The Curios Case of Harold Baines and his election to the MLB Hall of Fame

I'm a big Harold Baines guy with him being a top 10 all-time favorite for me.  That being said his election to the Hall of Fame has me conflicted.  Baines, who was dropped off the writer's ballot after only five years maxed out at 6.1% of the vote in 2010.  That tells you there never was much of an argument for him.  He was an excellent hitter but really didn't bring much else to the table.  He did lead the league in slugging one year but power really wasn't his deal (he did finish his career with 384 homers).  He played 22 years, much of it at DH which is an obvious knock on him in the eyes of most voters (though I think that view is changing).   

When I watched him play back in the day I just never thought "this guy is a Hall of Fame guy".  Again he was an excellent hitter.  You don't get 2,866 hits and a career .289/.356/.489 slash line over a career without being very good.  Unfortunately he is now the center of the argument about how these guys get in and the "good ole boy network".  And that bugs me that he'll always be thought of in that way - he's that guy.  You won't talk about how great a player he is but how he got in.  I'm still happy for him but I too will forever look at this and wince a little.

The story behind the Harold Baines autographed card above can be found here.

Lee Smith of course loses out in all this as well.  He at least received up to 50% of the vote in his days being voted on by the writers but the Baines narrative has overshadowed that some.  I think there is a strong argument for him and think he is deserving.  How the closer has been looked upon of course affected the voting for him.  I'm happy to see Lee Smith get in the Hall of Fame. 

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!