Harold Baines Is Ready For His Induction Speech
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Former White Sox designated hitter and outfielder Harold Baines prefers to speak with his actions rather than words.
Baines played 22 years in the major leagues finishing with .289 batting average and 2,866 hits. He was surprisingly voted into Baseball's Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee last December.
The induction ceremony will be held in Cooperstown, New York on Sunday, July 21st. While his career stats aren't spectacular, Baines was a six-time All-Star and known as a clutch hitter during his era.
Baines said it hasn't hit him yet that he's part of baseball's exclusive club. Baines isn't much of a public speaker, but has been working on his induction speech for several months and says he'll focus a lot on his father.
Baines said it won't be the shortest speech, but it will be dedicated to others.
"I think one guy said 'thank you' and sat down. I'll definitely beat that one. It may not be much behind that but I'll say more than thank you."
Baines added that his speech will highlight the impact others had on his life.
"It'll be about my community. It'll be about my coaches, my teammates and last but not least my family," Baines said. "I'm assuming it will be close to 10 minutes which was hard to write."