Raines Jr. had an immediate impact as he walked, stole a base and scored a run, all in his first trip to the plate on Monday. Raines Jr. comes to Newark after appearing in 86 games for the Somerset Patriots, batting .286 with 46 runs, 78 hits and 27 RBI. The Florida native has Major League experience with the Baltimore Orioles, where he played in 75 games between 2001-2004 and recorded 34 hits, 24 runs, 7 RBI and 10 stolen bases. Raines Jr,, son of current Bears’ manager Tim Raines, Sr., played just four games for Newark in 2009 prior to being signed by the Royals and appeared in 82 games with Triple-A Omaha.
The 30-year-old recorded his best season in 2008 with Triple-A Tuscon, where he hit .311 with career-bests in runs scored (96), hits (156) hits, doubles (30), triples (13), home runs (18), and RBI (78) in 128 games, also a caree-high. Raines has a minor league career .270 average with 775 runs scored, 1,265 hits, 231 doubles, 56 triples, 77 home runs, 482 RBI, and 454 stolen bases in 1,288 games played. The Orioles selected Raines in the sixth round of the 1998 draft.