LAS VEGAS -- Harold Baines was given a save as big as any Lee Smith ever posted.

In a vote sure to spark renewed cries of cronyism at Cooperstown, Baines surprisingly was picked for the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday after never coming close in any previous election.

"Very shocked," the career .289 hitter said on a conference call.

Smith, who held the major league record for saves when he retired, was an easy pick when the Today's Game Era Committee met at the winter meetings.

It took 12 votes for election by the 16-member panel -- Smith was unanimous, Baines got 12 and former outfielder and manager Lou Piniella fell just short with 11.

George Steinbrenner, Orel Hershiser, Albert Belle, Joe Carter, Will Clark, Davey Johnson and Charlie Manuel all received fewer than five votes.

Smith and Baines both debuted in Chicago during the 1980 season. Smith began with the Cubs and went on to record 478 saves while Baines started out with the White Sox and had 2,866 hits.

Baines had 384 home runs and 1,628 RBIs in a 22-year career -- good numbers, but not stacking up against the greats of his day. He never drew more than 6.1 percent of the vote in five elections by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, far from the 75 percent required.

"I wasn't expecting this day to come," the six-time All-Star said.

The Hall's board-appointed panel included longtime White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

"I'm glad he was on that committee this year to help to get into the Hall of Fame," Baines said.

Six-time All-Star Harold Baines on getting his call to the Baseball Hall of Fame: "I wasn't expecting this day to come." Getty Images

Reinsdorf praised his former player in a statement. Baines currently serves as a team ambassador in the community-relations department of the White Sox.

"So happy for Harold. He's a great player and a great human being," Reinsdorf said. "I am so honored that I was a member of the committee. He deserved to be in long ago. I am just so excited.

"Not only was Harold one of my favorite players to watch, but I have nothing but admiration for him as a player and as a human being," he said.

Tony La Russa, Baines' first big league manager, also was on the panel that elected him.

In the past, Phil Rizzuto and Bill Mazeroski were among the players who benefited from friendly faces on Veterans Committees to reach the Hall. That panel has been revamped over the years, and the Today's Game Era group was created as part of changes in 2014.

"The era committees were established as a sort of a court of appeals for an opportunity in the event that over time it was felt that maybe somebody slipped through the cracks," Hall president Jeff Idelson said. "And in the case of someone who received 6 percent of the vote in the BBWAA election, the reason that may have happened could be for many, many reasons." Sponsored: HOF memorabilia If you are a fan of Baines or Smith or have a fan on your Holiday list, ESPN's shopping partner eBay has plenty of memorabilia of each player. Harold Baines on eBay

Lee Smith on eBay Disclaimer: ESPN gets a commission on any sales driven through eBay.

Baines, now 59, had a smooth, consistent, left-handed stroke. But he never finished higher than ninth in an MVP vote, and never was among the top five American League hitters in the yearly batting race. His single-season high was 29 home runs at a time when lots of players hit more.

Smith's fastball helped him become a seven-time All-Star in an 18-year-old career. Known for his slow trudges from the bullpen to the mound, he owned the saves record when he retired during the 1997 season while with Montreal. Trevor Hoffman and then Mariano Rivera reset the mark.

Smith never reached 51 percent in 15 BBWAA elections. Still, he kept believing his day would come.

"I'm pretty patient, though, and I think I waited long enough. But it's sweeter," he said on a conference call. "You look at those things, well, OK, who's on the ballot this year? Who's on the ballot next year? But I'd never, never, never give up hope.

"And then when they started with the second-chance ballot, I thought my chances got a little better. This probably today was probably the [most] nervous I've been with this Hall of Fame voting thing," he said.

Smith became the seventh pitcher who primarily was a reliever to make the Hall, joining Hoffman, Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Bruce Sutter and Hoyt Wilhelm. The 61-year-old has long worked for the San Francisco Giants as a minor league pitching coach and instructor.

Baines was a designated hitter for much of his career after knee trouble ended his days in the outfield. DHs have struggled to gain backing from Hall voters. Baines joined Frank Thomas as the only players in the Hall who spent more than half their games as a DH.

"Everything I hear or read is DH is really not part of the game, I guess," Baines said. "But I disagree. But maybe this will open up the doors for some more DHs."

Both closers and DHs could see the numbers increase again very shortly.

Rivera is eligible for the first time and big-hitting DH Edgar Martinez will be back on the ballot when results of the next BBWAA election are announced Jan. 22.

Induction ceremonies are scheduled for July 21 at Cooperstown, New York.

