Apparently, some sort of information-repelling barrier was erected at the Canadian border back in the '80s that prevented word of Raines' brilliance from reaching the American mainland. And this Hall of Fame election is going to prove it.
It's going to prove it because Raines has no prayer of getting elected, for one regrettable reason: He was doing his greatest work in a time and place (i.e., Montreal) where hardly anybody actually saw it.
But go back. Take a look at this man's career. This, friends, is what a Hall of Fame leadoff hitter looked like.
How multifaceted was Tim Raines? Over the seven seasons from 1982 to '88, he led the National League in singles, doubles, triples and walks. Now think about what it is you'd like your leadoff hitter to do. Get on base, right? Well, this fellow was better at reaching base every single way you could reach it (outside of catcher's interference, maybe) than anyone else in his league.
You'd also want your leadoff hitter to be able to steal a base, don't you think? So how about this: Not only was Tim Raines the only player in history to swipe at least 70 bases six years in a row, he stole 808 bases in his day while compiling the best SB percentage of all time (84.7 percent).
Beyond that, he was an above-average defender, a leader on every team he played on and a player ranked by Bill James as the greatest leadoff hitter in history not named Rickey Henderson. And, if you're still not convinced, chew on these three factoids:
• Raines is one of only two players in history with 500 stolen bases, 150 homers and a career on-base percentage over .375. The other: Barry Bonds.
• He's one of only four left fielders whose on-base percentage was at least 50 points higher than the average player of his era. The others: Bonds, Henderson and Carl Yastrzemski.
• And, finally, instead of counting hits the way we do with other candidates, let's count times on base, considering we're talking about a leadoff man. Well, Raines reached base more times (3,977) than Tony Gwynn, Honus Wagner, Lou Brock, Roberto Clemente or Richie Ashburn. And there isn't a single eligible player who reached base as many times as Raines did and had as high an on-base percentage (.385) who isn't in the Hall of Fame.
Until now, anyway. But one of these days, if there's any justice, that will change.
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