Tim Raines a Hall of Famer?
Written by Brennan W., Thursday February 26 2009
With the baseball season just getting underway, and fans anxious for that opening day, I thought I would write an article to mix things up and start a debate. Should Tim Raines, on of the greatest Montreal Expos players in their franchise history be in the Hall of Fame. Here is my perspective, what do you think??
Tim Raines should unequivocally be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Raines has over 800 career stolen bases, seven all-star game selections (1981-1987), over 2,500 hits, a .294 lifetime batting average, and that’s only the beginning. He is the only modern day player not to be selected into Cooperstown with over 1500 runs scored. Raines’s stolen base percentage is 84.7%, the highest in major league history with at least 300 attempts. In comparison, all-time stolen base leader and hall of famer Rickey Henderson had a percentage of 80.8%. As well as his high stealing percentage, Raines led the National League four times in stolen bases and twice in runs scored. You can also add to his repertoire his 1986 National League batting title. Also in 1986, Tim won a Silver Slugger Award and led the National League in on-base percentage. Ohh, and did I mention he had one of the most notable nicknames in the game, the “Rock?”
During Raines’ time with the Montreal Expos, (chosen in the fifth round of the 1977 Amateur Draft by the Expos) though Raines put up some incredible numbers, as a team, the Expos couldn’t finish better than third place in their division (excluding 1981) from 1980 to 1990. The struggles for the Expos as a whole could have lead to the lack of media attention that Raines received during his prime. His team’s failures could have hall of fame voters overlooking the individual talent and success of Raines.
Rickey Henderson, who also debuted in the major leagues the same year as Raines, overshadowed Tim Raines’s talent on the bases. Henderson holds the modern day baseball single-season stolen bases record. In 1982, Henderson stole a total of 130 bases, a record that still stands today. Henderson also holds the all-time stolen bases in a career with 1,406. While Rains was racking up hits and runs in the National League for the Expos, everyone was focused on Henderson in the American League.
Despite setbacks through Ricky Henderson’s success and the Expos lack of success, Raines still managed to show some sign of dedication and success. In 1985, arguably his best year, Raines batted .320, had a .405 on base percentage; he was 70 for 79 in steal attempts, scored 115 runs, hit 30 doubles, 13 triples, and committed just two errors in the outfield. Raines was finally getting some attention by the rest of the baseball world and was fitting in well with the Expos and the major leagues. Though it seemed as if Raines was unstoppable, in 1987, he was placed on the disable list for the first time in his career. Also in 1982, Raines admitted to snorting cocaine before and after games. This admission followed him for the rest of his career and brought negative attention to him. At the near end of his career in 2001, Raines was traded back to the Expos and he made the team in Spring Training that season. But, an early strained neck injury drastically shortened the rest of his season. He finally retired in 2002, after 23 major league seasons.
Though there were many incidents that overshadowed Raines’s baseball career, his numbers and stats do not lie, and they play a big role deciding who gets the call for the hall or not. Tim Raines does have the numbers and proved to be one of the elite players in the history of baseball. He is 100% deserving and should be one of the next two inductees into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010.
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