Between now and then, there's certain to be more debate about who else should be in the Hall. Drug-tainted Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are on the upcoming BBWAA ballot, influential players' union head Marvin Miller has been denied seven times by various committees, and admitted steroids user Mark McGwire wasn't among Sunday's candidates.</s>Lee Smith and Harold Baines elected to baseball Hall of Fame

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Lee Smith and Harold Baines elected to baseball Hall of Fame.</s>The Baseball Hall of Fame's Today's Game Era Committee selected Chicago icons Harold Baines and Lee Smith for enshrinement in Cooperstown, New York, it was announced Sunday.

Baines and Lee were joined by Albert Belle, Joe Carter, Will Clark, Orel Hershiser, Davey Johnson, Charlie Manuel, Lou Piniella and George Steinbrenner as candidates on the ballot.

Twelve votes from the 16-person committee were needed for election during baseball's winter meetings in Las Vegas.

Next summer's ceremony will be July 21.

Results from the Baseball Writers' Association of America voting will be announced Jan. 22.</s>LAS VEGAS — Longtime closer Lee Smith and smooth-swinging Harold Baines were elected to the baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday.

Former outfielder and manager Lou Piniella fell one vote short.

Results of the 16-member Today’s Game Era Committee were announced at the winter meetings. It took 12 votes for election — Smith was unanimous, Baines got 12 and Piniella had 11.

Smith and Baines both debuted in Chicago during the 1980 season. Smith began with the Cubs and went on to post a then-record 478 saves while Baines started out with the White Sox and had 2,866 hits.

George Steinbrenner, Orel Hershiser, Albert Belle, Joe Carter, Will Clark, Davey Johnson and Charlie Manuel all received fewer than five votes.

Baines was a .289 hitter with 384 home runs in a 22-year career. He never drew more than 6.1 percent in five elections by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, far from the 75 percent required.

“I wasn’t expecting this day to come,” the six-time All-Star said.

The Hall board-appointed panel included longtime White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, and Baines said he was grateful for his support. Hall members Greg Maddux, Roberto Alomar, Joe Morgan, Bert Blyleven, Pat Gillick, Tony La Russa, John Schuerholz, Ozzie Smith and Joe Torre also were on the panel.

Smith’s fastball helped him become a seven-time All-Star in an 18-year-old career. He owned the major league record for saves when he retired during the 1997 season while with Montreal, and Trevor Hoffman and then Mariano Rivera reset the mark.
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Smith, who never reached 51 percent in 15 BBWAA elections, became the seventh pitcher who mostly was a reliever to make the Hall. Baines was a designated hitter for much of his career, and DHs have struggled to gain backing from Hall voters.

Both closers and DHs could see the numbers increase again very shortly.

Rivera is eligible for the first time and big-hitting DH Edgar Martinez will be back on the ballot when results of the next BBWAA election are announced Jan. 22.

Induction ceremonies are scheduled for July 21 at Cooperstown, New York.</s>Harold Baines and Lee Smith were elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, MLB.com's Chad Thornburg reported.

According to Thornburg, Baines received 12 of 16 votes from the Today's Game Era Committee, which was the minimum number of votes required to earn passage to the Hall of Fame. Smith, meanwhile, received 16 yes votes.

Reaction to the news was mixed, to say the least:

Baseball Reference's JAWS metric helps evaluate a Hall of Fame resume. It takes a player's seven best single-season WAR and averages it against his career WAR.

Smith's supporters can point to the fact that he sits higher than Bruce Sutter, Trevor Hoffman and Rollie Fingers in JAWS among relief pitchers, per Baseball Reference. Sutter, Hoffman and Fingers have all been enshrined in Cooperstown, New York.

Smith retired with a 3.03 ERA and 478 saves, which were the most all-time when he stepped away from the game after the 1997 season. Hoffman and Mariano Rivera have since surpassed him.

While Smith isn't generally remembered as a dominant closer—not in the way Rivera and Dennis Eckersley are—his Hall of Fame honor isn't entirely undeserved.

Baines, on the other hand, is a head-scratcher. He was a career .289 hitter with 384 home runs and 1,628 RBI, the last two of which rank 65th and 34th all-time.

According to FanGraphs, Baines had two seasons with at least 3.0 WAR. To put that into perspective, Carlos Delgado had seven 3.0-plus-WAR seasons and lasted one year before failing to collect enough support to even remain on the Hall of Fame ballot.

More than anything, Baines wasn't a player who helped define the era in which he played.

Baines spent 22 seasons in MLB. In only four of those seasons did he receive an MVP vote, and he never finished higher than ninth. Baines epitomized a player seemingly destined for the proverbial "Hall of Very Good" rather than Cooperstown.

