I have cards for all but Baines and Smith. Smith's case was much stronger than Baines IMO. Considering Baines is the 74th most valuable right fielder (
https://www.baseball-reference.com/l.../jaws_RF.shtml) and Smith is the 16th most valuable reliever (
https://www.baseball-reference.com/l.../jaws_RP.shtml).
I'm not hating! Congrats to both of them! I realize these new-age metrics like JAWS and WAR may not be the be-all end-all tools to gauge a players value, but they certainly serve as notable performance measurement tools when comparing a player to their peers at their respective positions, IMO. I wouldn't mind picking up a nice Lee Smith rookie at some point, but I won't be pursuing a similar card for Baines, as he simply has no business being enshrined among the greatest outfielders of all time, IMO. He was decent player who was an accumulator, he accumulated 2866 hits, 384 home runs, and 1628 RBI over a 22-year career. His highest MVP finish was 9th. His highest single-season WAR was 4.3. He only led the league in one thing ever with a .541 SLG in 1984.
I remember some people in the media accusing Craig Biggio of being nothing more than a compiler/accumulator during his HOF candidacy. This is partially true, regarding the milestone 3,000 hits he played several more years to accumulate over his 20-year career. However, Biggio ranks as the 15th most valuable 2nd baseman per JAWS (
https://www.baseball-reference.com/l.../jaws_2B.shtml), finished 4th and 5th in MVP voting in 1997 and 1998 during the height of the steroid era and led the league in several categories during his peak, including runs, doubles and stolen bases. Biggio equaled or ecplised Baines high of 4.3 WAR 9 times, including Biggio's high of 9.4 in 1997. Biggio also ranks 5th all time in doubles (668).
In conclusion, it's OK to acknowledge a compiler/accumulator for the hall of fame, with the caveat that they are ranked among the greatest of their peers at their respective position, based on their peek performance AND accumulative stats. IMO, and based on modern metrics for measuring a players value, Harold Baines had no such great peek performance and simply never earned a rightful spot among the greatest to ever play the game.