National Post (National Edition)
HALL OF FAMER
IN HIS FINAL YEAR OF ELIGIBILITY, FORMER EXPOS STAR TIM RAINES WINS BASEBALL’S HIGHEST HONOUR.
ExposNation is already making plans to invade Cooperstown, N.Y., on July 30 when Tim Raines is officially inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The former Expo made it into the Hall of Fame during his 10th and final year of eligibility, receiving 86 per cent of votes from more than 400 members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. It was announced Wednesday that Raines will be joined by Astros great Jeff Bagwell and all-star catcher Ivan Rodriguez in the Class of 2017.
Raines is expected to be only the third player to enter the Hall of Fame wearing an Expos cap, following Gary Carter (2003) and Andre Dawson (2010).
“Just to know, being a part of Montreal for 13 years and seeing the support that Montreal fans and the country of (Canada) have given me is nothing but unbelievable,” Raines said during an interview with MLB.com shortly after the announcement. “Just to know that now that I’m in the Hall of Fame there’s going to be a lot of proud people in Canada.”
Two other former Expos — pitchers Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson — were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015, but Martinez wore a Boston Red Sox cap and Johnson wore an Arizona Diamondbacks cap. ExposNation filled two buses that year for the six-hour trip to Cooperstown to cheer on Martinez and Johnson. The non-profit corporation that promotes the return of Major League Baseball to Montreal is hoping to fill four buses this summer to cheer on Raines in Cooperstown.
“He’s undeniably a Hall of Fame player,” said Sportsnet’s Jeff Blair, who covered Raines and the Expos for the Montreal Gazette from 198997.
Baseball writer Jonah Keri, author of a book on the Expos titled Up, Up, & Away, was one of the leaders in the push to get Raines into the Hall of Fame. “There’s no question that he deserves it,” Keri said. “He was a great player and a great person and good for him.”
Joining Raines in Cooperstown this year are:
Jeff Bagwell: 86.2 per cent of the vote. Bagwell recorded 449 home runs and 1,529 RBI over 15 seasons and was National League MVP of the strike-shortened 1994 season.
Ivan Rodriguez: 76 per cent of the vote. Rodriguez was the 1999 American League MVP, putting up 311 home runs and a .296 career batting average while playing the demanding position of catcher for 21 seasons, most with the Texas Rangers.