Lee Smith, Baines get the call for Cooperstown

Men's basketball: Top-ranked Zags fall to No. 7 Vols

Harold Baines was given a save as big as any Lee Smith ever posted.

In a vote sure to spark renewed cries of cronyism at Cooperstown, Baines surprisingly was picked for the baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday after never coming close in any previous election.

“Very shocked,” the career .289 hitter said on a conference call.

Smith, who held the major league record for saves when he retired, was an easy pick when the Today's Game Era Committee met at the winter meetings.

It took 12 votes for election by the 16-member panel — Smith was unanimous, Baines got 12 and former outfielder and manager Lou Piniella fell just short with 11.

George Steinbrenner, Orel Hershiser, Albert Belle, Joe Carter, Will Clark, Davey Johnson and Charlie Manuel all received fewer than five votes.

Smith, who has long worked for the Giants as a minor league pitching coach and instructor, and Baines, an All-Star with the A's in 1991, both debuted in Chicago during the 1980 season. Smith began with the Cubs and went on to record 478 saves while Baines started out with the White Sox and had 2,866 hits.

Baines had 384 home runs and 1,628 RBIs in a 22-year career — good numbers, but not stacking up against the greats of his day. He never drew more than 6.1 percent in five elections by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, far from the 75 percent required.

“I wasn't expecting this day to come,” the six-time All-Star said.

The Hall board-appointed panel included longtime White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Tony La Russa, Baines' first big league manager, also was on the panel that elected him.

Baines, now 59, had a smooth, consistent, lefthanded stroke. But he never finished higher than ninth in an MVP vote, and never was among the top five AL hitters in the yearly batting race. His single-season high was 29 home runs at a time when lots of players hit more.

Smith's fastball helped him become a seven-time All-Star in an 18-year-old career. Smith never reached 51 percent in 15 BBWAA elections. Still, he kept believing his day would come.

“I'm pretty patient, though, and I think I waited long enough. But it's sweeter,” he said on a conference call. “You look at those things, well, OK, who's on the ballot this year? Who's on the ballot next year? But I'd never, never, never give up hope." DAVIS JOINES METS » Chili Davis has been hired as hitting coach of the New York Mets after spending last season in the role with the Cubs.

College basketball

NO. 1 ZAGS EDGED » Admiral Schofield hit a 3-pointer with 24 seconds left and scored 25 of his 30 points in the second half, helping No. 7 Tennessee knock off top-ranked Gonzaga 76-73 in the Colangelo Classic.

Tennessee (7-1) jumped on Gonzaga early and fought back from a ninepoint, second-half deficit. Gonzaga (9-1) had two shots at a tying 3-pointer, but Zach Norvell Jr. and Rui Hachimura missed. SANTA CLARA 82, SONOMA STATE 54 » Josip Vrankic and Tahj Eaddy each scored 19 points and the Broncos (4-6) blew the game open in the second half with a 17-9 run to beat Division IImember Sonoma State.

In women's games:

NO. 8 OREGON STATE 82, SANTA CLARA 31» Ashlyn Herlihy scored 10 points for the SCU women, who fell to 5-3. MICHIGAN STATE 88, NO. 3 OREGON 82 » Jenna Allen scored 27 points including a big 3-pointer the final minute to hand the Ducks their first loss. Bay Area native Sabrina Ionescu scored 29 points for Oregon (7-1)

College volleyball

CARDINAL RETURN TO FINAL FOUR » Top-seeded Stanford defeated No. 8 Penn State 3-1 on Saturday night to advance to the semifinals of the NCAA women's tournament for the third year in a row and 22nd time overall.

The Cardinal (32-1) has a 30-match winning streak heading into Thursday's match against No. 4 BYU in Minneapolis. Stanford is seeking a record eighth Division I title. First serve is at 4 p.m. (Pacific) on ESPN.

Saturday, the Cardinal lost the opening set 2518 before rallying. Kathryn Plummer, named the Most Outstanding Player of the Stanford Regional, led the way with 23 kills, 10 digs and three blocks.

Golf

LATE EAGLE SECURES QBE TITLE » Patton Kizzire and Brian Harman won the QBE Shootout, eagling the par-5 17th and closing with a par for a one-stroke victory over Graeme McDowell and Emiliano Grillo. LPGA Tour player Lexi Thompson and Tony Finau had a 65 to finish seventh at 23 under.