The criticism toward his election is likely only beginning.</s>Finally! After waiting for more than 15 years, Lee Smith is a Hall of Famer.

The towering righthander, whose speed befitted his size, was one of two players chosen Sunday in a vote by a special Veterans Committee that considered a 10-man ballot.

The decision was announced on the eve of the Baseball Winter Meetings in Las Vegas.

Smith, who spent the maximum 15 years on the Baseball Writers Association of America ballot, held the career record for saves for 13 years before Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman passed him. But he pitched for eight clubs, an odyssey that hurt his chances with the BBWAA electorate.

He had 478 saves in 18 seasons, reaching the All-Star Game seven times. He even finished in the top five for Cy Young Award voting – a rare achievement for a reliever – three different seasons.

He’ll be joined in Cooperstown next July by Harold Baines, who just missed 3,000 hits in a career that stretched 22 seasons, primarily with the Chicago White Sox.

Primarily used as a designated hitter because of weak knees, Baines was an RBI machine, finishing his career with 1,628. Only 33 other players in the history of the game had more.

A two-time winner of the Edgar Martinez Award, then called the Designated Hitter of the Year, Baines made the All-Star team six times and had 2,866 hits.

The selections were surprising on a ballot that also contained the names of owner George Steinbrenner, managers Davey Johnson, Lou Piniella, and Charlie Manuel; and former postseason stars Orel Hershiser, Will Clark, Albert Belle, and Joe Carter.

Steinbrenner, whose Yankees won seven world championships and 11 American League pennants during his often-controversial 37-year as owner, has now been rejected by Veterans Committee four times.

This year’s selections were made by a 16-man panel representing Today’s Game, one of four eras committees that meet on a rotating basis. Twelve votes are required for election, in keeping with the Hall of Fame’s policy of 75 per cent approval.

Finalists for the ballot were named by a Historical Overview Committee reviewing owners, executives, managers, umpires, and retired players whose biggest impact on the game came between 1988 and the present.

When the Today’s Game committee meets for its next vote in 2021, some of the same names could be reconsidered.

The other Veterans Committees are Modern Baseball (1970-87), Golden Days (1950-59), and Early Baseball (prior to 1950). Today’s Game and Modern Baseball both meet twice within a five-year span.

Smith pitched for the Cubs, Cards, Red Sox, Yankees, Orioles, Angels, Reds, and Expos, while Baines played for the White Sox, Rangers, A’s, Orioles, and Indians.

The selection of Smith is especially timely because Rivera, now the lifetime saves leader with 652, is the leading candidate in the BBWAA vote that will be announced on Jan. 22. Only a relative handful of relief pitchers have followed Hoyt Wilhelm, the first one chosen, into the Hall of Fame.

Baines could also have a partner from his primary position since Edgar Martinez, who topped 70 per cent of the vote last year, is likely to top the 75 per cent plateau in the writers’ vote.

If the writers choose four candidates, the Class of 2019 will match the Class of 2018, which had six electees for the first time since 1971.</s>LAS VEGAS – Lee Smith, who ranks third all-time in career saves and played one season with the Reds, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on Sunday through the Today’s Game Era ballot.

Smith pitched in 43 games for the Reds in 1996, posting a 3-4 record and 4.06 ERA in the second-to-last season of his career. Smith finished with 478 career saves, including two with the Reds. Harold Baines, a longtime outfielder and designated hitter for the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles, was also elected to the Hall of Fame.

More: Harold Baines, Lee Smith elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame

More: What to watch as the Cincinnati Reds head to the Winter Meetings

Both players will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 21 alongside any players elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America vote in January.

Smith, who played eight seasons with the Chicago Cubs and four with the St. Louis Cardinals, received 100 percent of the vote from the 16-member Today’s Game Era committee. His highest voting percentage on the BBWAA ballot was 50.6 percent in 2012.

Former Reds managers Lou Piniella and Davey Johnson were among the 10 people considered on the Today's Game Era ballot. Piniella received 11 votes, one shy of election to the Hall of Fame. Piniella managed the Reds to their most recent World Series title in 1990. Johnson received fewer than five votes.

Piniella will be eligible to be a Today's Game Era candidate again in 2021.</s>LAS VEGAS — The Today’s Game Committee of the Baseball Hall of Fame — which used to be known as the Veterans Committee — met here at the Winter Meetings today and voted on the ten candidates for this year’s induction class.

The results: Harold Baines and Lee Smith have been elected. They’re Cooperstown bound.

