Tim Raines was one of the fastest baserunners ever, but he didn't mind taking the slow lane to Cooperstown.

After languishing on the ballot for years with little momentum in his first several attempts, Raines cruised in his last chance with a whopping 86 percent of the votes, second to Bagwell's 86.2 percent.

Getting in the door in his last chance was sweet for Raines, known simply as “Rock” to his friends. Lacking exposure because of playing his prime years in Montreal may have hurt Raines' candidacy early on, as he earned only 24.6 percent of the vote in his first year of eligibility in 2008 and was still at 46.1 percent only three years ago, far short of the 75 percent needed.

The longtime Expos' star, who played five years with the White Sox, finally was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday in his 10th and final year of eligibility, joining Astros' slugger Jeff Bagwell and catcher Ivan Rodriguez in the Class of 2017.

Raines' career numbers, of course, didn't change, but a closer look at them changed perceptions of his overall value.

Still, it wasn't until prominent baseball writer Jonah Keri, a Montreal native, began advocating Raines' candidacy that his chances for election became realistic.

“Social media played a big role, and the new way people look at baseball,” Raines said, crediting Keri's articles and the growing reliance on sabermetrics when evaluating players' careers. “It made (voters) look at me a lot closer, and a lot deeper. And the more they looked, the better it turned out for me.”

For entrance to the Hall, candidates must be listed on 75 percent of the ballots of the Baseball Writers Association of America, an organization that has grappled over the performance enhancing drugs issue for years and continues to leave out prominent suspects, including Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.

While Rodriguez, nicknamed “Pudge,” was rumored as a PED user, most voters ignored the allegation. They instead looked at Rodriguez's 13 Gold Gloves and stellar career, and the lack of any solid evidence suggesting he had cheated.

Bagwell, a four-time All-Star with the Astros, made it in his seventh year of eligibility. He finished 33rd in career slugging percentage (.540) and 38th in home runs (449), and won an MVP award with the Astros in 1994.

The three players will be inducted into the Hall on July 31 in Cooperstown, along with former general manager John Schuerholz (Royals and Braves) and former Commissioner Bud Selig, who a veterans' committee previously had selected.

The White Sox were ecstatic for Raines, a personable player who never seemed to be in a bad mood. He will join former Sox teammate Frank Thomas, who was inducted into the Hall two years ago. Thomas, in a statement, called Raines “a great leader” whose “humor and hustle always brought the team closer.”

Raines ranked first in all-time steals percentage (84.7 percent) among players with 300 or more attempts, fifth in career steals (808) and 54th in runs scored (1,571). He scored 90 or more runs in eight seasons, leading the league twice, and stole 49 or more bases nine times, including six straight years of 70 or more steals from 1981 through '86. He spent five of his 23 seasons on the South Side (1991-'95) and posted a .401 OBP and .880 OPS for the division championship team in 1993.

Though Raines was popular with Sox fans and teammates, he left the organization on a sour note after '95, when general manager Ron Schueler attacked his skills and character.

After Raines signed with the Yankees, Schueler ranted: “I wanted someone that can catch it in the outfield. No runners ever stopped on him. He never threw out a runner. Some days he didn't show up in the outfield. There's a lot more. You expect someone to provide leadership. It wasn't done.”

Raines ignored Schueler's attack and wound up winning two World Series rings with the Yankees in 1996 and '98. After replacing Schueler as Sox GM, Ken Williams eventually brought Raines back as a coach on Ozzie Guillen's staff, and he spent four more years on the South Side, earning another ring with the 2005 Series champs.