Expos Retire Tim Raines' Jersey Number. Was he that Good?

[wilheim]

VIERA, Fla. -- The Expos will officially retire the No. 30, worn by former Montreal star outfielder Tim Raines, in a special ceremony before a June 19 game against the White Sox.

Raines, 44, played for Montreal from 1979-90, and returned to the Expos for one season in 2001. He is the team's all-time leader in steals (635), runs scored (947), triples (82) and walks (793), and ranks among the Expos' top three all-time in nearly every offensive category.

Raines represented Montreal in seven straight All-Star Games from 1981-87, won the National League batting title in 1986 (.334) and the league's stolen base crown four straight seasons (1981-84), reaching a career high of 90 steals in 1983.

In 23 seasons with seven different teams, Raines hit .294 with 170 homers, 980 RBI and 808 steals. After his first 12 seasons with Montreal, he also played for the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Oakland, Baltimore and Florida.

The switch-hitter played in 2,502 career games, and retired after the 2002 season with the Marlins.

Raines will be the fourth player in Montreal's franchise history to have his number retired, joining outfielders Rusty Staub and Andre Dawson (both No. 10) and catcher Gary Carter (No. 8).

In December, the Expos hired Raines to manage the club's Class-A affiliate, the Brevard County Manatees of the Florida State League.

CBS Sortlsine.com.


wil.

 

[Fishhead]

RAINES was a TRULLY great EXPO.........no question about it.

One of the most underrated players in the game in his prime.

 

[wilheim]

The "Rock's" All time stats.

Tim Raines

wil.

 

[jwblue]

One word.

Absolutely.

IS

 

[EddfyMush]

Hey It takes talent to run a 4.4 40, around the bases, with 2 grams of blow in the small backpocket of your baseball pants and not comprimise one white line!

 

[blueedwards]

he was the best leadoff man in the n.l. during the 80's. in all of baseball during the 80's he was second only to rickey henderson.

 

[Journeyman]

Had Raines played somewhere else he would have been given much more recognition....He wasn`t much different than Ricky for alot of years...Beside him and Carter and Dawson who else really could anyone claim as Expos greats? I would have him at the top of the Expos greats list...

All Expos starting nine...

Raines
Walker
Dawson
Carter
Galaraga
Wallach
Cash
Spiers

DH Valentine/Cromartie
Ph Staub

 

[TheGeneral+]

Who?

 

[RPM]

raines was very good. and i agree he would have recieved a lot more exposure in a bigger market team.

 

[joeybagadonuts]

Yup, he was that good. He was one of the greatest base stealers of all time, a solid defender and a good hitter. Not to mention a VERY nice gentleman... My friend’s mom was a friend of his and he took me and her son to a game and gave us STAR treatment... Imagine being taken to a game, put up with the team in the hotel, being out on the field playing catch with Tim Raines, Bo Jackson and Frank Thomas when you were 12 years old... I was the envy of my middle school. I remember no one even believed me till I showed them the pictures. I still have some stuff signed by those guys... he even struck out swinging with a man on 3rd w/ 2 out vs. Dennis Eckersley and still had the composure to grab me and my friend from the stands so we could go down to the locker room with the team after the game. wow, what memories...

 

[barman]

His switch hitting often made him a preferable pick to Henderson for Stratomatic tourneys...

 

[5teamparlay]

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/2013010240830514/
Raines to coach in Blue Jays' farm system
By Adam Berry / MLB.com
Wednesday, January 2, 2013 2:07 PM ET
Tim Raines could be celebrating his 23-year Major League career in Cooperstown come July, but the former Expos star will spend this season with another Canadian team.
Raines, in his sixth year on the Hall of Fame ballot, will join the Blue Jays as a Minor League baserunning and outfield coach this season. An official announcement from Toronto is expected later this week.


Raines, 53, has served in various coaching roles since retiring in 2002. He served as the manager for Montreal's Class A Advanced affiliate in Brevard County in 2003, worked on the White Sox's staff from 2004-06 and joined the Harrisburg Senators as hitting coach in '07. He moved on to manage the Can-Am League's Newark Bears from 2009-11 before becoming an assistant coach and the club's director of player development.


Raines stole 808 bases in his career, the fifth-highest total of all time, and led the National League in steals for four straight seasons while playing for Montreal. The speedy leadoff hitter compiled a career .294 average, .385 on-base percentage and .425 slugging percentage in 2,502 big league games with the Expos, White Sox, Yankees, A's, Orioles and Marlins.


Raines finished fifth in last year's Hall of Fame voting, having been named on 48.7 percent of the ballots. This year's class of Hall inductees will be announced on Jan. 9.


Adam Berry is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @adamdberry .

 

[NickPappagiorgio]

Had Raines played somewhere else he would have been given much more recognition....He wasn`t much different than Ricky for alot of years...Beside him and Carter and Dawson who else really could anyone claim as Expos greats? I would have him at the top of the Expos greats list...

All Expos starting nine...

Raines
Walker
Dawson
Carter
Galaraga
Wallach
Cash
Spiers

DH Valentine/Cromartie
Ph Staub

Add Pedro as starting pitcher

 

[5teamparlay]

Add Pedro as starting pitcher

The unit who played with Raines there as well.

 

[FairWarning]

The unit who played with Raines there as well.

he was there at the start of his career only. It would be like putting Brock on the all-time Cubs team.

 

[5teamparlay]

Congrats on the HOF Tim

 

[Greenbacks]

He gets passed up 9 straight years then all of a sudden he`s in on the 10th and final year...LMAO

How did he change minds??

Did he steal 500 bases in the last 9 years???

What a joke.

 

[KingEleven]

Congrats on the HOF Tim

MLB HOF has become a joke

 

[niltes]

rock and roll HOF is a much bigger joke.

 

[aclv1]

Loved watching him play . I agree Hof is a joke now but he definitely deserves being one of the greatest base stealers in baseball history . He played the game well and hustled . A sense of urgency is something most MLB players lack today . Tim rains will make a great coach