The good thing about having a father that is born on March 15th is that you never forget Harold Baines birthday. Discuss the man, the myth, the legend on his 46th birthday...
Baines is nothing spectacular but a steady player. You know what you're going to get...usually a couple of weak pop-ups, a dp and a token homer.
On a team like Detroit or Nl, he would be subbed out immediately but since he plays on the shit ass Al all star team, he's an anchor.
Great beard as well. It takes serious effort and determination to have a beard the same exact length for 60 years.
Beware the Ides of March.
Yeah, in RBI he is no picnic - a 792 power is pretty sad. If the AL bench wasn't so bad and he had 11 dingers instead of 20, nobody would use him...
Does anyone (except maybe Baines) actually get excited when he comes up to the plate. I never do anything with that loser...
Now Baines the player on the other hand was fun to watch. I should email the good brother to chime in here. In fact I will...
I have no comment on Baines the RBI player.
Baines the real player was one of my favorites. I loved watching him hit. When he was a White Sock he used to hit line drives by the bushel with that cool black bat of his. He was the #1 overall pick in 1977, right in front of HOFer (and fellow longtime DH) Paul Molitor.
He was a borderline great hitter in the early- to mid-80s, but when his knee forced him to DH duties (he had perhaps the strongest arm in the league this side of Dave Parker) his value took a hit.
He led the AL in SLG in 1984 (.541), and the top 10 in OPS 3x. His counting stats are inflated b/c he played for about a thousand years.
He was a good hitter for a very long time. He is decidedly not a Hall of Famer. I loved the guy though.
nice collage
Quote from: Gantry on 03/15/05, 11:06:20 AM
Does anyone (except maybe Baines) actually get excited when he comes up to the plate. I never do anything with that loser...
Baines is clutch with runners on. Next in the line-up is the guy who is least clutch on the game with runners on. I have grounded into more double plays with "double play Brett" than any other player.
Yeah, most of us remember Baines the DH and not the Baines before. Was he more athletic before DH'ing or did he always have knee problems?
Another tidbit is that Baines for some reason had his # retired for the White Sox after he went to Texas around 1990. He then played over a decade and came back to the Sox. How many people had their number retired while they were still active, let alone a decade before they retired?
Quote from: Gantry on 03/15/05, 11:23:51 AM
Yeah, most of us remember Baines the DH and not the Baines before. Was he more athletic before DH'ing or did he always have knee problems?
Another tidbit is that Baines for some reason had his # retired for the White Sox after he went to Texas around 1990. He then played over a decade and came back to the Sox. How many people had their number retired while they were still active, let alone a decade before they retired?
When did the Angel retire Nolan Ryan's number?
Looks June of 1992, while still active. Though he only played one more season. Still, that's a second one..
Quote from: Gantry on 03/15/05, 11:23:51 AM
Another tidbit is that Baines for some reason had his # retired for the White Sox after he went to Texas around 1990. He then played over a decade and came back to the Sox. How many people had their number retired while they were still active, let alone a decade before they retired?
Just out of curiosity - Did they give him back his number when he returned to the Sox?
Yes
I was going to post this but you beat me to it. It's a good thing anytime there's this much discussion about the man, the myth, the legend that is Harold Baines.
I loved Baine's stance.
I liked all freaky stances.
Baines was the model of consitency, and me being the liberal HOF guy that I am, I say he should be in easily.
BAINES FOR THE HALL!!!!!!
Quote from: Ryno on 03/15/05, 08:14:36 PM
BAINES FOR THE HALL!!!!!!
I once thought this back in the late 90s and bought a 20 card lot of Baines rookie cards on Ebay for $3.50. There was a lot of talk at the time, if he could have had 3-4 more great seasons he could have been the first HOF'er to make the hall as a DH.
Maybe Baines would like a Baines rookie card?
I can't say I think Baines should be in the Hall, but a great player and fun to watch. If only his RBI abilities lived up to his real MLB abilities...
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAROOOOOOOOOOLD!
Pots will appreciate that one.
As Pots always says, he hit 2 HRs in a game once. Perhaps the most overrated player in the entire game.
Kirby Puckett, Kevin Bass and anybody who keeps Bobby Thompson in can dispute that...
BREAKING NEWS!
Lips just hit a homer with Harold Baines....
There's two of Dem!!!
Two dingers for Harold Baines, in his first dee-nee action since his birthday. Lipitz is beaming right now, after a 20 minute bitch-fest previously...