He played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, and Cincinnati Reds from 1996 to 2012.

[2] After a flurry of scholarship offers came in from schools like Oklahoma State and the University of Alabama, Rolen ultimately committed to playing college basketball for the Georgia Bulldogs.

Rolen told reporters after the draft that he hoped he could forge a deal that would allow him to play for the Phillies farm system in the summer and on the Georgia basketball team in the winter.

[7] While his offensive metrics in Spartanburg were strong, batting .295 with 10 home runs, 30 doubles, and 61 RBIs by the last week of August, Rolen's 35 defensive errors in that same span caused concern among sports analysts.

Manager Roy Majtyka defended Rolen's defensive performance, saying, "I've seen bad hops that hit him in the head be ruled an error.

"[8] Rolen was named Spartanburg's Most Valuable Player after batting .294 with 14 home runs and 72 RBIs, but he "wasn't satisfied with anything [he] did", telling reporters after the season, "I need to improve my entire game.

[13][14] He was activated from the disabled list on June 6, hitting two home runs against the Brevard County Manatees in his first game back after the injury.

[16] After hitting .290 with ten home runs and 39 RBIs in 238 at bats in Clearwater, Rolen was promoted to the Double-A Reading Phillies of the Eastern League on August 16.

[6] Rather than promoting Rolen directly to the major leagues, the Phillies chose to keep him in Reading for the start of the 1996 season, with Todd Zeile playing third base in Philadelphia.

[19] Rolen's promotion coincided with a difficult stretch for the Phillies, and the team began planning at the end of June to call him up to Philadelphia after the All-Star Game break.

[23] What should have been Rolen's rookie season came to a premature end on September 7, when he suffered a fractured right ulna after being hit by a pitch from Steve Trachsel in a 4–2 Philadelphia victory over the Chicago Cubs.

Had Rolen not fractured his arm in his final plate appearance, he would have been considered a 1996 rookie, but a hit by pitch does not count as an at bat, thus preserving his eligibility for the following season.

Only Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson (16) and Mike Schmidt (10), plus current Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (10) have more at third base.

[28] Instead, on July 29, 2002, Philadelphia traded Rolen and Doug Nickle to the St. Louis Cardinals for Plácido Polanco, Mike Timlin, and Bud Smith.

On September 15, 2006, Rolen set a personal record for RBIs in a game with 7 in a 14–4 win against the San Francisco Giants, hitting two home runs.

[31] On July 31, 2009, Rolen was traded to the Cincinnati Reds along with cash considerations for Edwin Encarnación, Josh Roenicke and Zach Stewart.

[31] On July 15, 2011, he became the fourth third baseman ever to have 2,000 hits, 500 doubles, 300 home runs and 1,200 RBIs, along with Mike Schmidt, George Brett, and Chipper Jones.

[45] Rolen ended his career with the 2012 National League Division Series, where a groundball error in Game 3 scored the go-ahead run for the San Francisco Giants when the Reds were one win away from the NLCS.

The scope of the foundation was intentionally left broad to give the flexibility to respond to a wide range of personal circumstances.

Externally, the Enis Furley Foundation is active in community outreach programs, "Hot Corner Kids," and the construction of outdoor retreats, such as "Camp Emma Lou" (named after another one of Rolen's dogs).