The night Raines and Raines Jr. shared an outfield

Tracking and writing about the Hall of Fame voting last night took me back to 2001, when I was a fresher-faced newspaper reporter in my fifth year on the Orioles beat. I can't think about Tim Raines, who will be inducted this summer in his final year on the ballot, without reflecting on his brief time in Baltimore and how it unfolded. How he played in the same outfield as his son.

How it contradicted the team slogan.

Tim Raines Jr. made his major league debut on Oct. 1 as a defensive replacement after playing for three affiliates that summer. He appeared in seven games for the Orioles, the first with his parents in the stands, but only one of them truly mattered.

Father and son were in the lineup for an Oct. 4 game against the Red Sox at Camden Yards, a day after the Orioles acquired Raines from the Expos for a player to be named later or cash. There wasn't much going on for the Orioles at that time as they drifted toward a 98-loss season - except that Cal Ripken Jr. was engaged in the final week of his illustrious career.

Other than that ...

It seemed like an odd time for a gimmick, which is how the trade was perceived within the media and by at least a few people in the organization, and I decided to have a little fun with it.

The club ran a season-long promotion that implored fans to "Come See The Kids." Trading for a 42-year-old outfielder in October didn't fit the script, which prompted me to write the following lede:

"Come see the kids ... and their dads."

Vice president of baseball operations Syd Thrift didn't find the humor in it, but I can still hear Joe Strauss, my partner on the beat, cackling as he stood behind me and read those words on my laptop screen. My humor doesn't appeal to everyone. It's a select audience.

The trade suggestion actually came from Expos general manager Jim Beattie, who later joined the Orioles front office. He called Thrift and floated it, insisting that the Orioles wouldn't be responsible for any portion of the remaining salary. Both teams would share the warm and fuzzies.

"He said he had this idea that they'd like to go through with," Thrift said after the deal was consummated. "He hadn't talked to his owner to see if it would be possible for this transaction to take place. They wanted to do it for Tim Sr. because of what he's done for baseball. It's a fine family."

"I found out at 12 o'clock this afternoon," said Raines. "I was going to go shopping, then turned around and started packing."

He also placed his own phone call, reaching his son at a shopping mall.

"He was like, 'I've got some crazy news. I'm on my way to Baltimore. I'm going to pick up my stuff now. I guess we're going to be playing together for the next couple days,' " said Raines Jr.

"I couldn't believe it. I thought he was just joking."

The Orioles did need another outfielder. Manager Mike Hargrove was in a bind due to injuries to Melvin Mora, Jay Gibbons, Larry Bigbie, Chris Richard and Mike Kinkade. Kinkade was placed on the 60-day disabled list to clear room on the 40-man roster.

"We felt it made sense to bring him in," Hargrove said after the trade. "He gives us a veteran player who knows how to play the game. And I think it's a nice touch that his son's here. We get somebody who can help us, and it also allows a very special thing to happen."

Raines started in left field and Raines Jr., 20 years younger, patrolled center

"He's got everything unless it's hit directly to me," said Raines. "I'll take left field and the line."

The kid batted leadoff and went 1-for-4 with a run scored. The father batted sixth and went 0-for-4 with an RBI on a ground ball in the ninth inning that scored Tony Batista after a leadoff triple.

"This is something a father dreams about," said Raines.

The Red Sox defeated the Orioles 5-4. The loss went to John Wasdin, now the Orioles minor league pitching coordinator, who relieved starter Calvin Maduro in the seventh inning.

Father and son actually played against each other that year in a spring training game and again in Triple-A while the elder Raines was on an injury rehab assignment. According to the Orioles, it marked the first time that a father and son played against each other in a regular season game at the professional level.

The outfielders later would join Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. as the only father-son teammates in major league history.

"I haven't played with him since I was 7 or 8 years old on the same field or whatever," said Raines Jr., "so this will definitely bring me back to when I was about 7 or 8 in Montreal, to one of those father-son games."

The future Hall of Famer became a free agent after playing four games with the Orioles and going 3-for-11 with a home run and five RBIs. He signed with the Marlins, batted .191/.351/.258 in 98 games and retired.

Raines Jr. appeared in 20 games with the Orioles in 2003 and 48 in 2004, his only time spent in the majors. His career ended with the independent Newark Bears in 2011.

His father was the manager.

Note: The Pirates signed former Orioles farmhand Joey Terdoslavich to a minor league contract.

Terdoslavich, 28, batted .246/.349/.419 last summer in 109 games with Double-A Bowie. He also appeared in 17 games with Triple-A Norfolk.

Shameless plug alert: I'm back at Dempsey's Brew Pub & Restaurant tonight for the "Hot Stove Show" that airs 6 p.m.-7 p.m. on 105.7 The Fan. Relievers Zach Britton and Donnie Hart will call into the show.