20 Facts About Harold Baines

1.

Harold Baines held the White Sox team record for career home runs from 1987 until Carlton Fisk passed him in 1990; his eventual total of 221 remains the club record for left-handed hitters, as do his 981 runs batted in and 585 extra base hits with the team.

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2.

Harold Baines held the mark for career home runs as a DH until Edgar Martinez passed him in 2004.

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3.

Harold Baines went on to serve as a coach with the White Sox from 2004 to 2015 before moving into a role of team ambassador and spring training instructor.

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4.

Harold Baines was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Today's Game Era Committee as part of the Class of 2019.

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5.

Harold Baines graduated in 1977 from St Michaels High School on Maryland's Eastern Shore where, as a senior, he batted.

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6.

Harold Baines received a signing bonus of $32,000 – a record low for a first overall pick.

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7.

The owner of the White Sox at the time, Bill Veeck, had spotted Harold Baines playing Little League ball years before at the age of 12.

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8.

On Opening Day 1980, Harold Baines made his major league debut, starting as an outfielder with the Chicago White Sox.

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9.

Harold Baines holds the record for the most seasons by a player between 100-RBI seasons, with 14 seasons between 113 RBIs for Chicago in 1985 and 103 for Baltimore and Cleveland in 1999.

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10.

In 1990 Harold Baines was traded to the Oakland Athletics for minor league pitchers Scott Chiamparino and Joe Bitker, and he helped them reach the postseason only to be swept by the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series.

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11.

Harold Baines returned to the White Sox as a free agent in 1996 but was traded back to Baltimore midway through the 1997 season; he helped the Orioles reach the playoffs, losing to the Cleveland Indians in the League Championship Series.

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12.

Harold Baines represented the Orioles in the 1999 All Star Game before being traded to the Cleveland Indians later that year.

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13.

Harold Baines was signed again for a third stint with his hometown team prior to the 2000 season.

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14.

Harold Baines was traded by Baltimore with catcher Charles Johnson to Chicago in exchange for Miguel Felix, Juan Figueroa, Brook Fordyce and Jason Lakman on July 29,2000.

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15.

Harold Baines finished his career with 2,866 hits, 384 home runs and 1,628 RBIs.

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16.

Harold Baines had been eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame beginning with the 2007 election.

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17.

Harold Baines was voted into the Hall of Fame by his peers: he played against five of the six players on the committee, while a sixth served as manager against him.

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18.

Four executives on the panel were in management while Harold Baines was a player and his former manager and team owner were on the committee.

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19.

Harold Baines has created the Harold Baines Scholarship Fund to help deserving college-bound students.

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20.

In May 2021, Harold Baines had to undergo emergency surgery for both heart replacement and kidney surgery, owing to inheriting the condition that his father had suffered from in amyloidosis, which he had found out a couple of years earlier.

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