Rolen to enter Hall of Fame with Cards cap, McGriff no logo Dodgers’ Kershaw says he won’t play for United States n WBC

COOPERSTOUN, New York. Scott Rolen will have a St. Louis Cardinals cap on his Hall of Fame nameplate, while Fred McGriff will not have a team logo.

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

“I believe this decision accurately represents a key part of my career based on the success of our teams in St. Louis,” Rolen said in a statement released by the Hall of Friday. “I am grateful to Philadelphia, St. Louis, Toronto and Cincinnati for the opportunities they have given me as a player, but more importantly for the way they have welcomed me and my family.”

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

“In discussing my career with the Hall of Fame,” McGriff said, “we decided that without the logo on my plate, I can equally represent these cities and the amazing fans in Toronto, where I started, in 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 23 July.

Catfish Hunter (1987), Tony La Russa (2014), Greg Maddux (2014), Roy Halladay (2019) and Mike Mussina (2019) wear baseball caps without logos. Although Yogi Berra (1972) does not have a logo because his head is tilted on his plate, he appears to be wearing the New York Yankees stripe.

GLENDALE, Arizona – Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw says he will not play for the United States at the World Baseball Classic and called the situation “very disappointing”.

“This is probably my last chance to do this, which is why I really wanted to do it, but for a number of reasons it just didn’t work out,” Kershaw told reporters Friday from the Dodgers’ spring training camp. “Disappointing, but that’s okay. I’ll be ready for the season. I’ll be ready to go.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner did not give reasons that would prevent him from participating. No replacement has been announced.

“There were some factors that made it difficult for me to play,” Kershaw said. “I tried to work it out on my own, tried to work it out with MLB, the union, the team. Everyone tried their best to make it work. I just couldn’t.”

Kershaw, who turns 35 on March 19, added that Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman helped throughout the whole process.

“Obviously it’s not any team’s first choice to let their boyfriend play for someone else, but they were great at it,” Kershaw said.

Kershaw signed a one-year, $20 million contract to return to the Dodgers this season. He went 12-3 with a 2.28 ERA in 22 starts and was on the injured list twice last season.

“We would love to have this future Hall of Famer on the hill for us,” U.S. General Manager Tony Ragins said in a statement. “Now we need to turn around and focus on the next player.”