Podcast: Tim Raines on how he's preparing for Cooperstown

The StewPod: Baseball, pop culture & more

The Internet had never been happier for a Hall of Famer than it was for Tim Raines, who finally, in his final year on the ballot, got the word that he'd be immortalized in Cooperstown. The news is a few months past now. Baseball season is here. And every day we're inching a little bit closer to the end of a 10-year saga. Tim Raines is going to be a Hall of Famer. It's started to set in, he says, but the best it yet to come. He'll get on stage in July and make his speech and he'll go to the parties and he'll ride in the parade and he'll see his family there. It'll be special. Raines joined the StewPod this week on behalf of Osteo Bi-Flex to talk about getting ready for Cooperstown and how it'll finally be his turn soon. Raines told us that he's attended Hall of Fame inductions for this friends in the past, so he knows how it goes, but he doesn't know how it feels. "I know what it’s like," Raines told Yahoo Sports. "I've done the parties. I've done the little autographs sessions. I've seen the parade. I kinda got a feel for what it’s going to be like. but I've never felt it. This time it’s going to be a little different. This time I'm going to be in the parade. This time the party is for me. This time people are coming to see me instead of me going to see someone else. Just that part of it is the part that I'm looking forward to. I'm not a guest. I'm the guy." We cover a variety of other topics too, including: • The day he got the call • What he's doing to get ready • How the Internet helped him and how it will change voting • His role with the Blue Jays as a coach • Is Vlad Jr. as good as his dad? • Which young players impress him. • Tim Tebow's turn from football to baseball [Music: Pierce Fulton - "Borrowed Lives"]