Final Card Friday: 2001 Harold Baines

I’ve got some serious empathy for Harold Baines. Here’s a guy who quietly and courageous produced at a highly professional level for 22 years. He never had a scandal and by all accounts was an excellent teammate. In many ways, he was the opposite of Manny Machado. He made six All-Star teams and collected 2,866 career hit with a .286 average. Yet, since his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, he’s been trashed in the press and on social media.

Was Harold Baines the best outfielder of his generation? No. Is he a questionable Hall of Fame choice? Undoubtedly. However, he does have merit and deserves serious consideration. A few weeks ago, I wrote a Final Card Friday post on Rabbit Maranville. In it I wrote the following about Harold Baines:

Compared with other professional Halls of Fame, the Baseball Hall of Fame is one of the most challenging to make. Though mistakes have been made in the past (and present), it is an excellent representation of the greats of the game. However, for those who think Baines’s election is the biggest mistake, I urge you to look into Frankie Frisch’s Veterans Committee from 1967-1972 and Waite Hoyt’s Veterans Committee from 1971-1976.  Those two committees elected nine players less deserving than Baines. Harold Baines’s basic statistical line reads: .289 average 2,866 hits 384 home runs 34 stolen bases. Here are nine players I deem less deserving than Baines:

Harry Hooper: .281 average 2,466 hits 75 home runs 375 stolen bases

Lefty Gomez: 189 wins – 103 losses 3.34 ERA

Joe Kelly: .317 average 2,220 hits 65 home runs 443 stolen bases

Freddie Lindstrom: .311 average 2,866 hits 193 home runs 34 stolen bases

Lloyd Waner: .316 average 2,459 hits 27 home runs 67 stolen bases

Jesse Haines: 210 wins – 158 losses 3.64 ERA

Dave Bancroft: .279 average 2,004 hits 32 home runs 145 stolen bases

Chick Hafey: .317 average 1,466 hits 164 home runs 20 stolen bases

Ross Youngs: .322 average 1,491 hits 42 home runs 153 stolen bases

I understand why many people are irked with Baines’s induction. I read several of them on the APBA Baseball Facebook page. First, there are SEVERAL better players who aren’t in…yet. That list includes Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Gary Sheffield, Manny Ramirez, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and Rafael Palmeiro. Of course all of the aforementioned players are tainted by PEDs. Harold Baines was not. Baines was also a lesser player than fellow DH, Edgar Martinez, who hopefully will be inducted in 2019. Second, his stats aren’t that great and he never reached any impressive statistical milestones. In 22 seasons, he failed to reach 3,000 hits or 400 home runs. A .289 average, 384 homers, and 2,866 are Hall of Famer stats…for a middle infielder. They just don’t measure up for an outfielder/designated hitter with his longevity. Finally, Baines doesn’t have any iconic, hall-worthy moments. He never had a legendary MVP season. Nor did he ever produce a classic postseason performance. Harold Baines’s best attribute was his consistency. For most of his career, you could count on him to hit close to .300 with 20+ home runs and a good number of RBIs.

Harold Baines’s final APBA card is disappointing but accurate. For the season, the 42-year old Baines only managed a .131 average. This card, which I borrowed from Steve’s APBA Card Computer, should produce a .127 average…with no power, but a slim chance of a double. As was the case for the last 15 seasons of his career, Baines was used exclusively as a DH in 2001. By the time Harold was 28, he’d had eight surgeries on his right knee. This, obviously, affected is career WAR for the remainder of his career. If Baines had maintained his Outfielder (3) abilities into his 30s, I wonder if the debate about his induction would be so fierce. There’s no doubt he, like many other DHs, have been hurt by not contributing in the field.

I hope the induction of Harold Baines gives new hope to more deserving players like Lou Whitaker, Bobby Grich, and Ted Simmons. Does it also open the door wider for Dale Murphy, Tony Oliva, Dave Parker, and Fred McGriff? How about Dwight Evans and Reggie Smith? Time will tell. I had the pleasure of seeing Baines play in person early in his career. My 12-year old eyes felt like I was watching a Hall of Famer when I saw him hitting home runs and making graceful catches in old Comiskey Park and Tiger Stadium. I was able to see him play several times a year in television and I was always impressed. Those feelings came back when I replayed the 1984 Detroit Tigers season. Baines hit well against the Tigers in that replay and I’ve always been impressed with his card that season. The card below is the Harold Baines I remember. It’s typical of the consistency he showed in many of his seasons. It’s the Harold Baines that’s going into the Hall of Fame, whether people like it or not. To be honest, I’m fine with it. It’s nice to see one of the good guys get his due, for one.