#89 Tim Raines

Tim Raines
LF
1978-2002
7 Time All Star
Baseball Hall of Fame

Tim Raines highlights the dangers of the eye test. I started watching baseball around 1990 right around when Raines was exiting his prime, I was kinda dissmissive of his Hall of Fame credentials for a while because that was the Tim Raines I was picturing and he didn't get to 3K hits or any of the automatic numbers,

That discounts just how good Tim Raines was in the 1980s. He seven *straight* All Star teams. Over that stretch he hit .300 five times and won a batting title. He also stole 50 plus bases in all 7 of those seasons and over 70 in 6 of them. He lead the league in stolen bases four times and ended his career #4 on the all time steals list behind Henderson, Brock, and Cobb. Not bad. That should stand too because no one steals bases anymore.

The second act of his career that I had been so dismissive of is not half bad either. He won 2 rings with the Yankees and posted super high OBPs over his career. 

Raines is without question the second greatest leadoff hitter of all time, the only issue for his legacy is he played when the greatest leadoff hitter of all time was playing and sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. He also has the 6th most hits of any switch hitter in the history of the game.

I admit I missed on Tim Raines when he was chasing Cooperstown but they got it right and put him in 2017. 



Anthony Leonelli is a 37 year old College Baseball Coach and amateur baseball arguer. If you wanna know how this list came together check here criteria. He thinks that George Brett winning batting titles in 3 decades is pretty awesome. 


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