Andre Dawson did not make baseball's hallowed Hall of Fame this week. He came up short for the 2007 edition, garnering 56.9% (309) of the votes.
Maybe I'm biased, but it will not preclude me from writing that Andre Dawson belongs in the Hall of Fame.
At least Dawson's career totals support my bias.
He batted .279 with 438 home runs, 1,591 RBIs, and stole 314 bases. That's 438 HRs during a period when homers were as rare as spotting a mountain lynx. Dawson was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1977 and won the Most Valuable Player Award in 1987 with the last place Chicago Cubs, when he hit .287. That year he led the league with 49 home runs and 137 RBIs. For what it's worth — and I think it's worth much — he finished second in MVP voting twice in 1981 and 1983. Not to mention a bunch of other impressive statistics only a purist could appreciate.
On a sentimental and subjective level, Andre "Hawk" Dawson was my favorite Montreal Expo growing up. I clearly remember the lazy, warm day when my neighbour — who I happened to go to Expos games with on many a day thanks to his season tickets — informed me the Expos traded Dawson to Chicago. Right on the spot I vowed to never follow the Expos again. Like any dumb and impetuous teenager, that promise was soon broken. Still, it was the thought that counted.
Not exactly the main guy you wanted in a clutch situation (his OBP was terrible), Dawson was nevertheless baseball's premier center fielder, season after season. Don't believe me? Try telling that to his powerful arm and eight Gold Gloves. For a while, he elegantly combined power and speed until his knees quit on him. It wasn't until the arrival of Vladimir Guerrero — the greatest Expo ever — did Montreal baseball fans see another specimen like Dawson.
.jpg?t=20120527181101)
Article comments
1 - The Haze
Could not agree more Mr. Nicolo. What a shame.he was blue collar all the way. Kirby Puckett and no "Hawk"? Here's another one - Albert Belle.Check the stats.Id venture to say there better than Kirbys but, he was loved by baseball.My question:What's love got to do with it?" Something has happened to sports since,let's say,the 80's that I can't quite put a finger on.Any suggestions?Does anyone remember the '94 Expos?
2 - alessandro nicolo
I don't know about Belle. Dale Murphy before him I think. Jim Rice and Ron Santo too. What's love got to do with it is right. Keeping Pete Rose out is ridiculous. Ty Cobb is in. 'Nough said. I'm not sure about the reliever thing. It's changed the way we measure pitchers. My problem is the innings pitched. Gossage is pushing the whole notion on this front. Then again, they have started to let them in and it would make little sense to keep DOMINATING relievers in. And when I say DOMINATING I mean DOMINATION for LONG periods of time. It would be hard to keep Mariano Rivera out. Anyway, the baseball Hall of Hame usually gets it right with some hiccups here and there. Not like the hockey Hall of Fame which is an utter joke. Clark Gilles but no Dino Ciccerelli? Bernie Federko? Larry Murphy? Last I checked solid players and inthe case of Murphy great numbers but where was the dominance? They did not transcend anyone in hockey. Players who don't dominate make the hall in that sport. They reward good careers as well as the great ones. That's not a hall of fame. It's a Room of 'thanks for playing.' As for 1994, thanks for depressing me for the rest of the day. I remember 1994 like it was yesterday. Same with 1981. The Expos was getting this city electrified. They weren't just winning games. They were destroying their opponents. What horrible luck to have the strike happen to them. Braves 15 straight division titles my ass. Talk about a play on history. It killed baseball in Montreal. Montrealers had had enough. I know I rebelled by boycotting MLB. But then my hand was forced when the Expos franchise was threatened so my allegiance went to the Expos as I went back to the games in 1996. There was something in the air in the 80s. It was a blast. It was purer - ok that didn't come out right given the cocaine binge of the early 80s.
3 - RJ Elliott
Dawson deserves admittance, I agree. And so does Mark McGuire, IMO...
4 - RJ Elliott
[ducks]
5 - The Haze
Got a buddy who's an Expo fan,now a Nats man.You could field a couple of all-star teams with ex-Expos and now Nats.Sorry about that but I don't think people realize the good teams they had up in Montreal.If you ask the average sports person about the Expos,I think they say loser,and thats not true. They were typically bad run organization with really good players.Look at the Bengals in the NFL.During the 90's they sucked but had how many first round draft choices? Bad management can kill a franchise.Just ask the Knicks in the NBA.Back to the subject at hand,"The Hawk" rules.
