Tag: Andre Dawson

Dawson: Cub, Expo, what does it matter? He’ll be in.

I did a quick poll of the top stories of Andre Dawson entering the Hall of Fame.  Of those articles with photos of him playing, the ratio of him in a Cub uniform as opposed to an Expo uni was about 2 to 1. 

But Iā€™m not jealous.  Really.  Iā€™m just happy heā€™s getting in.  And part of me is glad the Expos arenā€™t forgotten.  But Joe Jaffe from ESPN thinks Tim Raines should have been the first Expo, though.

and whatā€™s thisā€¦ more talk about Lou Piniella eventually getting into the Hall?  So says soon-to-be inductee Whitey Herzog.

Dawson’s gut is wrenched: he’ll be wearing an Expos cap

andre-dawson-expos-rookie Is it me or do I get the sense that the Hall of Fame is choosing to place an Expo cap on Andre Dawsonā€™s head because perhaps this might be might be the Exposā€™ last chance?  At this point, Gary Carter is the only player in the Hall who is remotely associated with the Expos franchise. 

Donā€™t get me wrongā€¦ there are certainly valid reasons, too.  If you glance at the stats, Dawson looks pretty good with the Expos.  He simply played more years, accumulated more stats. He was also arguably a better player.  Six Gold Gloves.  A ā€œfive-toolā€ player.  You know, before the knee operations.

But Andre doesn’t see it that way and is perhaps a slightly surprised that he wasn’t even asked his opinion.  He would prefer to wear a Cubs cap at the Cooperstown ceremonies. 

"It was to my understanding they would make the determination at the consent of sitting down and discussing it with you prior to making the determination and I just thought it would carry a little bit more weight than it did." .

Obviously, his time with the Cubs meant something to him. 

As well they should.  His career year was his first year with Chicago when he won the MVP and became the answer to a trivia question.

Itā€™s a routine thing we go through every year when a player is voted in to the Hall who isn’t lucky enough to play for one team his whole career (see Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn.., what did the pundits quibble about THAT year?).  And maybe it would be nice if they didn’t wear a cap at all to avoid this partisan nonsense.  Or maybe a nice cowboy hat. 

thatā€™ll fix ā€˜em. 

Dawson, the HOF, and Wikipedia searches

Iā€™m always interested in searching habits of people browsing the web so I found this little tool interesting.  And if I can make it pertain to baseball, all the better.

dawson searches

The graph above shows the number of hits that Andre Dawsonā€™s page on Wikipedia took.  The results arenā€™t too surprising though Iā€™m surprised that the spike was so dramatic.  Essentially on the day of the announcement and the day after.  Not so much before the fact.  I attribute it to idea that hard core baseball fans (the ones that would be researching Dawson beforehand) arenā€™t so likely to use a source like Wikipedia for their research. 

For the occasional baseball fan, Wikipedia might be their first stop.

hof searches

For kicks, here is the Baseball Hall of Fameā€™s Wikipedia page spike graph.  Pretty much the same but less of a spike.  Obviously, the Hall of Fame was more on peopleā€™s mind as opposed to a particular player (since no one was announced yet). 

My take on the Hall of Fame balloting

 

The Hall of Fame balloting broken down Zealot-styleā€¦

New Hall of Famer Andre Dawsonā€™s most compelling statistic:

Heā€™s one of three major league players who has 400 homeruns and 300 stolen bases.  The other two?  Willie Mays and Barry Bonds.

Andre Dawsonā€™s least compelling statistic (and the one you hear cited by his detractors ad nauseum):

His lifetime .323 OBP.  Enough said.

The 2010 HOF candidate most deserving to get into the Hall of Fame but didnā€™t:

My opinion?? Bert Blyleven.  Iā€™ve been on his bandwagon for a few years now.  Come on, vote him in already!  He has two more years of eligibility left.  The good news is that since 1999, when he got 14.1% of the vote, his percentage has gone up every year with the exception of 2007.  I predict that weā€™ll see Bert in the Hall next summer.

The reason Roberto Alomar didnā€™t get in his first year:

Three-fold.  1) the spitting incident didnā€™t help especially among the old guard of the BBWAA  2) the fact that some donā€™t want to vote anyone but the cream of the crop in their first of eligibility especially with reason #1 hanging around their necks and 3) Iā€™ve heard this factoid bandied aboutā€¦ that Alomar was pretty much done by the time he was 35 or 36.  Yes, I knowā€¦ he started out (full time) in the bigs when he was 20 and subsequently put in a good 17 years of service in the majors but that kind of thing sticks with writers, I guess.

