Harold Baines Autographed 1981 Topps Card

Harold Baines is another favorite player of mine whom I've gotten an autograph.  This was on his 1981 Topps rookie card.  I believe I tried getting more autographs through the mail but it wasn't always successful so the Baines and Zane Smith cards are the only autographed cards I have.  This card is cool.  It is his rookie card and to have his autograph on it makes it one of my favorite cards. 

 

Baines was a great hitter and has been brought up in Hall of Fame discussions but I can't say myself that he deserves induction.  I did think he deserve more votes than the 6.1% he topped out at in Hall of Fame voting. There is no denying he was great with the bat.  He finished with 2866 hits, a .289 batting average and was a six time all-star. He also batted .324 in eight post season series to include a World Series appearance with the Oakland A's.  He never excelled at defense and ended up playing DH a good part of his career.  Those two things definitely work against him when looking at his overall career in a hall of fame discusson.  Still 2866 hits!