Tim Raines – correction – the MLB batting debut that wasn’t
Posted by Andy on August 22, 2007
Well I just learned something neat. I was going to post this in a comment but it's so interesting that I decided to make a new post.
A few days ago I made this post about Tim Raines, commenting on his recent interview with Baseball Prospectus. I (incorrectly) stated that Raines erred when he said his first MLB at-bat came against Nolan Ryan on July 25th, 1980, when it clearly game against Dick Tidrow on May 28, 1980. I figured this out since May comes before July. But, I was absolutely wrong, and Raines was right.
Baseball author David Laurila pointed out my error and explained what actually happened. It turns out that the game Raines "first" batted in was a suspended game. Raines batted only when the game was resumed later in the season, and this was on a date after he had already faced Nolan Ryan in his first at-bat. Because of baseball rules, all the statistics get recorded as having occurred on the original date of the game. So, in B-R.com's databases (and all other baseball databases), Raines is shown as having batted on May 28, 1980 when in fact he never batted on that date.
So now that means the worst thing I can say about Tim Raines is insisting that his name be shown as "Rock Raines" on several of his baseball cards.
You may recall this same rule coming up earlier this season. After Alex Rodriguez hit his 499th career homer versus Kansas City, stories ran noting how he may have already hit his 500th homer because the Yankees had to complete a suspended game against Baltimore later in the season. Had he homered in the remainder of the completed game, it was have been recorded as a homer earlier in the season, bumping up his total by 1, meaning the homer in KC was actually his 500th.
One more anecdote, and I apologize up front for not remembering where I heard this. Earlier this season when the A-rod 500th homer issue came up, someone pointed out that baseball made an exception to this rule in 1985. Apparently, the statistics from a suspended game aren't recorded until the game is completed (or permanently called.) When Pete Rose was approaching the all-time hit record, he had 1 or 2 hits from a suspended game earlier in the year, and MLB made an exception by counting those in his total during the run-up to passing Ty Cobb, prior to the game being completed. If anybody knows the source or has a link to a recount, please post it. (I couldn't find it in a quick search.)
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:29 pm
It is rude of the Washington Nationals to let Chris Booker wear #30. I hate that the Nationals want to erase their franchise history.
August 23rd, 2007 at 8:18 am
I guess that it's sort of ironic, given that neither the Texas Rangers nor the Minnesota Twins reflect much on their previous lives as the Washington Senators.
August 23rd, 2007 at 10:48 am
Andy, I hated seeing "Rock Raines" on his cards too, but I vote THIS as the worst thing about Tim Raines...
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=pearlman/070613
"As they tend to do (fairly, I believe), Hall of Fame voters will recall Raines' unfortunate early claim to fame -- the fact that he slid headfirst so he wouldn't puncture the bag of coke in his back uniform pocket."
August 23rd, 2007 at 10:51 am
statboy--I considered that, but I try not to be judgmental about addictive drugs. It's very easy to criticize individuals over issues involving alcohol, drugs, gambling and other addictive behaviors. But they are complicated phenomena that often involve a lot of external issues. Raines himself said in the Baseball Prospectus interview that he was young and made a mistake, and I for one am not going to judge him based on his cocaine use.
August 23rd, 2007 at 2:49 pm
I don't know how many 23yr old ballplayers have voluntarily come forward to seek rehab and tell the world what a mistake they made. Usually, it takes a run-in with the law for that to happen.
August 24th, 2007 at 8:38 am
Tony Gwynn and Tim Raines made essentially equivalent contributions to their teams at about the same time in baseball history -- right down to their career win share totals: Gwynn, 398; Raines, 390. I don't know details of their biographies. But Gwynn grew up in California and went to college and then played in the same city his whole career. Raines grew up in Florida (think lingering segregation), didn't go to college, and played all over the map. I doubt that Tim's life path was as easy as Tony's.
August 24th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
I'd also include Paul Molitor in there. According to b-r's Linear Weights numbers, Molitor has +34 batting wins, as does Raines. Gwynn is at +43 wins. Raines of course was a fantastic base stealer, and an excellent base runner. Molitor was excellent in both. Gwynn was above average. Fielding is tough. Molitor was the better fielder, but he also spent a substantial portion at DH. Overall, not much separate the three.
August 26th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
In Raines' defense about the "Rock" thing, his situation is similar to the one encountered by Dick Allen. Raines had been called "Rock" by nearly everyone close to him all of his life. Around baseball, however, writers all insisted upon calling him Tim. Everywhere that he went, he asked the sportswriters to use "Rock," but no one complied. I don't think that it's too much to ask that a player be called what he wishes.
August 26th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
Ok, but then how do you account for this?
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1332/2100/200/gooden89T.jpg
October 30th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
I'm pretty sure that Barry Bonds' first at bat came in a situation similar to this, and I found it out when looking through his 1986 gamelog.
October 30th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
You are right. I thought I discussed that in a subsequent post, but maybe not. A reader wrote in with that info.