6 - alessandro nicolo
Actually, we bad ownership after Bronfman left. It was a disaster. Management to me, GM, coach, scouts was always top notch. They did draft well and had one of the top baseball development system around. And they were also smart traders. The Expos rarely lost in a deal. The image we have of the Expos is post-94 and post-Bronfman and it's too bad. Some bonehead journalist here in Montreal blames Claude Brochu - who was the figurehead and middleman between the owners and MLB. Brochu understood MLB and American business culture. The others seemed to be oblivious to it. It went beyond him. The ownership group that took over from Bronfman authored the demise of the Expos. It got really stupid at the end. Jacques Menard's group were outfoxed. End of story and they have no one but themselves to blame for letting Loria and his son outwit them. The fans for their part, blamed Selig and Brochu which is misguided. They were in the front lines. I went to the last game the Expos ever played here. 31 000 people showed up. It still wasn't a sell out. Still, I could not believe the showcase in hypocrisy by the fans. The anti-Selig and Brochu signs and chanting. Many people were crying. Yet, the only thing I wanted to shout was "Where were YOU when it counted most?" I went to about 20 games a year. The stands were empty. None of these people were there. And there they were. Rather than look in the mirror they point the finger the other way. Selig and Brochu were easy targets and scapegoats. The funny thing is that Menard thinks they were 'heroes' for trying to save the team. They may have tried but their parochialism did them in. That and the odd fact that pharmacy mogul Jean Coutu was a troublesome nuisance even though he had not put one cent in the team. Imagine that. He was getting headlines, maling noise and he kept his hands in his pockets. Yet, everyone gave him a pass. Not me. I vowed to never set foot in his pharmacy's again and I haven't. This should be made into a documentary.
7 - The Haze
Didn't realize that,thanks for the info.Sometimes people don't see the inside workings from afar.As to your remarks about the fans: you've sen me write it before-they are the ultimate culprits.During the 70's and 80's you could go to a ballgame in Cleveland and basically sit wherever you wanted because no one was there!Well you know what? The Tribe sucked,that's why!For a time I don't think they even had an owner! And Art Modell(ugh!)was raking all profits from the stadium which left I believe only tickets.But geez,an owner,a new stadium(The Jake)smart baseball people,good players and voile! the place is packed!I said the same as you;"Where the hell were you people when the team needed you"? My simmering thoughts lead me to the debate that I've been having with myself and others the past 30 yrs.or so: When the hell did sports stop being sports and who is to blame? I personally am sickened by the three major sports today and baseball is the only one I can fully watch because of my love for the game itself. Haven't been to a game in years,refuse to participate in any way.Don't buy ball caps or clothes,really try not to be a part of that process that I think creates this atmosphere of....what's the word I'm looking for...could it be selfishness? Instant gratification? What have you done for me lately attitude? I don't know but I do know this that if I am part of the problem,I can't bitch,so I try not to be a part of it.I apologize for the rant but I see these little situations like the Hawks as part of a bigger picture:the morphing of true sports into pure entertainment.I don't like where it's going.Does anybody else?
8 - alessandro nicolo
Basketball seems like a sport flooded with misguided athletes. Hockey on the other hand continues to luck out. The values are different. They should do a study between the two. ANd yes. Whenever I used to hear Montreal wasn' a baseball town that was worth a second chance I would always point to Cleveland. Atlanta had poor attendance also. Pittsburgh continues to struggle and Detroit was pretty bad before last year. San Francisco was no better and I remember Philadelphia not getting their share when the Phillies were in the hunt a couple of year back - the year the Expos moved. Boom and bust. These things move in circles. Above all, as you pointed out, bring a winner and they will come. Very few cities are pure sports towns that would support losing teams. The overall average attendance for Montreal from 1969-2004? 21 000. That put them in the middle of the pack. It could and should have worked. The will was nolonger there. Excuses were made. That's fine but don't make it look like it was hopeless.
9 - MCH
Jim Rice.
10 - Michael
Andre Dawson, Thank you for the memories. If you don't get into the Hall of Fame, baseball will never mean the same thing to me as it did when I was watching you while I was growing up. Taking a pay cut to go to Chicago was the most admiral display of playing just for the love of the game I have ever heard of. We will never have another "HAWK" in baseball again. You were the best in your time. You are a Hall of Famer!
11 - Charley
A weekly blog providing reasons and statistics on why this baseball superstar so proudly deserves to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.