Tim Raines (2017)


Date of Birth: 9/16/1959
Birthplace: Sanford, Florida

Tim Raines came from an athletic family with a father who played semi-pro baseball and brothers who also played baseball. In high school, he played both baseball and football. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1977 and he spent the 1977 and 1978 seasons in the minor leagues.

Montreal Expos (Washington Nationals)

Raines played with the Expos from 1979 through 1990. He spent most of the 1979 and 1980 seasons in the minor leagues, joining the Expos for just 6 games in 1979 and 15 games the following year.

Raines was known for his speed on the bases and he led the National League in stolen bases from 1981 through 1983. He won the Lou Brock award five times (1981-1984).

Raines batted .304 with 95 hits and 71 stolen bases in 88 games in the strike shortened 1981 season. Sporting News named him the Rookie Player of the Year for his achievements.

In 1982, his first full one in the major leagues, he stole 78 bases in 156 games. He finished the season with 179 hits, 32 doubles, 43 RBIs, 83 strikeouts to 75 walks, and a .277 batting average.

Raines had career highs in stolen bases (90), RBIs (71), and walks (97 to 70 strikeouts) in 1983. He batted .298 with 183 hits and 32 doubles in 156 games.

In 1984, Raines led the NL in doubles and in stolen bases. He had 192 hits, a career high 38 doubles, 75 stolen bases, 60 RBIs, and a .309 batting average in 160 games. He again showed good control at the plate, walking more times than he struck out (87 walks to 69 strikeouts).

Raines had another strong season in 1985, batting .320 in 150 games. He had 184 hits, 30 doubles, a career high 13 triples, and 70 stolen bases. He walked 81 times and struck out just 60 times.

Raines had one of his best seasons in 1986, leading the NL in batting average (a career high .334) and on-base-percentage (.413). He had a career high 194 hits, 35 doubles, 70 stolen bases, and 62 RBIs in 151 games. He walked 78 times and struck out 60 times. He won his only Silver Slugger award that year. He played well defensively also that season, leading all NL left fielders in putouts with 268.

In 1987, Raines won the All-Star game MVP award. He finished the season with 175 hits, 34 doubles, a career high 18 home runs, 50 stolen bases, 68 RBIs, and a .330 batting average. He continued to walk more times than he struck out (90 walks to 52 strikeouts). He again led NL left fielders in putouts with 290.

Although Raines continued to play well in his last three seasons with Montreal, his batting average and stolen base numbers dropped considerably. In 109 games in 1988, he had 116 hits, 33 stolen bases, 48 RBIs, and a .270 batting average. The following year, he improved with a .286 batting average, 148 hits, 29 doubles, 41 stolen bases, and 60 RBIs in 145 games. He walked 93 times in 1989 and struck out just 48 times. In 1990, he had 131 hits, 49 stolen bases, 62 RBIs, and a .287 batting average in 130 games. He walked 70 times and struck out 43 times.

Chicago White Sox

Raines was traded to the Chicago White Sox on December 23, 1990. He played with the White Sox from 1991 through 1995. In 1991, he batted .268 with 163 hits, 51 stolen bases, and 50 RBIs in 155 games. He continued to have discipline at the plate in 1991, walking 83 times and striking out 68 times. The following year, he batted .294 with 162 hits, 45 stolen bases, 54 RBIs, and 48 strikeouts to 81 walks in 144 games.

Raines suffered a thumb injury in 1993 that limited his playing time to 115 games. His stolen base numbers dropped significantly starting that year. He finished the season with 127 hits, 21 stolen bases, 54 RBIs, 35 strikeouts to 64 walks, and a .306 batting average.

In the 1994 strike shortened season, Raines batted .266 with 102 hits and 52 RBIs in 101 games. The following season, his last one with the White Sox, he batted .285 with 143 hits, 25 doubles, 67 RBIs, and 52 strikeouts to 70 walks in 133 games.

New York Yankees

Raines was traded to the New York Yankees on December 28, 1995. He played with the Yankees from 1996 through 1998, but his time in New York was plagued with injuries. He played in just 59 games in 1996, 74 games in 1997, and 109 games in 1998. Although his time was limited, he had good batting averages all three years, with a high of .321 in 1997.

Final Years as a Player

Raines became a free agent on October 26, 1998. He signed with the Oakland Athletics on January 26, 1999. He spent most of the 1999 season on the DL, being treated for lupus. In 58 games with the Athletics, he batted just .215 with 29 hits.

Raines became a free agent again on November 5, 1999. He signed again with the Yankees on February 1, 2000, but they released him on March 23rd. He didn't play professional baseball in 2000.

On December 21, 2000, Raines rejoined his first team, the Expos. After just 47 games with Montreal in 2001, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles on October 3rd. In 51 games in 2001, he batted .303 with 27 hits.

Raines became a free agent one last time on November 6, 2001. He signed with the Miami Marlins on February 18, 2002. In his last season as a major league player, he batted .191 with 17 hits in 98 games.

Awards and MLB Records

  • Silver Slugger award
  • Sporting News Rookie Player of the Year
  • All Star Game MVP
  • Led NL in stolen bases (4 times)

Career Statistics

Batting statistics for Raines in 21 seasons (1981-1999, 2001-2002) in the major leagues include:

  • 8 seasons with 150 or more hits, with a high of 194 in 1986
  • 6 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with a high of 38 in 1984
  • 11 seasons with 40 or more stolen bases, with a high of 90 in 1983
  • 20 seasons with more walks than strikeouts, with a high of 97 walks in 1983
  • 8 seasons with a batting average of .300 or better, with a high of .334 in 1986

Career batting statistics for Raines include:

  • 2,502 games played
  • 2,605 hits
  • 430 doubles
  • 113 triples
  • 170 home runs
  • 808 stolen bases
  • 980 RBIs
  • 966 strikeouts to 1,330 walks
  • .294 batting average
  • .385 on-base percentage
  • .810 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Raines as a left fielder include:

  • 1,961 games played
  • 3,769 putouts
  • 48 errors
  • .988 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Raines include:

  • 5 postseasons
  • 34 games played
  • 126 at-bats
  • 34 hits
  • 6 doubles
  • 1 home run
  • 3 stolen bases
  • 6 RBIs
  • 15 strikeouts to 14 walks
  • .270 batting average

Post Playing Career

Raines returned to the Expos in 2003 as a minor league manager. The following season, he was a coach with the Expos. He followed that position with a coaching position with the White Sox. He stayed with the White Sox through 2006.

In 2007, Raines coached in the minor leagues. From 2009 through 2011, he managed in the minors. He returned to coaching in the minors in 2013, when the Toronto Blue Jays hired him for their minor league system.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Tim Raines
ESPN - Tim Raines
Baseball Reference - Tim Raines

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