Washington Nationals Pre-History: Tim Raines Not Elected To Hall Of Fame

On his second to last year on the ballot, former Expo Tim Raines was not elected to the Baseball Hall Of Fame

Today is the day that a new class was elected to the Baseball Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown, New York by the BBWAA (Baseball Writer’s Association of America). Even though there are no Washington Nationals players in the Hall, there was one prominent former Expo on the ballot, Tim Raines.

In his 9th season on the ballot, Raines fell just short of being elected into the Hall Of Fame. Raines got 69.8% of the vote from the writers (75% is needed in order to be elected). He has one year of eligibility remaining on the ballot. This year, the two players that were elected into the Hall Of Fame were outfielder Ken Griffey Jr (99.3%). and catcher Mike Piazza (83%). Griffey Jr. was on all but three ballots and received the highest percentage of votes ever. Here are the rest of the voting totals:

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Raines was picked in the fifth round of the 1977 MLB Draft by the then Montreal Expos. He spent 13 of his 23 seasons with the Expos and made seven All-Star teams (1981-1987). He had a career slash line of .301/.391/.437 with 96 home runs, 556 RBI’s, and 635 stolen bases in Montreal.

Raines won the National League batting title in 1986 by hitting (.334), one of four seasons in which he hit over .300. While Raines had a high batting average, he was known for his speed. He led the NL in stolen bases from 1981-1984 and finished fifth all-time in stolen bases with 808. The only four people ahead of him are Ty Cobb, William Hamilton, Lou Brock, and Rickey Henderson.

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The switch-hitting left fielder would also play for the Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, and the Florida Marlins during his career. Raines was part of two World Series Championship teams when he was with the Yankees (1996 and 1998), but he never played in more than 109 games in a season with New York.

Next year, there will be another prominent former Expo on the ballot as Vladimir Guerrero will be eligible for the Hall of Fame for the first time. With Raines so close to 75%, he has a good chance to be elected next year in his last year. Earlier today, in the IBWAA vote (Internet Baseball Writers Association of America), Griffey Jr. and his Mariners’ teammate, designated hitter Edgar Martinez, were entered into their Hall Of Fame. Raines has already been elected by the internet baseball writers.