Raines still getting used to new title as Hall of Famer

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Tim Raines has been involved in baseball for more than 40 years, including 15 years now since he last played a game. Wherever he goes, wherever he's introduced, he's greeted warmly and viewed as one of the best players of his generation.

But there's been a new wrinkle to the process in the last two months. Or, more accurately, three new words added in front of his name.

He's no longer simply "Tim Raines." He's now (and forever) known as "Hall of Famer Tim Raines," as he was introduced yesterday to the crowd at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.

For Raines, who was elected to the Hall in January and will be inducted in July, this still requires some getting used to.

"I thought as a player when you win a world championship, you've kind of reached the pinnacle," he said. "But when that phone rings, it really surpassed that. Sure, you're going to be remembered as a world champion, but everybody don't know all the players that played on those teams. When you're inducted to the Hall of Fame, you're forever going to be remembered as one of the greatest to ever play the game. And not that I as a player felt like it was that important to me. But now that it's set and done, everything is over, and to be named as one of the best that ever played is something that ... it's just hard to describe. It's hard to put in words. But it's awesome. It's an awesome thing."

Raines had waited an awfully long time to get that call from the Hall. He was in his 10th and final season of eligibility for election among tenured members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, having needed the full decade to amass the 75 percent support required.

That made for some tense times along the way.

"For the first eight years, I was kind of like on the fence, wasn't sure if it was going to happen, or if it should or if it shouldn't," he said. "I didn't really think about it that much. But last year after I got close to 70 percent, I felt like the chance was a much greater one, but I really had a legitimate chance of making it this year. And thank god it all worked out."

Raines, who now works for the Blue Jays, was at the Nationals-Mets game yesterday in conjunction with a joint health supplement brand he is now promoting (Osteo Bi-Flex). The 57-year-old doesn't move around as well as he did during a 23-year career that included 808 stolen bases in 954 attempts (the highest success rate in major league history) but he appreciates those who have taken up his mantle as the best baserunners in today's game.

That includes Nationals shortstop Trea Turner, whom Raines has admired since he first saw him play with Triple-A Syracuse last season while coaching players with the Blue Jays' top affiliate in Buffalo.

"He's the kind of guy that I liked working with, because he kind of reminds me a little bit of myself," Raines said. "Probably has a little more power than me. So much of what I used to do as a player, I enjoy watching that as well as trying to teach it. He definitely caught my eye. ... Kind of looking forward to seeing how well he develops."

Raines' pending Hall of Fame induction will be a little bittersweet, because his plaque will feature him wearing the cap of a team that no longer exists: the Expos. The Nationals have made an effort to honor the legacies of the best players from their franchise history, and they will be hosting Raines for a game in D.C. this summer, at which time his name is expected to be added to the façade behind home plate that already includes former Expos teammates and fellow Hall of Famers Andre Dawson and Gary Carter.

"I think it's always bittersweet," said Raines, who was a seven-time All-Star while playing in Montreal from 1979-90. "You're going into the Hall with a hat that's no longer a team. But knowing that Dawson and Carter went in with the same hat kind of makes it so much easier to deal with, really. ...

"It's bittersweet, but I'm still proud of it."