{"id":12990,"date":"2017-07-31T09:03:10","date_gmt":"2017-07-31T14:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=12990"},"modified":"2017-07-31T09:07:32","modified_gmt":"2017-07-31T14:07:32","slug":"timothy-raines-2-time-mlb-world-series-winner-inducted-to-the-hall-of-fame-in-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=12990","title":{"rendered":"Timothy Raines, 2 TIME MLB WORLD SERIES WINNER, Inducted To The Hall Of Fame In: 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/strong><\/strong>Timothy Raines<\/strong>
\nInducted to the Hall of Fame in: 2017<\/strong>
\nPrimary team: Montreal Expos, TWICE A MLB WORLD SERIES WINNER WITH THE NEW YORK YANKEES<\/strong>
\nPrimary position: Left Fielder<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Tim Raines finished his big league career as the most successful base stealer \u2013 ranked by percentage \u2013 in MLB history.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He is now a part of baseball\u2019s most exclusive club: The one percent of big leaguers who have been elected to the Hall of Fame.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Born Sept. 16, 1959 in Sanford, Fla., Raines was selected in the fifth round of the 1977 amateur draft by the Montreal Expos. During his first full season in the big leagues in 1981, he batted .304 with 71 stolen bases in a strike-shortened campaign \u2013 electrifying fans with his speed. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting, 19th in MVP voting and earned his first All-Star selection.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Raines earned All-Star Game selections in each of his first seven full seasons. He finished in the top 10 in MVP voting three times and won a Silver Slugger and a batting title in 1986 with a .334 average. He led the league in stolen bases from 1981-1984 and in runs scored in 1983 and 1987.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1991, after 13 years in Montreal, Raines was traded to the Chicago White Sox. After five years on the South Side, Raines went to the Yankees and got a taste of postseason success. Raines helped the Bronx Bombers to World Series Championships in 1996 and 1998.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Six months after signing a free agent contract with the Athletics in 1999, Raines was diagnosed with lupus. He spent the rest of the year and all of 2000 undergoing treatment and recovery.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Raines returned to the big leagues in 2001 and played for the Expos, Orioles and Marlins during two his final two seasons. On a minor league rehab assignment for a shoulder injury, Raines and his son, Tim Raines Jr., became the first father-son pair to play against each other in a professional game. Later that year, he played with his son for the Baltimore Orioles.<\/strong><\/p>\n

