Andre Dawson wants to be a Cubs Hall of Famer, HOF needs to help him |
Andre Dawson was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010 after a stellar 21-season career with the Montreal Expos, the Chicago Cubs, the Boston Red Sox, and the Florida Marlins.
Dawson, nicknamed “The Hawk,” spent ten seasons with the Expos (no longer a franchise) before spending the next six years of his prime on the Northside of Chicago. Dawson ended his career with two two-year stints with the Red Sox and Marlins before hanging up his cleats in 1996. Dawson’s career spanned three decades, and he was highly decorated. The Miami native won Rookie of the Year in 1977, an MVP in 1987, and was named to eight All-Star teams, won eight gold-gloves, and was a four-time silver slugger. Shockingly, it took Dawson 14 years to enter the Hall of Fame after he retired. Baseball does not have any specific criteria in terms of statistics to make the Hall of Fame, but achieving 3,000 hits or hitting 500 home runs are two benchmarks that are all but sure to guarantee a place in baseball’s immortality. The only players in baseball history to achieve those marks and not be in the Hall of Fame are those who are banned (Pete Rose), those who were involved in steroids (Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, etc.), or players who are not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame (Adrian Beltre, Ichiro Suzuki, Albert Pujols, and Miguel Cabrera). Dawson fell short of those near “automatic” criteria but is part of the still elusive 2,500 hit + 400 home run club. But I mentioned Dawson was a five-tool player. When you factor in that Dawson had over 1500 RBIs, over 300 stolen bases, and had won over five gold gloves in his career — only two other players boast those numbers and are widely considered some of the best ball players of all time: Willie Mays and Barry Bonds. He could do it all. He had an electrifying arm in the outfield and was as steady a fielder as any outfielder in his era. He was a constant threat on the base paths. He could hit for contact or power and was one of the best-run producers of his generation. He won the National League’s MVP award in a season where his team was in last place. It made sense why he caught on so early and often in Chicago. He gravitated toward the Chicago fans, and he was adored in return. He was your favorite player’s favorite player — and one of the defining players in an era of Cubs baseball that made many around America fall in love with the northsiders. Fitting, of course, that Dawson was a big enough name and large enough personality to don the magazine cover with Walter Payton and Michael Jordan — two of the greatest athletes in their respective sports and Chicago history. Dawson was only in town for six years and was still able to impact the fan base and earn that kind of respect from other stars. That’s why it is no surprise that Dawson would like his Hall of Fame plaque’s hat changed from an Expo to a Cub hat. “I want to go in as a Cub. I feel like a Cub lifer,” Dawson said. He spent ten years of his career with Montreal and was enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame with an Expos hat on — one of the last to do so. However, that team does not exist anymore, and a big part of retiring is how your franchise takes care of you. Dawson constantly returns to Wrigley Field to throw out the first pitch or sing the seventh-inning stretch. He was embraced as a player and is now honored as a great — something the Expos can not do. “When I think about my time in Chicago, I was rejuvenated. The fanbase is what I particularly had in mind when I said I wanted to wear a Cubs emblem,” he said. Dawson will be remembered for some great seasons in Montreal, but, as with many players who come through the Northside, there is something different about playing for the Cubs. “They embraced me.” And Dawson would like that to be immortalized forever with a Cubs hat on his Hall of Fame plaque. Hopefully, the Hall of Fame will honor the “Hawk”’s request in due time.