Craziest Hall of Fame vote:

  Pat Hentgen 1 vote.  To be fair, Hentgen won a Cy Young and won one World Series game but with 131 wins and a 4.32 ERA that can take you only so far.

The ā€œItā€™s not crazy if there are two of usā€ award:

Eric Karros 2 votes. 

and finally,

The 2010 candidate I thought was dissed this year: 

Harold Baines.  Should he have gotten in?  I donā€™t know.  But I was surprised that he barely hung on for next yearā€™s ballot.  Yes, Iā€™m a Cub fan but Baines deserved more.  An interesting stat:  Baines had more career hits and more career rbis than any other HOF candidate.

Read the transcript of BBWAA interview with Andre Dawson

If you haven’t already, take the time to read the transcript of the BBWAA conference call interview with Andre Dawson after the announcement of his selection to the Hall of Fame.  Itā€™s a good read. 

During the interview, he spoke at length about his family especially his mother and his grandmother, Eunice Taylor, who he considered a ā€œmentorā€. 

Dawson seemed to have a high opinion of playing in Chicago and of the Chicago fans:

I just went out and said I was going to have fun. The fans embraced me from day one of spring training. And I think even though I pressed a little bit at the outset, I hit a grand slam home run that kind of got me going.

And from there, you know, things just started to happen on a daily basis. But for the most part of the six years that I was there, I really enjoyed the reception, the fact that I had an opportunity to play amongst fans who really didnā€™t put any pressure on you, you know.

 

Plus he had great comment about one of my favorite baseball people:

Don Zimmer always would make the comment, get here early and donā€™t really go out and do something that would embarrass the fans.

Something else about the interview struck me too. Something that some people might appreciate more than others:

Andre Dawson: Okay, thank you.

…

Andre Dawson: Youā€™re welcome.

…

Andre Dawson: Thank you.

…

Andre Dawson: Thank you, sir.

…

Andre Dawson: Thank you.

…

Andre Dawson: Thank you.

ā€¦

Andre Dawson: Thank you, (Ian).

ā€¦

Andre Dawson: Hi Toni. Thank you.

etc, etc..

you get the idea.  Grandmother raised him right.

Hall of Fame election tidbits

The baseball bloggers of the SB Nation affiliates held their own Hall of Fame balloting and the results are in.  If they were in charge, only one player would get in and that player was a bit of a surpriseā€¦ Bert Blyleven. 

Don’t get me wrongā€¦ Iā€™ve been a Blyleven supporter for years.  I just would have expected more support for Alomar or Larkin.  My guess is that there was a bit of the ā€œnot getting in the first yearā€ element factoring in.

 

Thereā€™s a shared document which has a list of 50 or so (and growing) BBWAA writers and their publicly announced Hall of Fame ballots. 

Itā€™s a small sample size of course but Iā€™m heartened to see a good portion of votes going to Andre Dawson (at this moment out of 53 listed, 41 are supporting his induction). 

 

Maybe itā€™s me but it seems like thereā€™s a bigger push for Edgar Martinez among a few for the Hall. 

 

More support for Dawson from Hal Bodley, senior correspondent for mlb.com who goes on to say that he thinks that this will be (or maybe more accurately ā€œshould beā€) the year for Dawson and Blyleven.  His ballot:   Dawson, Blyleven, Alomar and Jack Morris.

 

and it wouldnā€™t be Hall of Fame ballot time unless a writer wasnā€™t defending his ballot, right.  Only it seems now theyā€™re doing earlier and earlier before the official announcement.

Andre Dawson: In or out?

The Chicago Tribune has announced who their seven major sports writers support for the 2010 baseball Hall of Fame ballot.  Aggregately, the seven of them would vote in Roberto Alomar and Andre Dawson.

Dawson has always been on the bubble when it came to the Hall.  It didnā€™t help that he had 438 homeruns short of the (what used to be) the magical number to get in, (whether or not you like that litmus test. I donā€™t)  It also doesnā€™t help that he played for a team that doesnā€™t exist anymore and another that for the most part was mediocre (Dawson did his part winning the MVP for the last place 1987 Cubs). 

