendship.”

With Madia’s input, Alexander began recruiting in upstate New York. Many good players come from that area to this day.

“With Dave Alexander there was no gray. It was black and white. If he trusted you, he was with you,” says Madia. “He was very, very passionate about politics and history. I stayed in close contact with him all the way up to the end. He had a big impact on my life.”

Madia was named Distinguished Alumnus by the School of Animal Sciences and the College of Agriculture in 2006 and 2007, respectively, and a Purdue Old Master in 2014.

John and Jean, also a Purdue graduate, have four children and Boiler grads — Megan (2005), Katie (2007), former Purdue baseball player Drew (2010) and Dan (2011).

John Madia, a Purdue University graduate, is the Boilermakers baseball director of player development. (Purdue University Photo)

The Purdue University baseball family is guided by (from left): First row — assistant Chris Marx, director of baseball development John Madia and head coach Greg Goff; second row — assistants Harry Shipley and Cooper Fouts. (Purdue University Photo)

Leading the Purdue University baseball program are (from left): assistants Chris Marx and Cooper Fouts, head coach Greg Goff, director of player development and volunteer assistant Harry Shipley. (Purdue University Photo)

John Madia, a Purdue University graduate, is the Boilermakers director of baseball development. He came back to Purdue as director of baseball operations in 2015. (Purdue University Photo)

Stout sees ‘cool moments’ in roles with Indiana Prospects

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

So many in the baseball world are eager to step between the white lines.

The COVID-19 pandemic has cut college seasons short and taken away high school slates.

As Indiana and other states move into various stages of emerging from quarantine, what about travel ball and getting exposure for players looking to play in college?

Austin Stout, Director of Player Development for the Indiana Prospects and head coach for the organization’s 2022 team (16U), is hopeful that his organization will be able to begin play in mid-June.

Assisted by Kenny Overbey and Jeff Brisman, Stout is supposed to take his squad to three events at Grand Park in Westfield, Ind., the Music City Classic in Nashville, the World Wood Bat Association National Championship in Georgia and the Marucci World Series in Louisiana.

“There are some kids you can tell they have it at a young age,” says Stout, who is anxious to show off the talents on a roster made up of athletes from multiple states.

That includes University of Kentucky commit Caden Dana, a right-handed pitcher/lefty-swinging third baseman from Montgomery, N.Y.

“(Dana) has tremendous feel on the mound,” says Stout.

Among the uncommitted on the 2022 Prospects are lefty-batting catcher/third baseman George Baker from Waldorf, Md., and 6-foot-5, 270-pound right-handed pitcher/first baseman Hunter Pudlo of Antioch, Ill.

“We have kids who will be committed at a high level,” says Stout. “The 16-year-old summer is most important summer for recruiting.”

While they can’t sign until the fall of their senior year, many players are expected to make a verbal commitment in the summer or fall.

“The 17-year-old season is still recruited,” says Stout. “But in this day and age scholarship money is pretty much gone at that point.

“We educate kids as much as possible and prepare them for the next step. You don’t want them to enjoy (the commitment) so long you don’t improve. (College) coaches have walked away from a kid (even after a commitment has been made).

“College coaches get paid to win.”

That’s why Stout stresses that a player should go where he is comfortable and he must produce once he gets there.

“It’s all about relationships and how you treat people,” says Stout. “Baseball is a small world. You never want to burn bridges You don’t lie about kids. It’s all about finding right fit for the kid.

“It is cool as an organization to commit to a high-level school. But we don’t want to kids to get on campus and transfer out. That doesn’t make us think we did our job.”

Austin Stout, 25, is the son of Shane Stout, President of the Indiana Prospects.

“My dad is passionate about what he does,” says Austin. “I’ve seen some cool moments.”

Austin saw his father weep when former Prospects player J.J. Bleday was selected in the first round of the 2019 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft out of Vanderbilt University by the Miami Marlins as a lefty-swinging outfielder.

Bleday, a 2019 Golden Spikes Award finalist, was going to visit with current Prospects via a Zoom video conference this weekend.

