HOF: 4 best games Harold Baines’ played for Cleveland Indians in 1999

The Cleveland Indians’ name will go on the plaque of Harold Baines at his Hall of Fame enshrinement. Baines played in 28 games for the Tribe in ’99.

Blink and you might’ve missed one of the newest members of baseball’s Hall of Fame class back at Jacobs Field in 1999. That’s right, Harold Baines made a whopping 56 plate appearances for the Cleveland Indians en route to the team’s fifth division championship.

Baines hit .271 (.684 OPS) with two home runs coming off the bench for the Tribe in 28 games. Combine that with the 107 games he played with the Orioles and he ended up batting .312 (.919 OPS) for the season, which was 20th year in the big leagues.

Baines managed to play two more seasons before ending his career where it started, with the Chicago White Sox in 2001 at the age of 42.

Baines had two really stellar performances in an Indians uniform that stood out. Please chime in @FansidedFoS if you remember these games.

1. On Sept. 10, 1999, Baines was 3-of-5 (included one double) against the White Sox and he drove in three runs in what was a 14-6 Indians win.

2. Against the Tigers, Sept. 22, 1999. He went 3-for-5 with two RBIs in what was a 9-1 Indians victory. His only other Muti-hit game in an Indians uniform came a day earlier, when he knocked two singles and drove in three runs in what was a 6-1 victory against Detroit.

3. Baines hit 25 home runs in the 1999 campaign, but just one with Cleveland. It came Sept. 13 at home against the Red Sox. He was 1-of-5 in the game, but three-RBI day helped lift Cleveland over Boston, 11-7.

4. Baines also contributed in what was a disappointing postseason cut short due to the dominance of Pedro Martinez. Baines had a great series, going 5-of-14 in 16 plate appearances. He hit .357 with a 1.009 OPS and a home run.

The crown jewel of his postseason was played Oct. 7, when he went 2-of-4 and took pitcher Brett Saberhagen deep en route to 11-1 victory. That’s as good as it got for the Tribe in ’99, as the Indians went on to get bounced by the Red Sox after dropping the next three games.

Baines’ election into the HOF by way of the veterans committee surprised some baseball fans, because the 22-year veteran had been rebuffed by the Baseball Writers Association of America for so many years.

Ultimately, Baines was a very good player for a long time. Twenty of his 22 seasons can be considered productive, and no one knows how hard the sport is to play better than the former players sitting on the veterans committee. To be that good, for that long, well, it’s impressive, even if Baines doesn’t have any the traditional markers that automatically stamp enshrinement into the hall.

Baines enshrinement certainly got Indians’ fans worked up, who watch the veterans committee snub Albert Belle, who was also being looked at again after being tossed aside by the writers.

Belle didn’t have the longevity of Baines, but the argument could be made that for eight of Belle’s 10 full seasons in the majors, he was THE best power hitter in the game.

Baines finished his career batting .289 with 384 home runs, 2,866 hits and 1,628 RBIs.