COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Though clearly struck by the moment, Harold Baines kept his emotions in check just as he always has — even on a day he’ll never forget.

“I hold it inside. It’ll come out,” Baines said Tuesday, sitting just a few feet from where his bronze plaque will hang in the Baseball Hall of Fame come late July. “It’s very special, but it still hasn’t really sunk in.

“I’m very honored, very grateful for what’s going to be happening in the next few months.”

Baines and reliever Lee Smith were selected for enshrinement in the Hall of Fame at the baseball winter meetings in Las Vegas in December by a 16-member veterans committee. It took 12 votes by the panel to gain election — Smith was unanimous, while Baines received the requisite 12, one more than Lou Piniella. Mariano Rivera, Edgar Martinez, the late Roy Halladay, and Mike Mussina were selected last week by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. All six will be inducted July 21.

Baines started his career as an outfielder before an injury late in the 1986 season forced him into the role of a designated hitter and had a solid 22-year career, retiring after the 2001 season. He finished with 1,628 RBIs, 384 home runs and 2,866 hits, and was a six-time All-Star. But he never received more than 6.1 percent of the vote by the writers in five appearances on the ballot, well below the 75 percent threshold for induction.