The White Sox will honor the induction of Harold Baines into the Baseball Hall of Fame with a special celebration on August 11 when the team hosts the Athletics at Guaranteed Rate Field. It’s one of many promotions announced for the 2019 season by the club on Tuesday along with a host of other unique giveaways.
The first 20,000 fans to enter the park for “Harold Baines Day” will receive a replica of his Hall of Fame plaque.
Baines, a star with the White Sox throughout the 1980s, was voted into the Hall of Fame this year by the veterans committee. He was a controversial choice given his career numbers (including just 38.7 wins above replacement per Baseball-Reference) and lack of high-level peak. The outfielder only led the league in a major category once – slugging percentage in 1984 – and never had a season in which he was a realistic contender for the MVP award.
What Baines did have was longevity as one of the most respected players of his generation. From 1980 to 2001, Baines played in 2,830 big league games and recorded a .289/.356/.465 batting line over 11,092 plate appearances. He benefitted from playing much of his career in an era of boosted offensive numbers, but totals of 384 homers, 2,866 hits and 1,628 RBI show how much he produced over two-plus decades.
The White Sox liked Baines so much that, after his initial departure 30 years ago, he returned to the organization for two more stints in 1996-97 and 2000-01, the final stop of his career. The team also retired his No. 3 jersey in 1989, months after he was traded to the Rangers.
