Jeff Bagwell
photo by Tim Evearitt
Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan "Pudge'' Rodriguez were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday.
Bagwell, who received 86.2 percent of the vote, won Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player Awards during 15 seasons with the Houston Astros from 1991 through 2005.
He made four All-Star teams and won three Silver Slugger Awards and hit 449 home runs before an arthritic right shoulder forced him to retire at age 37.
Bagwell recorded two 30-homer, 30-steal seasons, making him the only first baseman to be part of that club. He ranks 39th overall with a .540 career slugging percentage.
Ivan Rodriguez received 76 percent of the vote.
Rodriguez made 14 All-Star teams and won 13 Gold Glove Awards during a 21-year career with the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers and four other clubs. He is the career leader among catchers with 2,844 hits, 1,354 runs, 572 doubles and 2,543 games played.
Raines, a seven-time All-Star outfielder with the Montreal Expos in the 1980s, is considered by many to be the second greatest leadoff hitter in MLB history behind Rickey Henderson. He ranks fifth in history behind Henderson, Lou Brock, Billy Hamilton and Ty Cobb with 808 stolen bases, and his 84.7 percent success rate is the best ever among players with at least 400 career attempts.
Former Chattanooga Lookout Trevor Hoffman fell five votes short.
Tim Raines received 86 percent of the vote.
photo by Tim Evearitt