Hopefully, this is his year.  If you really want to see him in the Hall, you can help push for his election by joining Cubcastā€™s Twitter blitz aptly named #Dawson4theHall.  More info on their website.

Dawson may have an uphill battle, though.  Seems to me that the BBWAA is becoming more selective in recent years, with the possible exception of Bruce Sutter (sorry Sutter fans, I liked him too). 

But mostly in the ā€˜00s, theyā€™ve only voted in the creme de la creme, something the Veterans Committee should perhaps look into.  In 2009, it was Rice (long time cominā€™) and Henderson (shoo-in).  In 2008, Gossage.  In 2007, two obvious choices in Ripken and Gwynn.  Others in this decade:  Boggs, Sandberg, Eckersley, G. Carter, Eddie Murray, Ozzie Smith. Kirby Puckett. 

Ok, there WAS Mazeroski. *snicker*

As far as his legacy is concerned, Dawson can be thankful he was picked up by the Chicago Cubs in 1987 after playing eleven years with the now defunct Montreal Expos .  He was 32 years old and played only six years for Chicago but recently the Cub faithful have really taken up his cause for the Hall with a vengeance.  See the above Twitter effort as an example.

Point is, as much as I like Dawson (and I do, being a Cub fan.  Besides being a good player, he had a pretty cool WGN theme song based around him), it might be a tough row to hoe. 

PS I couldnā€™t think of it at the time but the song was ā€œAndreā€™s Armyā€.

Andre Dawson: Best free agent money could buy?

Askmen.com presents their top ten list of All-time Baseball Free-Agent Bargains. 

dawson Iā€™m glad to see their memory is intact and they remember Andre Dawson at #3.  In the collusion market after the 1986 season, Dawson was picked up by the Cubs for $500,000 (plus incentives which eventually came out to around $700,000).  Even back then, that was a pitiful amount. 

The rest, as they say, is history.  Dawson had his famous 49-homer, 137 rbi season for the last place Cubs.  Both figures led the NL that year and were enough to garner him the NL MVP. 

Fortunately, the Cubs saw value in their new outfielder and gave him a raise.  They signed him at $1.85 million the next year.

Dawson played six 20+ HR years for Chicago.

HOF ’09: We’re Done!

Well, with Teddy Ballgame’s write-up on Greg Vaughn earlier today, we’ve concluded HOF ’09, our series of profiles of this year’s candidates for the Hall of Fame.  It’s been fun and I think we’ve even learned a bit along the way.

As for me, it was an interesting group of players to profile for a couple reasons.  A big one was that most of these players were big stars while I was a teenager and young adult when I was forming my serious interest in baseball.  Dave Parker, Jim Rice, Tim Raines, Andre Dawson… I have fond memories.  Not to mention that some of these players played in the era when the Chicago Cubs finally became a post season threat (I can still remember the ’84 series against the Padres… ugh). 

Also, these players came from a time when baseball had more of a balance of power, speed, and pitching.  Appropriately enough, that is reflected in the 2009 Hall of Fame ballot.  With the speed of Henderson and Raines, the power of McGwire and Rice and the pitching of David Cone, Bert Blyleven and Tommy John, this class is well represented. 

Who will get elected?  Well, we put our opinions down who we think SHOULD get the call but as to who WILL get elected is another matter.  The BBWAA has been rather stingy lately and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  It’s very possible that just one (Rickey Henderson??) will get elected and others will have to wait.

Time is running out for some, though.  The midnight hour is chiming for Jim Rice as it’s his last ballot.  There are some (myself included) who feel that his career and contribution is worthy of the Hall. 

We’ll find out tomorrow and the chips will fall where they may.  No doubt, many bloggers and pundits will be unhappy no matter how it goes.  I’ll predict at least one writer will have his credentials questioned and will be asked to step down from the BBWAA.  Unfortunately, THAT is the safest prediction I make right now. 

All that said, here are the opinions we’ve made in the last month.  Links go to our profiles on the players. 

Thanks for reading!

Hall of Fame Hall of Very Good Why is he even on the Ballot?
Harold Baines    
Jay Bell    
Bert Blyleven    
David Cone    
Andre Dawson    
Ron Gant    
Mark Grace    
Rickey Henderson    
Tommy John    
Don Mattingly    
Mark McGwire    
Jack Morris    
Dale Murphy    
Jesse Orosco    

Dave Parker

    
Dan Plesac    
Tim Raines    
Jim Rice    

Lee Smith

    
Alan Trammell    
Greg Vaughn    

Mo Vaughn

    

Matt Williams

    

 

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Teddy Ballgame and DonS for their help with his project.

