Just for fun, here's a comparison between Rolen and Nomar. Different positions, but played basically in the same time frame.
Career
- Nomar: 14 years, 1,434 g, 6,116 PA, 927 r, 370 2b, 229 hr, 936 rbi, .313/.361/.521/.882, 124 ops+, 44.3 bWAR (.031 bWAR per game)
- Rolen: 17 years, 2,038 g, 8,518 PA, 1,211 r, 517 2b, 316 hr, 1,287 rbi, .281/.364/.490/.855, 122 ops+, 70.1 bWAR (0.34 bWAR per game)
Avg per 162 games
- Nomar: 691 pa, 105 r, 42 2b, 26 hr, 106 rbi, .313/.361/.521/.882, 124 ops+, 5.0 bWAR
- Rolen: 677 pa, 96 r, 41 2b, 25 hr, 102 rbi, .281/.364/.490/.855, 122 ops+, 5.6 bWAR
Best season
- Nomar (2000): 599 pa, 51 2b, 21 hr, .372/.434/.599/1.033, 156 ops+, 7.4 bWAR
- Rolen (2004): 593 pa, 32 2b, 34 hr, .314/.409/.598/1.007, 158 ops+, 9.2 bWAR
Peak four years
- Nomar (1997-2000): 2,528 pa, 174 2b, 113 hr, .337/.386/.577/.963, 142 ops+, 27.7 bWAR
- Rolen (2001-2004): 2,570 pa, 149 2b, 118 hr, .288/.381/.530/.911, 137 ops+, 24.8 bWAR
Peak seven years
- Nomar (1997-2003): 4,083 pa, 270 2b, 169 hr, .325/.372/.557/.929, 135 ops+, 41.1 bWAR
- Rolen (1998-2004): 4,329 pa, 254 2b, 201 hr, .287/.380/.532/.912, 134 ops+, 41.7 bWAR
Awards
- Nomar
- ROY: 1
- All-star: 6
- MVP: 0
- Top 10 MVP: 5
- Top 13 MVP: 7
- Gold Gloves: 0
- Silver Slugger: 2
- Rolen
- ROY: 1
- All-star: 7
- MVP: 0
- Top 10 MVP: 1
- Top 13 MVP: 1
- Gold Gloves: 8
- Silver Slugger: 1
Postseason stats
- Nomar: 127 pa, .321/.386/.589/.975
- Rolen: 159 pa, .220/.302/.376/.678
I mean, the bat edge goes to Nomar. The fielding edge goes to Rolen. Rolen compiled a lot more numbers because he played longer and, even though he dealt with his own injuries, was healthier than Nomar. But that matters, and that counts. Health is a factor. You don't get credit for games you don't play, and Rolen was on the field more and thus earned those numbers.
I mean, it's pretty close, right? Nomar at his peak was every bit as good as Rolen. But Nomar fell off the HOF ballot in his second year, after receiving just 30 votes in his first year (he received just 8 votes his second year).
In terms of fielding, which is where Rolen has the edge, the key is that Rolen was more *consistent* than Nomar. But here are their five best fielding seasons by fielding bWAR:
Nomar: 2.5 (2002), 2.0 (1997), 1.9 (1998), 1.6 (2000), 1.5 (2003) = 9.5 over those five years (1.90 per year)
Rolen: 3.3 (2004), 1.8 (2006), 1.8 (1999), 1.6 (2005), 1.4 (1998) = 9.9 over those five years (1.98 per year)
Negligible difference when both were playing their best defense. Keep in mind that it's easier to play 3b as you age than it is to play SS as you age, as range is far less of an issue. Nonetheless, I'll happily give Rolen the edge in fielding, though I will just say that at their best, the difference was very small between the two of them defensively.
Anyway, this isn't super relevant to this year's HOF ballot. I was just curious to compare Nomar with Rolen. It's kind of amazing to me that Rolen will likely get in while Nomar got dropped after year two on the ballot, even though they were both similar quality players.