Two Legion Baseball alums elected into HoF

Two Legion Baseball alums elected into HoF

Two former American Legion Baseball players, Tim Raines and Jeff Bagwell, have been elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum as members of the Class of 2017.

Raines and Bagwell will be the 69th and 70th Legion Baseball alums to join the exclusive club, joining baseball legends like Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Yogi Berra and Bob Feller and recent inductees Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and Mike Piazza.

Raines finished his career with 2,605 hits and 808 stolen bases as a feared leadoff hitter in a career that spanned four decades with six teams, including 13 seasons with the Montreal Expos.

Raines and his son, Tim Raines, Jr., both played Legion Baseball in Sanford, Fla., with Tim Jr., winning The American Legion Baseball World Series with Post 53 in 1997 before reaching the major leagues.

Bagwell played Legion Baseball for Post 75 in Middletown, Conn., on his way to a stellar 15-year professional career with the Houston Astros.

A four-time All-Star, Bagwell was named the unanimous National League Most Valuable Player in 1994 after hitting .368 and slugging at a dominant .750 clip.

Joining Raines and Bagwell in this year’s class is standout catcher Ivan Rodriguez.

Falling shy of the 75 percent threshold for induction include Legion alums such as Roger Clemens, Lee Smith and Jeff Kent.

“What a tremendous accomplishment it is for Tim Raines and Jeff Bagwell to make the National Baseball Hall of Fame,” said Gary Stone, American Legion Baseball chairman. “They are great representatives of Legion Baseball and demonstrate how Legion continues to produce some of the best players in the world.”

For a full list of former Legion players in the Hall of Fame, click here.