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For most of his career, Tim Raines was overshadowed by Rickey Henderson. Monday, it happened again. Just as Rickey was cruising to his enshrinement as easily as he could swipe second base, "Rock" Raines was snubbed by more than 3/4ths of the electorate (22.6 percent, to be exact, cast a vote for him).If not for Henderson, Raines would have been remembered as the best leadoff man of his generation, and he most certainly would have received more than 22.6 percent of the Hall of Fame vote this season.
Raines' individual case isn't necessarily open-and-shut, but many people believe he should be in. I am one of them. His career .385 on-base percentage is absolutely sparkling, and he stole 808 bases -- placing him fifth on the all-time list. He compiled 2,605 hits, and when you add that to his 1,330 walks, you have a guy who got on base more times than Tony Gwynn.
You could argue that he didn't get near as much credit in the '80s as he would nowadays because of the recent emphasis on OBP. I find it quite impressive that he routinely walked much more than he struck out, displaying a true grasp of the strike zone and working the count like any great leadoff man should. In the field, Raines was above average as well. He finished in the top 10 in MVP voting three times and was a seven-time all-star.
The case for Rickey certainly dwarfs the one for Raines, and that's probably why he's not as well respected as he should be. As the years pass by, it's possible Raines will pick up steam. He should be encouraged by the admission of Jim Rice, instead of discouraged by the unbelievably low percentage of votes he accrued in his second time around on the ballot.
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