Premier leadoff man Tim Raines, Astros slugger Jeff Bagwell and strong-armed backstop Ivan Rodriguez have been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.Results of the balloting of the Baseball Writers' Association of America were revealed on Wednesday. Raines, Bagwell and Pudge, along with Commissioner Emeritus Bud Selig and Braves vice chairman John Schuerholz, will be inducted July 30 in Cooperstown, N.Y.
At long last it was time for Raines, who got in on his 10th and final year of BBWAA ballot eligibility. Over a career spent with six franchises between 1979-2002, including 13 seasons with the Montreal Expos, the multitalented left fielder became an underrated star. Perfectly cast as a leadoff man, Raines posted a .385 career on-base percentage, ranks fifth all-time in stolen bases (808) and tops the list in success rate among those with at least 400 attempts. Factoring in walks and hit-by-pitches, Raines reached base safely 22 more times than Tony Gwynn (in 127 more plate appearances). Bagwell had to wait until his seventh year on the ballot after an injury-shortened career in which he played his final game at age 37 and finished with 2,314 hits and 449 homers. The four-time All-Star first baseman, who played his entire career with the Astros, was the 1991 National League Rookie of the Year and the '94 NL Most Valuable Player. Out of his intimidating crouched stance, Bagwell produced nine seasons with 30-plus homers and eight with 100-plus RBIs despite spending the majority of his career at the cavernous Astrodome. His adjusted OPS+ of 149 ranks 21st since 1901 (minimum 8,000 plate appearances), and he also stole more bases (202) than any other first baseman in the past 90 years.Rodriguez joins Johnny Bench as the only catchers voted in on their first try, following a decorated 21-year career for six teams. The Puerto Rico native made 14 All-Star teams -- including 10 in a row for the Rangers from 1992-2011 -- won a record 13 Gold Glove Awards and was the 1999 American League MVP. Known most of all for his strong-armed defensive prowess, Rodriguez stopped 46 percent of stolen-base attempts, leading his league in that category nine times. He ranks first among those who were primarily catchers in hits (2,844) and doubles (572) and smacked more than 300 homers, and helped lead the Marlins to a championship in 2003.Andrew Simon / MLB.com
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