Shaw: Kenny Lofton was exciting, but he will have tough time getting into baseball Hall of Fame

The impact sound of Kenny and the kasual glance…

Unfortunately for Kenny Lofton, there’s no “Most Exciting” category for entry into Cooperstown.

If there were, he might have slid across home plate in Seattle in Game 6 of the 1995 American League Championship Series and right through the door of the Hall of Fame.

Admission to the Hall, as Tim Raines was reminded yet again in the most recent vote when he pulled in 30 percent of the affection, is a far more tedious process for all but an elite few. Seventy-five percent of the vote is needed for induction.

The problem for Lofton isn’t that he was no Rickey Henderson. Nobody was. The pressing issue for Lofton is that as good as he was, he wasn’t Raines.

...A brief comparison: Lofton had 2,428 hits, an on-base percentage of .372 and drove in 781 runs.

Raines had 2,605 hits and an on-base percentage of .385. Raines not only drove in nearly 200 more runs and stole nearly 200 more bases but had nearly 400 more walks. He had 1,330 walks to 966 strikeouts. Lofton finished his career with more strikeouts than walks.

Raines played six more seasons, so that skews the numbers. But the point is if Raines is having trouble moving the Hall of Fame needle, even more difficulty awaits Lofton.