Hall of Fame Ballot Review - Harold Baines

Baseball Reference.com Profile

Career Accomplishments
2866 hits
384 home runs
6 All Star Appearances
120 OPS+
11 20 home run seasons
3 100 rbi seasons
13 20+ double seasons

The Case for Baines
Baines was one of the top designated hitters of the 80's and 90's, amassing 2866 career hits, 488 doubles, 384 home runs, and a career line of .289/.356/.465. He made 6 All-Star appearances, and had a career OPS+ of 120.

The Case Against Baines
Baines became a full-time designated hitter after the 1987 season due to knee problems. Unfortunately for him, that was only a mere 6 seasons into his career. 384 homeruns is a fairly low total considering the era he played in.

Analysis
The first thing that stands out to me about Baines is the length of his career. I was very curious to see if his career totals were a product of prolonged excellence, or simply having a long career. So let's take a look at his single seasonnumbers and determine whether he had that period of dominance in him or not.

He appears to have shown some flashes of dominance, posting 3 straight seasons (1989-1991) with an OPS+ over 130. His best season appears to have been 1984, when he posted an OPS+ of 142, with a .304/.361/.541 with 29 homers, 94 rbi, 28 doubles, 10 triples. From 1982-1987, Baines had at least 50 extra base hits and 81 rbi. He also had 4 seasons with 10 outfield assists or more during that time.

Overall, I think that Baines had a very good career. 2800+ hits and 300+ home runs are definitely the hallmarks of a very good hitter. But I just don't see anything in either his season-to-season numbers or his career totals that really strike me as a dominant hitter, or worthy of the Hall of Fame.

MY VOTE: NO

Hall of Fame Eligible Players Review

I'm starting a new series today, and I'll be going over the list of players on this year's ballot for the Hall of Fame, and analyzing the ones who I believe have at least a reasonable chance of being inducted. The complete ballot can be viewed here.

Here's the schedule:

12/4: Jack Morris
12/7: Mark McGwire
12/9: Edgar Martinez
12/11: Fred McGriff
12/14: Harold Baines
12/16: Barry Larkin
12/18: Bert Blyleven
12/21: Roberto Alomar
12/23: Andre Dawson
12/25: Tim Raines
12/28: My Hall of Fame Ballot