La Russa explains voting on Baines
LAS VEGAS — Former A’s manager Tony La Russa, now a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame, served on the committee that added one of his former Oakland players to the Hall on Sunday, and he was happy to detail Monday why Harold Baines made the cut.
“Of all the players over the years, Harold was No. 1,” said La Russa, who managed Baines at the Double-A level and with the Chicago White Sox before reuniting with him in Oakland. “He was a certified star at Double-A. The great players slow the game down and he did that all the time in Chicago and Oakland. In Oakland, we were looking for a clutch hitter (in 1990) and that’s when we got Willie McGee and Harold — Harold always had the ability to drive in a big run, and he really helped in Oakland.
“Remember in ’92, after (Dennis Eckersley) had his save streak messed up by Gregg Jefferies, Harold hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to win it. He was a clutch, clutch hitter and if it wasn’t for the (1981 and 1994) strikes, he would have had 3,000 hits.”
Baines’ election drew criticism from many corners after it was announced Sunday night; he finished his 22-year career with 2,866 hits and he was a lifetime .289 hitter, spending much of his career as a DH. Sports Illustrated’s Jay Jaffe called Baines “one of the most baffling and poor Hall of Fame choices in decades” and wrote, “There’s nothing to Baines’ Hall of Fame case beyond his prodigious hit total, and he got there by piling up thousands of plate appearances as a plodding DH who could barely play the field . ... The Hall is supposed to be for the truly special.”
Baines did not receive more than 6.1 percent of the writers’ votes and fell off the ballot in 2011 after five years.
La Russa addressed that Monday, saying, “There’s a lot of discussion, but in the ’80s and ’90s, that’s 20 years, in every category, he was among the top four or five guys, the best in our game.”
La Russa said he and former White Sox hitting coach Charley Lau marveled over Baines’ smooth left-handed swing. “His stroke was so pure and so beautiful,” La Russa said. “Charley thought it was one of the purest all time.”
La Russa guessed that Baines was overlooked during BBWAA voting because he was quiet, rarely providing the media much fodder. As evidence, he mentioned one time in 1984 when Baines hit a monster blast in the 25th inning to win a game for the White Sox. “When the writers came up to him after the game and said, ‘Harold, it appeared you got all of that one,’ his answer was, ‘Evidently,’ ” La Russa said with a laugh. “That’s about as precise as you can be.”
Baines played for Oakland from 1990 through ’92, hitting .274 with 39 homers and 187 RBIs. Susan Slusser is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.