A
Chip Off the ol' Rock
Tim Raines Jr. is hopeful that his latest call to AAA will also
be his last.
Dan Hickling
MinorLeagueNews.com
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Some say that getting there is half the fun.
For Tim Raines, Jr., reaching the Triple-A level for the second time in his brief career, after nearly two years away, is much more than that.
It's a testament to hard work and an ability to make lemonade out of sour citrus fruit.
The swift centerfielder was rewarded on June 25 with a promotion to the Ottawa Lynx from Baltimore's Double-A Bowie.
"In baseball, it's hard to know when you'll go up, or when you'll go down," he said. "So when the opportunity came, I had to be ready. I know they had some good thought's about me to move me up. So I'm excited about it."
Raines made his Triple-A "re-debut" against in Rochester against the Red Wings, and went 1-for-4 with two walks.
Ironically, Rochester was one of his four stopping points in 2001.
That year Tim started out in Single-A and wound up playing alongside his father, Tim Raines, Sr., in the same major league outfield for the Baltimore Orioles.
It was too far, too fast for the younger Raines, and he found himself back at Bowie last year, and again for the first half of this season.
This year, he had put up glowing numbers with the BaySox, hitting .309 while leading the Eastern League with in stolen bases with 28.
Raines said he is much the wiser for the ups and downs he's experienced in the past two seasons.
"Going down was a blessing in disguise," he said. "Being taken off the 40 man roster and going back to Double-A. I had to prove myself to be the kind of player that they wanted. The one they saw a couple of years ago. I give a lot of credit to everybody back in (Bowie), the other players and the coaches. They stayed on me, and made sure I did things right."
What about the pressure? Plenty of it was placed on his shoulders the last time around. The sort that comes with being such a coveted prospect, not to mention the staggering expectations that go with being the son of a baseball legend.
"The kid's got a lot more pressure on him because of who his dad is," said Ottawa skipper Gary Allenson. "But he's just got to go out and play baseball."
Raines said he's much better equipped to deal with all that, this time around.
"With your first experience, things are going to be tough," he said. "The second time around is going to be a little easier. There was a little pressure involved last time, but now I'm just going to lay back, play hard every day, and take it as it is."
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