“It’s important for the kids to hear about different types of recruitments,” says Stout, who recently brought on lefty-batting shortstop Clay Dungan to share his story. Dungan played for the Prospects and was a sophomore at Yorktown (Ind.) High School when Stout was a senior then was a mainstay at Indiana State University. He was drafted in the ninth round by the Kansas City Royals in 2019.

Dungan was undersized coming out of high school.

“He committed as a roster spot guy,” says Stout. “He started 90 percent of the games for (Sycamores head coach) Mitch Hannahs.

“He’s earned it. It’s fun to watch.”

Stout grew up aroundC Muncie and began playing with the Prospects at 11. He played for Mike Larrabee at Yorktown, graduating in 2013, followed by Dennis Conley at Olney (Ill.) Central College (2014 and 2015), where he was a middle infielder, and Mike Kunigonis at Northern Illinois University (2016 and 2017), where he was mostly at designated hitter.

“(Conley) made a man of me,” says Stout. “He was a no-cutting-corners coach.

“He’s in the junior college Hall of Fame for a reason. That guy’s a legend.

Shane Stout and Kunigonis developed a relationship when the latter was a Virginia Tech assistant and saw Austin as a undersized kid.

The younger Stout grew in stature and talent and Kunigonis brought him to DeKalb, Ill., shortly after taking over the program there. Stout earned at Corporate Communication degree from NIU in 2017.

Besides his Prospects duties, Stout is an assistant at Yorktown on the staff of P.J. Fauquher.

It was only natural that Stout would go into player development after his playing days.

“I’ve been around it from a very young age,” says Stout. “I’ve always felt I could do this side of it. I love the beginning steps of baseball. I’ve had no motivation to be a college coach.

“There are some kids who wouldn’t go to college without baseball as a vehicle. I truly enjoy what I do. I’m a helping hand in grooming those kids who will some day be husbands and fathers.”

Prospects founder Mark Peters is the father of major league pitcher Dillon Peters.

Austin Stout, a graduate of Yorktown (Ind.) High School and Northern Illinois University, is an assistant baseball coach at his alma mater and Director of Player Development for the Indiana Prospects travel baseball organization.

 

New IHSBCA Hall of Famer Rolen reflects on family, baseball career

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Circumstances kept the family of Scott Rolen away as he was inducted into the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

But the former Jasper (Ind.) High School standout and 17-year major league third baseman had his loved ones on his mind during festivities Friday, Jan. 18, 2019 in Indianapolis.

Scott and Niki Rolen have two children — Raine (14) and Finn (11). Their daughter got sick at basketball practice so they were unable to be at the Sheraton at the Crossing.

Now the director of player development — a volunteer position — on head coach Jeff Mercer’s baseball staff at Indiana University, Rolen is around the lend his expertise.

By rule, he does not coach individuals and can only recruit on-campus. But he can evaluate and provide input to that the Hoosiers can use.

“I can coach the coaches, basically,” says Rolen. “I can talk with them about practice strategies and what each player can work on.

“It’s a great fit. There’s a real good thing going there right now.”

The position allows him freedom for family time.

“The kids are my first priority,” says Rolen. “I bounce in and bounce out.”

Last summer, Scott and Dan Held coached their sons on an Indiana Bulls 10U Grey travel team. Rolen lives in Bloomington and brought six players from his neck of the woods, including son Finn. Held, who lived central Indiana and served as Bulls executive at the time, added six players, including son Boston.

The team played a small schedule and was done by the first part of July.

“Everybody could go on vacation, have fun or play other sports,” says Rolen. “They could swim, throw the frisbee, have a blast.”

He anticipates a similar schedule for an 11U team in 2019. Dan Held is now assistant coach/recruiting director at IU.

Rolen played for the original Bulls team co-founded by Dave Taylor in the early 1990’s. The club featured top talent from around the state and played when the baseball landscape was much different than today.

The travel baseball world has really morphed into something big,” says Rolen. “I’m very careful with my son.

“I love high school sports. I love rec sports. There’s spot for some extra baseball, but I believe in playing year-round everything.

