Montreal Expos great Tim Raines will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Sunday.
Sportsnet’s Jonah Keri had a chance to sit down with Raines just before his Cooperstown induction where the two discussed all things Rock. From the off-the-field issues he dealt with to getting the chance to play with his son, no topic was too big or small.
Here are some of the highlights from their conversation:
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“Sit down rook”
In 1979, Raines made his Major League debut, coming on as a pinch-runner for six games that season. The following year he got to finally take at-bats, with his first time at the plate happening on May 28, 1980. However, it wouldn’t be until late July that Raines would start seeing more regular playing time.
On July 25, 1980, the Expos were playing the Houston Astros with one Nolan Ryan on the mound. Speaking to Keri, Raines recalls his first encounter with the legendary pitcher and how he struck out for the first time in his Major League career.
“So I step up to the plate and Nolan is throwing 100 mph and he’s got this nasty curveball,” Raines said. “I battled him to 3-2 and he threw me a 3-2 curveball that bounced in the dirt, but the umpire rung me up on a strike. I’m like running towards first base and the umpire rings me up. So I turn around, I go back and I go, ‘The ball hit the ground, it’s not a strike.’ And he goes, ‘Sit down rook.’ So I put my head down and walk back to the dugout.”
It just goes to show even Hall of Fame-calibre players were rookies at one point in time.
Watch Part 1 of Jonah Keri’s conversation with Tim Raines here:
Facing yourself
Raines’ cocaine addiction and recovery has been well documented, but the topic was still broached in the interview.
Speaking candidly, Raines describes one particular moment where he knew he needed to find a way to break the habit and get his life back.
“I remember this one at-bat where guy threw me a pitch and I flinched like it was coming at me and the umpire called it a strike and I look back at him and say, ‘That ball almost hit me.’ He goes, ‘That ball was right down the middle of the plate.’
“I remember going back and watching the at-bat and I actually saw it for myself that the ball was right down the middle and I’m flinching. So I’m like, ‘Something is wrong here.’
“… I had to look at myself in the mirror and say, ‘Is this what’s going to define you? You had a great year your rookie season. You have a decent year your second year, but is this gonna be the reason why you’re never gonna play the game again?’ If I continue to go down that path I’m never going to make it.”
Hallmark moment
In 2001, after stints with the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees, Raines made his return to Montreal, but despite being inducted to the Expos hall of fame that year, one more honour awaited him.
On Oct. 4, 2001 Raines and his son Tim Raines Jr., became just the second father and son duo to play on the same Major League team after the Expos traded Tim Sr., to the Baltimore Orioles the day before.
Here’s how it all happened, in Raines’ words.
“One day I’m with the Expos and we’re in Florida playing the Marlins and after the game they come up to me and go, ‘Hey, what do you think about going to play with the Orioles, playing with your son?’ … So I get a phone call and they’re like, ‘Deal is done. We need you to get to the airport right away.’ So I stop, turn around, pack my bags and I barely make my flight.
“So I get there, I put on my uniform and I walk out on that field where he’s warming up and I’m kind of like, ‘Wassup young man?’ And he had no clue it was me until I walked up and said something to him.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him like that. He gave me this look [where] his eyes got as big as I’ve ever seen them get. But it was a great moment. Moments that fathers live for.”
Watch Part 2 of Jonah Keri’s conversation with Tim Raines here:
No regrets on the journey
Raines’ career, as brilliant as it was, had a few rough patches along the way, his battles with drug addiction and the 10-year wait to finally get the Hall of Fame call as bumps on the road that stand out.
Despite the adversity he’s had to overcome, Raines tells Keri he “wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“My mom always told me you have to thank God every night for waking up everyday. Maybe it was just I’m one of those guys that was set to this earth to go through all of this stuff that I went through and then come out smelling like a rose.
“If I had a chance to do it all over again I would do it exactly the same way. Even with the trials and tribulations that I went through I think a lot of that had something to do with me getting on track. … It was meant to be and I wouldn’t have it any other way. To be here right now and say I’m a Hall-of-Famer, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