Candidates needed 12 of 16 possible votes from the Today’s Game committee. Smith reportedly got 16 out of 16. Baines received 12 out of 16. Lou Piniella, also on the ballot, fell one short at 11. No one else got as many as five votes.

Baines played for 22 seasons, amassed 2,866 hits and made the All-Star Game six times. He was a fantastically consistent hitter, posting an OPS+ of 108 or greater every single season between the ages of 22 and 40. He was also a durable player, not missing a whole heck of a lot of time to either injury or ineffectiveness until his late 30s. Even then he managed to hang around until he was 42-years-old. In the early part of his career, with the Chicago White Sox, he was the star of the team and the face of the organization.

Smith was one of the first of the single-inning closers, setting the standard for what we now think of as the best relievers in the game. He was big and intimidating. He threw hard. And when it was all said and done he held the all-time record for saves with 478 upon his 1998 retirement. He’s now third behind Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman in that category. He led the league in saves four times and led the league in games finished three times. He had six seasons in which he averaged more than ten strikeouts per nine innings which was a much greater feat in his day than it is today.

Baines and Smith certainly have had their supporters over the years, but it’s not unfair to say that their election is at least something of a surprise.

For all of the pros in Baines’ column as listed above, it has to be said that Baines will be one of the weaker inductees in some time. He led the league in exactly one offensive category in his long career: slugging percentage in 1984. He was rarely a top-10 finisher in the most important offensive categories. His highest finish in MVP balloting came in 1985 when he came in ninth. While Baines may have meant a lot to the White Sox in the first part of his career there is no way one can honestly argue that he was ever the best player in the game or even one of the best five, six or, usually, ten. His failure to rank highly in hitting categories is especially notable given that over 1,600 of his 2,830 career games came at DH. He was certainly not thought of as a Hall of Famer by the men and women who covered him during his day: he was on the BBWAA ballot five times and never received more than 6.1% of the vote. He fell off the ballot in 2011 when he received 4.8%.

Smith was a stronger candidate by most measures. In addition to helping transform the role of relief pitchers in the game, he did end his career as the all-time leader in the statistic that, for better or worse, defines closers. The BBWAA likewise thought more highly of him, leaving him on the ballot for a full 15 years, at times gaining over 50% of the vote.

No matter what one may say about their cases now, however, the vote is in and each of them will be Hall of Famers come next July.

Not making the cut were the other eight nominees: Albert Belle, Joe Carter, Will Clark, Orel Hershisher, Davey Johnson, Charlie Manuel, Lou Piniella, and George Steinbrenner. The Today’s Game Committee consisted of 16 voters: Roberto Alomar, Bert Blyleven, Pat Gillick, Tony La Russa, Greg Maddux, Joe Morgan, John Schuerholz, Ozzie Smith, Joe Torre, Al Avila, Paul Beeston, Andy MacPhail, Jerry Reinsdorf and media members Steve Hirdt, Tim Kurkjian, and Claire Smith.

Hall of Fame Weekend 2019 will be held July 19-22, with the Induction Ceremony on Sunday, July 21. Inductees voted in by the Baseball Writers Association of American will be revealed on January 22, 2019.</s>Congratulations to Harold Baines for making the Baseball Hall of Fame. He doesn’t deserve it, of course, but it’s an awesome honor nonetheless. Baines was a very good baseball player who managed to play 22 seasons, thanks large in part to designated hitting. Such longevity afforded him the opportunity to amass some impressive raw totals in the hits, home runs, and, uh, plate appearances.

The Veterans Committee, in its limited wisdom, elected Baines and Lee Smith — another somewhat confounding choice — to sit as equals in Cooperstown. To be elevated to the same level as Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Cy Young. To be elevated over Barry Bonds, Pete Rose, and all the other so-called morally unfit candidates so unqualified to rub shoulders with the bust of noted good guy Ty Cobb.

It’s a joke. It may be an intentional troll as well, the last dying breath of those who hold pitcher’s wins and batting average sacrosanct. A “screw you” to the analytical community, or any other sane person who looks at Baines’ stats and critically concludes he has no business in the Hall of Fame. Smith and Baines, combined with Jack Morris’ selection last year, are a disturbing trend.

Baines is the most ridiculous of the lot. Look at his stats in detail. They put him among some unfortunate company of worst selection ever. Just a cursory look at his page reveals one bold number.

This is a man who made two All-Star teams during his final 12 years in baseball. A man who posted a 38.7 WAR, a one-dimensional player whose greatest attribute was perseverance. There is more to baseball than numbers on the page. But was there ever a time when Baines was considered one of the top 10 hitters in the game? Top 20? Top 30?

