They say trades are always judged by long-term history.

Now it can be said: Tom Grieve got a Hall of Famer for Sammy Sosa and Wilson Alvarez in what has often been panned as one of the worst trades in Rangers history.

Vindication?

Hardly.

On Sunday, Grieve, the former Rangers general manager who acquired Harold Baines from the Chicago White Sox in 1989, said he was happy for the veteran's election to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the 16-member Today's Game Era special committee, it didn't change his opinion of the trade one bit.

Baines, who played 22 years and amassed 2,886 hits, spent parts of two mostly forgettable years with the Rangers. On Sunday, he picked up the minimum 12 votes needed for a Hall of Fame spot.

"It doesn't affect how bad that trade was," Grieve said. "When we made that trade, we needed a bat in the lineup and preferably a left-handed bat. We always had taken the philosophy that we wouldn't take a short-term gain for a long-term loss. But we changed that because we thought we had a chance to win.

"The problem wasn't acquiring Harold, the flaw was in the thinking we had a chance to catch a veteran Oakland team that led us by five or six games," Grieve added. "He wasn't the reason we didn't catch the A's. We just never should have made the trade."

The Rangers acquired Baines on July 29, 1989 along with Fred Manrique for Sosa, left-hander Wilson Alvarez, one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, and infielder Scott Fletcher. They began that day in third place in the AL West, seven games behind the then-California Angels and 5.5 behind Oakland.

Baines hit .285 with a .723 OPS in 50 games for the Rangers. The team foundered the rest of the way and finished at 83-79, in fourth place, 16 games back of Oakland. The A's went on to win the earthquake-marred World Series.

Baines played another half season for the Rangers before being dealt to Oakland for a pair of players to be named later who ended up being pitchers Scott Chiamparino and Joe Bitker to the Rangers. Baines ended his time with the Rangers as a .288 hitter with a .791 OPS.

The Rangers had balked at Chicago's request for Juan Gonzalez in the trade but thought the presence of Gonzalez made Sosa expendable. Sosa went on to hit more than 600 home runs, but his career was tainted by steroid accusations. In six years on the ballot, he has only been named on as many as 10 percent of the ballots once; election by the Baseball Writers Association of America requires being named on 75 percent of the ballots.

Then again, there is always time for reconsideration. Baines never was named on more than six percent of the ballots during his eligibility. On Monday, he will be introduced as the newest Hall of Famer.

It doesn't make Grieve feel he's "off the hook," for the deal, but it does make him happy for Baines.

"I think there are a lot of guys who have been borderline candidates who you can find reasons why they should or shouldn't be in," Grieve said. "In Harold's case, he had a long distinguished career and I'm very happy for him."