During his 23-year career, Raines recorded 2,605 hits, 980 RBI and a .294 batting average. He hit better than .320 for three in a row (1985-87) and his 808 stolen bases ranks fifth all-time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tim Raines finished his big league career with the highest percentage of stolen bases of any player with 400-plus steals.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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TIM RAINES IS THE ONLY PLAYER IN BASEBALL HISTORY TO STEAL AT LEAST 70 BASES IN SIX CONSECUTIVE SEASONS (1981-86).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Timothy Raines Sr. (born September 16, 1959), nicknamed “Rock”,<\/sup> is an American professional baseball<\/a> coach and former player. He played as a left fielder<\/a> in Major League Baseball<\/a> for six teams from 1979 to 2002 and was best known for his 13 seasons with the Montreal Expos<\/a>. He is regarded as one of the best leadoff hitters<\/a> and baserunners<\/a> in baseball history.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0In 2013, Raines began working in the Toronto Blue Jays<\/a> organization as a roving outfield and baserunning instructor.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/sup>Raines is the 1986 NL batting champion<\/a>, a seven-time All-Star<\/a>, and four-time stolen base champion<\/a>. He was elected to the Hall of Fame<\/a> on January 18, 2017.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Montreal Expos<\/a> selected Raines in the fifth round of the 1977 Major League Baseball draft<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0After debuting with six games as a pinch runner<\/a> in 1979<\/a>, he played briefly as a second baseman<\/a> for the Expos in 1980<\/a> but soon switched to playing the outfield, and rapidly became a fan favorite due to his aggressiveness on the basepaths. In the strike<\/a>-interrupted 1981<\/a> rookie season, he batted .304 and set a then Major League Baseball rookie record with 71 stolen bases,\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0breaking the previous mark of 56 steals set by Gene Richards<\/a> in 1977.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0Raines was caught stealing for the first time in 1981, after having begun his career with a major league record 27 consecutive successful stolen bases. Raines was the runner-up for the National League’s Rookie of the Year Award<\/a> in 1981, which was won by Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a> pitcher Fernando Valenzuela<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"In 1983<\/a>, Raines stole a career high of 90 bases, the second-highest total in franchise history, and scored 133 runs, a franchise record. He was named Expos Player of the Year<\/a> in 1983, 1985, and 1986. In each season from 1981 to 1986<\/a>, Raines stole at least 70 bases. He had a career-high .334 batting average in 1986, winning the National League Batting Championship<\/a>. Raines maintained a consistently high on-base percentage during this period and a rising slugging percentage, reaching a career peak of .429 in 1987. Although he never won a Gold Glove Award<\/a>, Raines was an excellent defensive player who led the National League with 21 assists<\/a> in 1983 and, with 4 double plays<\/a>, tied for the league lead in double plays by an outfielder in 1985.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Raines became a free agent on November 12, 1986,\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0but in spite of his league-leading play, no team made a serious attempt to sign him.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0(During this period, the Major League Baseball owners acted in collusion<\/a> to keep salaries down.) On May 1, 1987, hours after being permitted to negotiate again with Montreal, Raines signed a new deal with the Expos for $5,000,000 over three years, and a $900,000 signing bonus.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0In his first game back, on May 2, facing the Mets, although Raines had not participated in spring training<\/a> or any other competitive preparation for the season, he hit the first pitch he saw off the right-field wall for a triple. Raines finished the game with four hits in five at-bats, three runs, one walk, a stolen base, and a game-winning grand slam in the 10th inning.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0Even without having played in April, Raines led the Expos in runs, walks, times on base, runs created, and stolen bases, in addition to batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He also garnered MVP honors in the All-Star Game<\/a> as he delivered a game-winning triple in the 13th inning. Raines would, in 1992, be one of dozens of players retroactively awarded collusion damages, receiving over $865,000.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Expos traded Raines to the Chicago White Sox<\/a> on December 20, 1990<\/a>, along with Jeff Carter<\/a> and a player to be named later<\/a> (PTBNL), later identified as Mario Brito, in exchange for Iv\u00e1n Calder\u00f3n<\/a> and Barry Jones<\/a>.<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Raines playing for the Chicago White Sox<\/a>, 1995<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In his first season in the American League<\/a>, Raines hit for a .268 average but with a .359 on-base percentage<\/a>; he was second on the team in runs scored as the White Sox finished the season in second place in the American League Western Division<\/a>. His average improved in 1992<\/a> to .294 with a .380 on-base percentage. In 1993<\/a>, despite missing nearly six weeks in April and May due to a torn ligament in his thumb he suffered while stealing a base, he managed to hit .306 with 16 home runs as the White Sox won the American League Western Division title.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0In the 1993 American League Championship Series<\/a> against the Toronto Blue Jays<\/a>, Raines posted a .444 batting average and scored five runs in a losing cause.<\/strong><\/p>\n

On December 28, 1995, the White Sox traded Raines to the New York Yankees<\/a> for future considerations; in February 1996, the teams agreed on Blaise Kozeniewski as the return.\u00a0With the Yankees, Raines received two World Series rings<\/a> in 1996<\/a>and 1998<\/a>. While his playing time was curtailed due to injuries,\u00a0he contributed to a loose clubhouse atmosphere,\u00a0and was productive when he came up to the plate.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In January 1999, Raines signed as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics<\/a>. After a kidney biopsy on July 23, Raines was diagnosed with lupus<\/a> and spent the rest of the year undergoing treatment and recovery.<\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n