Want to put Baines into the Hall of Fame? Fine. But I’m done — and you should consider being done as well — in debating any future player’s candidacy. I simply don’t care anymore. Cooperstown is the new public office and deep political cynicism has sunken in.

Why be worked up about Baines when Bonds isn’t in? Why get all red-faced when Lou Whitaker, vastly superior to so many inducted, sits there with no chance of getting in?

The Baseball Hall of Fame matters a lot less than it did yesterday, cheapened by the Veterans Committee. There’s some irony in the fact they are submarining some of the sanctity of the game they think they are upholding.

So congratulations to Baines and those who voted him in. And congratulations to myself for not caring anymore.</s>Harold Baines answered the phone and learned he was a Hall of Famer.

So were many others around the baseball world.

In fact, in the hours after his selection by a Hall-picked panel was announced Sunday at the Mandalay Bay resort, a lot of conversations at the winter meetings started the exact same way: “Harold Baines?”

No one doubted Baines was a top player — a six-time All-Star with 1,628 RBIs, 384 home runs and 2,866 hits.

“I had a great career. I’m very proud of it,” he said.

But a couple other numbers stood out, too.

Baines never drew more than 6.1 per cent in five elections by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, far from the 75 per cent required. In the key WAR stat compiled by baseballreference.com, Baines’ lifetime total was tied for 545th.

Behind the likes of Placido Polanco, Jim Sundberg and Rafael Furcal in wins above replacement, not to mention Gil Hodges, Dick Allen, Don Mattingly, John Olerud and dozens more.

The vote by the Today’s Game Era Committee was sure to spark renewed cries of cronyism at Cooperstown. Especially because the 16-member panel appointed by the Hall board included longtime Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

“I’m glad he was on that committee this year to help to get into the Hall of Fame,” Baines said.

Baines spent nearly all of his first 10 seasons with the White Sox and currently serves as a team ambassador in their community relations department.

“So happy for Harold. He’s a great player and a great human being,” Reinsdorf praised in a statement. “I am so honoured that I was a member of the committee. He deserved to be in long ago. I am just so excited.”

“Not only was Harold one of my favourite players to watch, but I have nothing but admiration for him as a player and as a human being,” he said.

Tony La Russa, Baines’ first big league manager, also was on the panel that elected him.

In the past, Phil Rizzuto and Bill Mazeroski were among the players who benefited from friendly faces on Veterans Committees to reach the Hall. That panel has been revamped over the years, and the Today’s Game Era group was created as part of changes in 2014.

“The era committees were established as a sort of a court of appeals for an opportunity in the event that over time it was felt that maybe somebody slipped through the cracks,” Hall President Jeff Idelson said. “And in the case of someone who received 6 per cent of the vote in the BBWAA election, the reason that may have happened could be for many, many reasons.”

It took 12 votes for election by the panel — longtime reliever Lee Smith was unanimous, Baines got 12 and former outfielder and manager Lou Piniella fell just short with 11.

George Steinbrenner, Orel Hershiser, Albert Belle, Joe Carter, Will Clark, Davey Johnson and Charlie Manuel all received fewer than five votes.

Baines, now 59, had a smooth, consistent, left-handed stroke. But he never finished higher than ninth in an MVP vote, and never was among the top five AL hitters in the yearly batting race. His single-season high was 29 home runs at a time when lots of players hit more.

As this vote approached, his name drew little-to-no buzz in debates over who might be selected.

“I wasn’t expecting this day to come,” the career .289 hitter said.

Baines became a designated hitter after knee trouble ended his days in the outfield, and DHs have struggled to gain backing from Hall voters.

Baines joined Frank Thomas as the only players in the Hall who spent more than half his games as a DH.

“Everything I hear or read is DH is really not part of the game, I guess. But I disagree. But maybe this will the open up the doors for some more DHs,” Baines said.

Both closers and DHs could see the numbers increase again very shortly.

Mariano Rivera is eligible for the first time and big-hitting DH Edgar Martinez will be back on the ballot when results of the next BBWAA election are announced Jan. 22.

Induction ceremonies are scheduled for July 21 at Cooperstown, New York.

Between now and then, there’s certain to be more discussion about who else should be in the Hall. Drug-tainted Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are on the upcoming BBWAA ballot, influential players’ union head Marvin Miller has been denied seven times by various committees, and steroids user Mark McGwire wasn’t among Sunday’s candidates.
In Major League Baseball, the Hall of Fame announces the first members of its 2019 induction class, with Harold Baines and Lee Smith voted in by one of four special committees. They, along with any players elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America in January 2019, will be formally inducted at the Hall's facility in Cooperstown, New York on July 21, 2019.