Also, a lot of research went in to this.  I’d like to give props to the websites that were helpful. 

Baseball Reference:  I can’t say enough about this web site.  If there are baseball fans out there who haven’t seen this site and what it can do, you need to check it out.

Baseball Page:  Very helpful for bios and such.

Baseball Musings’ Day by Day Database:  Good for finding stats between established periods of time (and lots of other stuff).

Baseball Almanac:  another good bio site.  Good for the quotes too :)

HOF ’09: Andre Dawson

“No player in baseball history worked harder, suffered more or did it better than Andre Dawson. He’s the best I’ve ever seen.”

Hall of Fame secondbaseman Ryne Sandberg

 

Over the years, I’ve gone back and forth on the Andre Dawson question.  Lately though, I’m beginning to feel the Hawk belongs.  The votes have been close lately, receiving the most votes in 2008 to this point. 

Dawson Facts

  • Drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 11th round in 1975
  • Played for Mon, ChiC, Bos, Fla (1976-1996)
  • Seven time All-Star, Eight Golden Gloves
  • Hit for the cycle April 29, 1987
  • 438 HR, 1591 RBIs, 314 SB

 

After a brief cup of coffee for the Montreal Expos in 1976, Andre Dawson’s rookie season in 1977 pretty much summed up the kind of player he was.  A five tool athlete could hit (.282), hit for power (19 HR), run (19 SB) and field.  For his efforts, Dawson was awarded the Rookie of the Year award. 

Though his hitting dipped (.253), his sophomore year was no jinx (25 HR, 28 SB) and for that matter so were the next five or six years.  As a matter of fact, he hit over .300 three years straight.  In 1984, he did hit only .248 but managed to drive in 86 runs anyway.  Dawson’s big year with Montreal was in 1983.  That year, he hit the century mark in runs (104) and rbis (113) while cranking 32 homeruns and stealing 25 bases. 

andre_dawson_expos As part of the Expos famed outfield with Ellis Valentine  and Warren Cromartie, Dawson at least made baseball interesting to watch in Montreal. 

As a free agent, he signed with the Chicago Cubs for $700,000 in what everyone found out to be a collusion effort throughout baseball on the owners’ part.  The Cubs got their money’s worth at least from Dawson.  Despite the Cubs cellar-dwelling performance, Dawson hit 49 homeruns and 137 rbis.  He won the NL MVP award, the first player to win while playing for a last place team. 

By the 1990s, Dawson’s knees were getting the best of him and his speed had gone.  He was a smart baserunner and an instinctive in the field.  His bat still had some pop (27 HR in 1990, 31 HR in 1991) and he batted .310 in 1990. 

In 1993, he was signed by the Red Sox.  After two relatively productive years (13 and 16 HRs), he came back to the NL to play for Florida but he was pretty much finished by then squeezing out less than 300 at-bats in two years.

Pros:  If  you use the “dominate his era” argument for the Hall, you can make a good case for Dawson.  Not only is he a seven-time All-Star, he won 8 Golden Gloves.  Add to that his MVP (he came in second twice) and Rookie of the Year award, you have enough mantle metal to justify it. 

Dawson didn’t rely on one or two stats to contribute to his team.  He was a five tool player and maybe that will hurt him in the end in getting to the Hall.

Cons:  Dawson was a free swinger and thus his OBP was low throughout his career (.323).  His highest walk total for a season was 44.  His career totals don’t scream “Hall of Fame!”  He didn’t hit any of the automatic milestones (438 HR, 2774 hits… something by the way, I’m beginning to tire of).   Lastly, playing for Montreal and Chicago Cubs for the bulk of his career and therefore not getting a whole lot of postseason time (he got as far as the NLCS with Montreal in 1981, lost in the NLDS with the Cubs in 1989) won’t help. 

Maybe I’m being a Cubs homer here but I’m putting Dawson in. 

 

Hall of Fame
 

Hall of Very Good
  Why is he even on the Ballot?

 

While we wait for January 12 ballot results, The Baseball Zealot will be profiling those players who are on the 2009 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.  Read the rest the of the profiles.