Steve Rolen, Offensively Carried - 25

Originally published Jan. 31, 2015

The Penn State Nittany Lions were preparing to play West Virginia in April 1989 and Penn State's Daily Collegian identified Steve Rolen as the player who carried the Mountaineers offensively.

Rolen led the team in average, home runs, RBI, hits and doubles, The Daily Collegian wrote. His .451 average was also best in the conference.

Rolen soon carried himself to the pros, but he could only do so for four seasons. He made high-A, but not AA.

Rolen's career began that year in 1989, taken by the Giants in the 25th round of the draft out of West Virginia.

At West Virginia, Rolen had a double and single in a May 1987 game. In 1989, he hit .425, scoring 46 runs and hitting 12 home runs, all conference highs.

His .425 average in 1989 is still good for fifth all-time at West Virginia. His career .380 average is seventh all-time. His slugging percentage of .828 in 1989 hasn't been beat.

With the Giants, Rolan started at rookie Pocatello. He picked up three hits in an August game. On the year, he hit .330 in 56 games.

He moved to single-A Clinton for 1990. His average, though, dropped to .237 over 77 games.

For 1991, Rolen moved to high-A San Jose. He played the full year there, hitting .255, with five home runs.

He returned to San Jose for 1992, but his season was brief. He played in just 23 games, hitting .282. It was his final season as a pro.

• Penn State Daily Collegian, April 21, 1989: Baseball team, WVU meet in A-10 battle