“I believe in the athlete. I don’t believe in the baseball player. I’d like to see a little more well-rounded athlete.”

Rolen, who was Indiana Mr. Baseball and runner-up to Indiana Mr. Basketball as a Jasper senior, also played tennis in high school. He was offered a basketball scholarship to the University of Georgia before being selected in second round of the 1993 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies.

He was the 1997 National League Rookie of the Year and went on to play for the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and Toronto Blue Jays. He finished with .281 average, 2,077 hits, 316 home runs and 1,287 runs batted in and 1,211 runs scored. He was an eight-time Gold Glove winner and recipient of a Silver Slugger Award in 2002. He earned a World Series ring in 2006 with St. Louis. He has had four shoulder surgeries and is scheduled for back surgery next week.

Scott grew up the youngest of Ed and Linda Rolen’s three children behind Todd and Kristie.

Mom and dad were teachers and the Rolen kids were busy with sports. But they found a way to get together at meal time.

“We have a real close tight-knit family,” says Rolen. “My parents never missed a ball game, whether it was mine, Kristie’s or Todd’s. They split up, divided and conquered.

“They really put us in a nice position to succeed in sports and school and gave us a nice solid upbringing.”

Rolen made a major gift of an unspecified amount for the construction of IU’s Bart Kaufman Field in 2013 and the clubhouse is named in honor of his parents.

Scott makes a point of telling his father how much appreciates his father. Ed Rolen, who is now in Florida and unable to travel, can’t understand the fuss.

“Dad’s the kind of guy that when I thank him, he says ‘for what?,’ says Scott. “Well, for being a great dad.

“He was there and he loved us — always.”

Rolen, with brother Todd as executive director, has been showing love to other families through the Enis Furley aka E5 Foundation.

“It’s named after an error at third base,” says Rolen. “You poke a little fun at yourself from time to time.”

Through E5, Indiana Children’s Wish Fund and other organizations, four families with special needs children are identified and all their expenses are paid to come to Camp Emma Lou, a property of about 75 acres on Lake Monroe near Bloomington.

These kids get to experience a petting zoo, baseball field, bond fires, swim in the lake and more.

“It’s just a little something that we can give back,” says Rolen.

The foundation also brings sixth graders in Monroe County — about 1,000 kids — to the camp in spring and fall for leadership field trips and team-building activities.

“We talk to them about things that are going on in their lives,” says Rolen.

Scott (Class of 1993) and Todd (Class of ’91) played baseball together for IHSBCA Hall of Famer Terry Gobert (induction Class of 2007). In Todd’s senior year, the Wildcats rebounded from a tough start to advance to the IHSAA State Finals.

Rolen, who was inducted into the 41st annual Hall of Fame class with Ron McClain, Fred “Cy” Williams, Bob Schellinger and Pat O’Neil, recalls Gobert’s effective methods.

“Coach Gobert was pretty laid-back,” says Rolen. “We were able to practice in shorts. But if we need to slide, we need to slide.

“We had to get our work done. If we don’t do our work, we’re going to wear pants and we’re going run.”

Rolen was nominated for the Hall of Fame by Ryan Berryman, head coach at Western High School and also an Indiana Bulls coach.

Hall of Famer Ray Howard (induction Class of 1990) is executive director of the IHSBCA Hall of Fame, located on the Vincennes University campus in Jasper, and was again behind the mic at Friday’s banquet. The Hall is about to unveil more display space.

Jasper Hall of Famers (from left): Ray Howard (inducted in 1990), Scott Rolen (2019) and Terry Gobert (2007). Hall of Fame executive director Howard is a former Jasper (Ind.) High School head coach and current assistant. Rolen played for head coach Gobert at Jasper then for 17 years in the majors. (Steve Krah Photo)

Scott Rolen is director of player development on head coach Jeff Mercer’s baseball squad at Indiana University. (Indiana University Photo)

Scott Rolen, who was Indiana Mr. Baseball at Jasper High School in 1993, played for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and Toronto Blue Jays. He is now an Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Famer. (Cincinnati Reds Photo)