Harold Baines, who played for five major league baseball teams in a 22 year career and Lee Smith who played for eight over 18 years, have been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.I had the opportunity to watch Smith pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals in the early 90s while I was still a season ticket holder. If the Cards had the lead going into the 9th inning, it was as good as a win with Smith on the hill. Smith had 47 saves in 91, another 43 saves in 92 and 43 saves with the Redbirds before he was traded to the Yankees late in 1993. Smith and Baines will go into the Hall of Fame on July 21st.
I don't think I ever got to see Baines play in person but I knew he was good in his years with the White Sox, Rangers, A's, Orioles and Indians. He ended up with a .289 batting average in that 22 year career. The fact that Baines lasted 22 years in "The Show" speaks volumes. He came up just short of three thousand hits and 400 home runs.
This past week also saw the selection of Al Helfer as the 2019 Ford Frick award winner to the broadcasters wing and the selection of Jayson Stark as winner of the J. G. Taylor Spink award to the writer's wing in the Hall of Fame. Helfer was a legendary broadcaster with Mutual radio and Stark is known for his work with ESPN and the MLB Network.
The selection of recently retired players to the class of 2019 will be announced on January 21st.
