Both Tim Raines and I have gone from Sanford to Cooperstown . . .
It turns out that the two towns, one thousand one hundred and ninety-seven miles apart, have a few things in common. Both downtowns sit on the South side of a large and gorgeous lake. Both towns feature turn-of-the-century architecture and brick streets in the business districts. In the adjacent neighborhoods of both towns you will find hundred year old wooden homes, tree canopies, and lots of picket fences.
The two towns are now connected, but for very different reasons.
One town is where Tim Raines was born and raised, and the other town is where he will live on forever. Both towns will now share as bookends of his baseball career, one as the town where it started, and one as the town that will perpetually celebrate it.
Tim started his trek from Sanford to Cooperstown when he began playing baseball as kid growing up here. At Seminole High School in the 1970’s he was a four-sport athlete and at the time wasn’t even sure which sport he would actually pursue a career in. We all now know which way he decided to go, and after a 23 year Major League career, it turned out to be a very long path, straight to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
I, on the other hand, started my trek from Sanford to Cooperstown last July . . . With my girlfriend Kaitlin, it was an early morning Allegiant Air flight to Plattsburgh NY and then a beautiful 4-hour drive in a compact rental that got me there later that day.
Hall of Fame weekend in Cooperstown is a magical time for any baseball fan. Once a year, it’s a place to immerse yourself in a baseball fantasyland that cannot be replicated anywhere else. It’s a live Norman Rockwell painting where grown men with real jobs turn into pre-adolescent teens at the mere sight of a player from their childhood. I had been there before to watch my favorite player, Cal Ripken Jr., get inducted ten years earlier. This year, armed with a press pass, and previous experience of what not to do, I was excited to chase Tim around all weekend. While we both took completely different routes to Cooperstown that weekend, our paths were finally about to cross.
I got my first chance Saturday afternoon at The Clark Sports Center just south of downtown Cooperstown. It was a “bullpen” type of press conference where all five new inductees were simultaneously available to the press. I staked out a good spot in the Tim Raines corner and eagerly awaited his arrival. With a few minutes to kill, I began to look around the room at all of the other members of the press. It wasn’t long before I was recognizing people whose articles I had read in major publications or broadcasters who I had seen on TV.
I suddenly realized how out of place I could begin to feel if I let myself think those thoughts, so the internal pep-talk began . . . “I’m from Sanford, home of Tim Raines. I came a long way to be a part of this. I’m a grown man with a real job too”, as I justified my existence in the room. I had decided my goal was to just enjoy watching the press conference from my front row position and not get in the way of the professionals who had real questions, and actual real jobs.
But, my internal pep-talk kept on . . . “You didn’t come all this way NOT to ask a question. Why don’t you ask a question? You need to ask him a question” as I scrambled to formulate a question.
Turns out, those other guys are really, really, good at their jobs. I found it very difficult to get a question into the scrum while also trying to maintain a polite deference to the pros. As time wound down, and it was announced that there was time for just one more . . . sense of urgency on full tilt, I took the last question! The only problem was that all of my ideas for inquiries had been asked by others as the minutes ran out.
So, I quickly adopted a new strategy that really isn’t so new, I talked to him as one Sanfordite to another. I opened by explaining to him about how happy and excited we all were down here about his ultimate achievement. Looking back, his body language seemed to relax a bit when he heard the mention of his hometown. We then shared a good laugh when I suggested he might have a new swagger in his step the following day when he is inducted into The Hall of Fame.
“Well I hadn’t thought about that, but I’m definitely floating on air” he chuckled. As the hard-hitting questions continued, I asked about the probability of him shedding a tear during his big speech.
“Actually, I have a bet with my sons that I’m not. Now if I look out there and see my parents cry, I may have a little emotion. I’m going to try my best to hold it back, but if it happens, it happens.”
The following day is the actual induction ceremony. In front of an estimated 50,000 fans, all spread out over many acres of rolling green hills, the ritual takes place. First the returning members of the Hall are introduced one-by-one in a stream of living history. Then the new inductees take center stage, alongside their newly etched plaques, with each having time allocated for their speech.
Tim was slotted to give his speech last. It was a warm sunny day and the remaining crowd of Montreal Expo Jerseys definitely did not mind the heat. Raines gave a very humble, a very small-town speech, mentioning his hometown several times in the process. He spoke of growing up in Sanford with Ned and Florence Raines as parents and their influence on his upbringing. He spoke of being raised by them along with his brothers and sisters. He thanked his four kids, his wife, and his in-laws. He thanked his High School coaches, fellow MLB players who had an impact on his career, and many others who helped along the way.
And for the record . . . . while he did not technically shed tears, there were a few throat clearings and sniffles that he quickly attributed to a possible impending “cold”.
As I left the venue, I felt very proud for the “Rock”. As a kid I had loosely followed his career, and most recently learned a lot more about him as a player. This is a rare instance where I have gained a new favorite player 15 years after he hung up his spikes. But, Cooperstown can do that to you, no matter your age, or what your current job is . . . and it helps when said player goes on to proudly represent the town you call home.
I am also excited for his friends and relatives who still call Sanford their home. We all now have a connection with immortality, which doesn’t happen too often to us here in Sanford.
For more on native son Tim Raines, stop by the Sanford Museum 520 E. First Street, they have an excellent display dedicated to him as well as a treasure trove of all things historic Sanford!
Mike Smith runs a business in downtown Sanford, is the proud owner of a Sanford Historic Home, and is better known around town as “Maggies Dad”. He also claims to have the largest baseball memorabilia collection the city . . . and dares you to challenge him otherwise.