Raines was signed by the Yankees as a free agent on February 1, 2000<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0but was released on March 23.<\/sup>\u00a0On December 21, Raines was signed by the Expos.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>At the Expos home opener in 2001, Raines received what he described as the longest and loudest standing ovation in his entire career, resulting in the pitcher walking him on four pitches.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0With limited playing time, Raines batted .308, with a .433 on-base percentage and a .436 slugging percentage. That same year, he was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Raines underwent surgery on May 31 due to a left shoulder strain, and spent time rehabilitating with the Expos Triple-A club, the Ottawa Lynx<\/a>. On August 21, 2001, Raines and his son, Tim Raines, Jr.<\/a>, became the first father-son pair to play against each other in an official professional baseball game, when the Lynx played theRochester Red Wings<\/a> (the two had faced each other earlier in the year during spring training).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0Raines returned to the major league club on August 22.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Baltimore Orioles Tim Raines Jr., right, and his father Tim Raines of the Montreal Expos meet with the media at the Orioles training camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla .Tuesday, March 6, 2001 prior to a spring training game. Father and son each had an RBI hit in their first at bat in the game.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

On October 3, the Expos traded Raines to the Baltimore Orioles<\/a>, thereby permitting Raines to play a major league game with his son.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0On October 4, Raines, Jr. played center field and Raines, Sr. played left field for Baltimore, becoming the second father and son team to play for the same major league team (a feat previously accomplished by Ken Griffey, Sr.<\/a> and Ken Griffey, Jr.<\/a>).<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/sup>Raines played his last season in 2002<\/a> with the Florida Marlins<\/a>. He is one of only 29 players in baseball history to date to have appeared in Major League baseball games in four decades, and was the last active player who was involved with the Pittsburgh drug trials<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a 23-year career, Raines played in 2,502 games<\/a> accumulating 2,605 hits<\/a> in 8,872 at bats<\/a> for a .294 career batting average along with 170 home runs, 980 runs batted in<\/a>, a .385 on-base percentage<\/a> and a .425 slugging percentage<\/a>. He ended his career with a .988 fielding percentage<\/a>. Raines stole at least 70 bases in each of his first six full seasons (1981\u20131986), leading the National League in stolen bases<\/a> each season from 1981 to 1984, with a career high of 90 steals in 1983. Raines also led the National League in runs scored<\/a> twice (1983 and 1987). Raines batted over .300 in five full seasons and over .320 from 1985 to 1987, winning the 1986 National League batting<\/a> title with a .334 average. He also had six full seasons with an on-base percentage above .390.<\/strong><\/p>\n

With 808 steals in his career, Raines has the fourth-highest total in major league history, behind Rickey Henderson<\/a>, Lou Brock<\/a> and Ty Cobb<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0Until 2008,\u00a0<\/span>His career stolen base percentage (84.7%) was the highest in major league history for players with 300 or more attempts,<\/sup>\u00a0and he was successful on 40 consecutive steal attempts between July 1993 and August 1995, setting an American League record at the time (the record was broken by Ichiro Suzuki<\/a> in May 2007, when he completed 45 consecutive steals).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Among switch hitters, Raines ranks sixth in career hits (2,605), fourth in runs (1,571), walks<\/a> (1,330) and times on base<\/a> (3,977), fifth in plate appearances<\/a> (10,359), seventh in singles<\/a> (1,892), doubles<\/a> (430), total bases<\/a> (3,771) and at bats<\/a> (8,872), eighth in triples<\/a> (113) and tenth in extra base hits<\/a> (713). He holdsExpos\/Washington Nationals<\/a> franchise records for career runs (947), steals (635), singles (1,163), triples (82) and walks (793), and was the seventh player whose career began after 1945 to retire with over 1,500 runs and 100 triples.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0His 1,966 games in left field ranked seventh in major league history when he retired.<\/strong><\/p>\n

From 1983 to 1987, Total Baseball<\/a> rated him as one of the National League’s five best players each season.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0He is also listed as the 40th greatest non-pitcher in major-league history according to Bill James<\/a>‘s win shares<\/a> formula.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Baseball-Reference.com Leader and Record Board Index<\/strong><\/p>\n