Rickey Henderson is consider the best lead off man of all time but from 1981 to 1987 when Henderson was at his peak, Mr. Raines stacks up very evenly. The idea in baseball is to get on base, get around the bases and score runs. Using simple stats and creating a new one (bases accumulated), Raines is in a dead heap with Henderson during this time frame.
1981-1987
TB BB SB Bases Accumulated
Raines 1740 553 504 2797
Henderson 1581 637 568 2786
From 1981-1987, Raines accumulated more bases than Henderson. Henderson holds a slight edge in runs score (780-719). Based on this 7 year period, I think Raines should be in the Hall of Fame.
This card is a nice shot of Raines and the awesome Expos logo, though this card does not stack up to Raines's 1981 Donruss rookie card.
I agree... he should get the nod sooner than later. I'm still amazed that he played 23 seasons.
ReplyDeleteHe should be a no-brainer. More runs scored (by a large margin) than any player not in Cooperstown.
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