Tim Raines Going To Baseball Hall of Fame

Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan "Pudge'' Rodriguez were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday, while Vladimir Guerrero and Trevor Hoffman fell just short of the 75 percent threshold required in voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Bagwell drew 86.2 percent and Raines got 86 percent. Rodriguez had 76 percent -- he received four more votes than the necessary 332 of 442.

Raines, a seven-time All-Star outfielder with the Montreal Expos in the 1980s, is considered by many to be the second greatest leadoff hitter in MLB history behind Rickey Henderson. He ranks fifth in history behind Henderson, Lou Brock, Billy Hamilton and Ty Cobb with 808 stolen bases, and his 84.7 percent success rate is the best ever among players with at least 400 career attempts.

Raines also played for the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Florida Marlins and Baltimore Orioles during a career that spanned 23 seasons.

Raines debuted on the ballot with only 24.3 percent of the vote in 2008, but steadily gained momentum in recent years and made it over the top in his final year on the ballot.

"I can't say it was difficult for the first six years,'' Raines said in an interview with MLB Network. "I didn't really have the votes to consider thinking, 'Next year, I could get in.' The last two years has been the telling time. Each year, as the votes go up, you kind of wonder, 'Am I going to get enough?'

Bagwell won Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player Awards during 15 seasons with the Houston Astros from 1991 through 2005. He made four All-Star teams and won three Silver Slugger Awards and hit 449 home runs before an arthritic right shoulder forced him to retire at age 37.

Rodriguez the only first-timer on this year's ballot to reach Cooperstown, made 14 All-Star teams and won 13 Gold Glove Awards during a 21-year career with the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers and four other clubs. He is the career leader among catchers with 2,844 hits, 1,354 runs, 572 doubles and 2,543 games played.

The induction ceremonies will be held July 30.