Canadian baseball fans will be on pins and needles this Wednesday, when they find out whether Montreal Expos player Tim “Rock” Raines will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
It’s the last chance for Raines, who spent more than half of his two-decade career in Quebec. He’s been on the ballot for nine years already, but never quite garnered enough votes from the journalists who decide. Rules only allow him to be on the ballot a total of 10 times.
Fan Matthew Ross said it’s frustrating that one the best lead-off hitters of all time still hasn’t received his place in Cooperstown, N.Y., especially considering that analytics show his talent.
But Ross, whose Expos Nation group is pushing for the return of Major League Baseball to Montreal, is confident enough that the quintessential Expo will be inducted this year that he’s already planning a trip to the ceremony in July.
Politicians are also pushing for Raines to be recognized. Ontario MP Chris Bittle demanded in the House of Commons last November that the Baseball Writers’ Association of America “right this wrong.” And Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said Raines’ induction in July would give a big boost to the city’s chances of winning a team back more than 12 years after the Expos left.
Raines would be the third long-time Montreal Expos player inducted into the Hall of Fame, after catcher Gary Carter in 2003 and right fielder Andre Dawson in 2010.
Ross said there would be no greater honour for Raines – who played with everyone from Rusty Staub all the way to Vladimir Guerrero – than to have a plaque in New York.
“For someone like Tim Raines who was such a nice guy and so well beloved by teammates,” Ross said, “there’s no better completion to his career.”
With a report from CTV’s Vanessa Lee
