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The implausible Hall of Fame member Harold Baines

By Bill Felber

TORONTO, CANADA - APRIL 15: Assistant hitting coach Harold Baines of the Chicago White Sox during batting practice before an MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 15, 2013 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. All uniformed team members are wearing jersey number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA - APRIL 15: Assistant hitting coach Harold Baines of the Chicago White Sox during batting practice before an MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 15, 2013 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. All uniformed team members are wearing jersey number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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Harold Baines’ Hall of Fame election isn’t justifiable by any standard other than cronyism

If the Hall of Fame voting system historically has been criticized for one thing, it’s been cronyism…the notion that panelists favor their friends.

With announcement Sunday by the Today’s Game committee of the election to the Hall of Fame of former Chicago White Sox and Texas Ranger Harold Baines, that scrutiny is certain to be revisited.

The 16-person committee that elected Baines – and Lee Smith – included Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, one of Baines’ managers, Tony LaRussa, a former GM Pat Gillick, and a former teammate, Roberto Alomar. As a bloc, they provided one-third of the dozen votes needed for election on the 16-person committee. Logically, all four could have been disqualified from consideration of Baines due to conflicts of interest

Cronyism is a fair basis for criticism of the Baines choice, but his election can also be criticized on its merits. He was a career .289 hitter with 2,866 hits, but both of those numbers – while superficially impressive – look less imposing when viewed in context. Baines accumulated his hits across a span of 22 seasons, meaning he averaged just 130 hits per season.

But the surest way to measure the legitimacy of Baines’ selection is by comparison with his contemporaries. The record book is choc-a-block with expansion-era outfielders/DHs with good offensive credentials who have not been elected… and in most cases who are not close to election. Here’s a table of how Baines ranks for career OPS and career WAR compared with several of those players.

  • Name/Career OPS/Career WAR
  • Larry Walker/.965/72.7
  • Dwight Evans/.840/67.1
  • Reggie Smith/.855/64.6
  • Gary Sheffield/.907/60.5
  • Bobby Abreu/.870/60.0
  • Dale Murphy/.815/46.5
  • Tony Oliva/.830/43.1
  • Albert Belle/.933/40.1
  • Harold Baines/.820/38.7
  • Joe Carter/.771/19.6

Of the 10 names on that list, only one – Carter – ranks below Baines in either of those primary value-related categories. Albert Belle, who ranks above Baines in both, was on the same ballot, but was bypassed. So even excluding the fact that most of the above names could not actually have been elected on Sunday, Baines’ election ahead of Belle isn’t justified by the numbers.

The reality is that all the names on the above list have been rejected by Hall voters across several previous elections.  How is Baines in if they’re out?

The argument could be made that even though Baines’ career numbers may lag, his peak play puts him in. Except it doesn’t. Here’s the table for the same players substituting each one’s best five-season average OPS and WAR for career figures

  • Name/Peak OPS/Peak WAR
  • Larry Walker/1.088/30.0
  • Dwight Evans/.879/23.8
  • Reggie Smith/.873/26.9
  • Gary Sheffield/.989/25.9
  • Bobby Abreu/.948/29.7
  • Dale Murphy/.920/26.4
  • Tony Oliva/.857/26.5
  • Albert Belle/1.031/27.0
  • Harold Baines/.817/15.1
  • Joe Carter/.778/13.5

Again, with the exception of Carter, Baines has the worst peak numbers of any player on the list…including one payer (Belle) was a candidate opposite Baines.

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While there are plenty with their own reasons for why Harold Baines should not be in the Hall of Fame, it’s hard to find the reasons why he should certainly be in, outside of “a little help from his friends.”

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