Tim Raines is a guy who was on his final year of HOF
eligibility but also deserves his place among the game’s best. It wasn’t until about 8 years ago that I got
on the Tim Raines train. If you are a stats
driven guy like myself you can get too
caught up in players not reaching the “automatic thresholds” for players
getting in to the HOF. His stats line looks
like this: 2605 hits, 808 stolen bases
(5th all-time), .294 BA, and .385 OBP. Raines could get on base and when he did he
wasn’t afraid to run. A seven time
all-star he led the league four times (’81 to ’84) in steals and is 13th
all-time in steals percentage. He also
scored himself a batting title in 1986 with a .334 batting average (also led
the league in OBP that year at .413). But
don’t stop there. His batting average
and on base percentage coupled with his 2605 hits make him a no brainer. Again I was slow to jumping on his band wagon
but I’d drive it now if asked. Raines
also won a ring with the Yankees in 1996 and it is always great to see the all-time
greats get one. Raines was fun to watch
and it will be even more fun to see him enter the HOF this year.
Ivan Rodriguez was a guy you just knew was a
hall of famer when he played. His
defense coupled with his outstanding hitting skills made this a slam dunk for
me. Voters thought the same thing
electing him his first time on the ballet.
Rodriquez finished with 2844 hits, 311 homeruns, 1332 RBIs, a .296 BA,
and .334 OBP. He was the AL MVP in 1999
and an all-star 14 times. He picked up a
World Series ring his one year with the Florida Marlins in 2003. As good a hitting catcher as he was he was best
known for his arm and his defense. He
was a 13 time gold glove winner and is also the all-time leader in games played
at catcher. His resume speaks for itself
but again I’ll say that while he played you just knew he was going to be
enshrined one day.
Saturday, February 4, 2017
2017 MLB Hall of Fame Inductees
MLB Hall of Fame (HOF) inductees have been named and I am a
huge fan so I look forward to these announcements each year. Jeff Bagwell was one of those guys who was
always on the cusp of my HOF radar.
Loved him as a player but was never quite sure he was there. While total numbers may not quite pass the
test you have to look at him as a total hitter from his 15 years in the
league. He was nothing short of a stud. 2314 hits, 449 homeruns, 1529 RBIs, 202 stolen
bases, .297 BA, .408 OBP, .540 SLG.
Bagwell was a four-time all-star and the 1994 NL MVP. He was a guy who all pitchers were scared of
and was a main cog of the Houston Astros
offense that powered their great run from ’98 to ’05 during which they
lost the World Series to the Chicago White Sox.
I’m on board with him getting into the Hall of Fame. The more you look at his numbers you see how
dominant and consistent he was. Great to
see him make it.
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I was glad to see all three of these guys make it in. Next up... another Expo. Vlad the Impaler.
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