Tim Raines and Rickey Henderson both debuted in 1979. By 1982 Raines and Henderson redefined the lead off position. From about 1982-1987 both men set new standards for lead off hitters in the National and American Leagues. Henderson gets all the accolades from that era, but Raines was every bit as dangerous at the top of the Montreal Expos lineup. From 1981-1986, Raines stole 454 bases. That’s an average of over 75 stolen bases per season. During that period Raines posted a .307 BA and a .391 OBP. Raines ended his career with 808 stolen bases, a career BA of .294, and a career OBP of .385.
Pros – Raines’ Hall of Fame talent was on display for 23 years. He spent the entire decade of the 80s leading off for the Montreal Expos. From 1979-1990 he was the catalyst was some very talented Expos teams. Raines and the Expos were shut out of a postseason opportunity in 1994. Raines joined a White Sox team that was in first place before the labor stoppage. The Expos were leading the NL at the time. Raines won two World Series rings with the Yankees in 1996 and 1998. Raines dominated a critical lineup position for excellent Expos, White Sox, and Yankees lineups. He made seven straight All Star appearances from 1981-1987 with the Expos.
Cons – Raines has some personal baggage to overcome. During the Pittsburgh drug trials in the early 1980s, Raines testified that he kept a gram of coke in his uniform pocket, snorted during games, and made a point of sliding head-first so as not to break the vial. After his tenure in Montreal, Raines was up and down with injuries during long periods of his career. He lacks the huge milestone. He finished with 2,605 career hits, and after posting historic stolen base numbers, he slowed down considerably to finish with 808 steals.
HOF Prognosis – Raines has this year and next year to qualify for the Hall. He finished last year with his highest vote percentage with 55%. He has the next two ballots to add 20 percentage points to his total. The 2016 ballot includes Ken Griffey Jr. and Trevor Hoffman. Raines finished just behind Mike Piazza and Jeff Bagwell among the remaining candidates. Whether or not Raines makes the Hall might just depend on his timing as much as much as his talent.
There really is not a question about Raines’ talent. Like many players who rely on their legs for so much of their game Raines inevitably slowed down. His first decade of MLB play is definitely worthy of HOF consideration. But Raines was much more than just a lead off hitter. He hit consistently and with power. His .425 slugging percentage was a nice complement to his career batting average and on base percentage.
Raines compares very favorably to Hall of Fame lead off man Lou Brock:
- Raines has a higher stolen base success rate (84.7 percent) than either Rickey Henderson (80.8 percent) or Brock (75.3 percent).
- Raines finished with a .385 career on base percentage, to Brock’s .343.
- Raines amassed 1,330 walks and only 966 strikeouts. Brock, in contrast, walked 761 times and struck out 1,730 times.
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