TORONTO – Still waiting for his call from Cooperstown, Tim Raines will be immortalized in another fashion this summer when he is among the Class of 2013 inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
Joining the long-time Montreal Expos star will be beloved Toronto Blue Jays radio broadcaster Tom Cheek, who is also to be feted by the National Baseball Hall of Fame this summer as the Ford C. Frick Award winner; slugger George Bell, the only Blue Jay ever to win the MVP award; Rob Ducey, the Cambridge, Ont., outfielder who spent parts of 13 seasons in the big-leagues; and Nat Bailey, the former part-owner of the Pacific Coast League's Vancouver Mounties.
Induction weekend is June 27-29 at the museum in St. Marys, Ont.
Raines, 53, was passed over in voting for Cooperstown a sixth time last month, falling 22.8 per cent short of the 75 per cent threshold needed for induction despite career numbers that compare favourably to Hall of Famer Lou Brock, among others.
Known as Rock, Raines' candidacy has stirred much debate and the belief is he will eventually gain enough support for election before his 15-year period on the ballot expires.
There is however, no doubt about his place in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
Raines spent 13 of his 23 years in Montreal, including a run of seven phenomenal seasons from 1981-87 when he was the National League equivalent to Rickey Henderson. He stole 70 or more bases in six consecutive years – topping out at 90 in 1983 – and swiped at least 41 bags in 11 of 12 years during his most prolific days.
While some stole more bases, few if any were as good at it. The Sanford, Fla., native finished with 808 in 954 attempts, a remarkable 84.7 per cent success rate that ranks second all-time among players with 300 or more attempts.
Still, there was far more to his game than just speed, and a career slash line of .294/.385/.425 over 2,502 games and 8,872 at-bats speaks to that. There was pop in his bat – he hit 430 doubles, 113 triples and 170 home runs – and tremendous discipline in the batter's box, as he walked 1,330 times against only 966 strikeouts.
His commitment to the Expos was also strong, and as a coach during the club's final season in Montreal in 2004, became an ambassador for all the good times enjoyed by "Nos Amours" before daggers were stuck into the heart of the franchise with the 1994 strike, the failed downtown stadium plan and finally Jeffrey Loria's ownership.
Raines' selection for induction will rekindle joy for Expos fans much in the way Blue Jays fans will take heart in the choices of Cheek and Bell.
Cheek's widow, Shirley, will certainly have a busy summer with the Frick Award in Cooperstown to come a month after the celebrations in St. Marys.
Cheek, the soundtrack of baseball for several generations of Canadian fans across the country, called 4,306 consecutive regular-season games plus 41 post-season contests, a streak interrupted by his father's death June 2, 2004. Eleven days later the native of Pensacola, Fla., had surgery to remove a brain tumour, but some of it remained, and he died Oct. 9, 2005 at age 66.
Brilliantly understated in his calls, Cheek's masterstroke came on Joe Carter's World-Series clinching home run in 1993, when amid the euphoria he uttered, "Touch 'em all Joe, you'll never hit a bigger home run in your life."
Bell, 53, was one of many players to star in Cheek's countless home run calls, having hit 202 of his 265 career dingers with the Blue Jays.
Lifted by former GM Pat Gillick from the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1980 Rule 5 draft, the Dominican left-fielder played through some of the club's difficult expansion years and into its golden era, falling to his knees in ecstasy after catching Ron Hassey's popper for the final out of a 5-1 win that clinched Toronto's first AL East crown in 1985.
Bell's biggest season came in 1987, when he posted a slash line of .308/.352/.605 with 47 home runs and 134 RBIs to earn AL MVP honours. He spent nine of his 12 years in the big-leagues with the Blue Jays.
Ducey, 47, arrived in the big-leagues as a well-regarded Blue Jays prospect and while he never became a big-league regular, he still carved out a solid 13-year career spent with six clubs.
His most productive year in the majors came in 1999 with the Phillies, when he posted a slash line of .261/.383/.463 with eight home runs and 33 RBIs in 188 at-bats over 104 games.
Bailey, who like Cheek will be inducted posthumously, founded Canada's first drive-in restaurant in 1928 and the White Spot Barbeque eventually grew into a popular chain in B.C. He proceeded to become part-owner of the Mounties and promoted baseball locally in Vancouver and throughout the province.
The Mounties played at what was then called Capilano Stadium, which was renamed Nat Bailey Stadium in 1978 in his honour.
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame opens for its summer season May 4.
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