Raines, Bagwell, Pudge ready for Hall of Fame

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. » Tim Raines played in the major leagues for more than two decades, and yet one at-bat still sticks in his mind.

Nervous about making the Montreal Expos’ roster after two brief callups that didn’t work out so well (one hit in 20 atbats), his performance on Opening Day 1981 in Pittsburgh erased any doubt. Raines led off the game with a walk, stole second on the first pitch to the next batter and scored after the errant throw to second eluded the outfielders. A star was born. “I think that was the beginning of the type of player Tim Raines could be,” Raines recalled. “It kind of got me going. I think if I would have struck out and not do anything offensively that game, I’m not sure what would have happened to my career. I hadn’t really proven to anyone what type of player that I was. It kind of just took off from there.”

His baseball journey ends Sunday in Cooperstown, when the 57-yearold Raines will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Joining him are Jeff Bagwell and Ivan Rodriguez, along with former Commissioner Bud Selig and retired Kansas City and Atlanta executive John Schuerholz, both elected by a veterans committee.

Raines received 86 percent of the vote by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America to easily top the 75 percent threshold needed. That tally came on his final year on the ballot, an oversight that’s difficult to fathom in retrospect.

The switch-hitting Raines batted .294 and had a .385 on-base percentage in his 23-year career, finishing with 2,605 hits, 1,571 runs and 808 stolen bases.

The stolen bases is the fifth-highest total in major league history and includes 70 or more steals in each season from 1981 to 1986, a streak that stands alone in baseball history.

Rodriguez, who holds the major league records for games caught (2,427) and putouts by a catcher (12,376), hit 311 homers and batted .296 in his career. No surprise that he’s only the second catcher elected on the first ballot, following in the footsteps of his childhood idol, former Cincinnati Reds star Johnny Bench.

In 21 seasons spent mostly with the Texas Rangers, Rodriguez was a 14-time All-Star, won a record 13 Gold Gloves and took home seven Silver Slugger awards.

“I think I just prepared myself,” said the 45-yearold Rodriguez, affectionately known as “Pudge.” “I’m talking about blocking thousands of balls, making thousands of throws to second base, trying to throw the ball to the right side of the base.

The 48-year-old Bagwell, who played his entire 15-year career with the Houston Astros, was elected in his seventh year on the ballot. He’s the only first baseman in history with 400 career home runs and 200 stolen bases.