Hall of Fame 2010 welcomes Andre Dawson

Written by: Bill Ivie on 8th January 2010

Hall of Fame 2010 welcomes Andre Dawson | read this item

Growing up in the midwest as the son of one of an avid baseball fan, there were a lot of things that I learned at a very young age.

Love the Cardinals. Win or lose, they are an amazing franchise.
Hate the Cubs.
Play hard, all the time, every time you are on the field.
Respect the game and everything about it, even if it means you have to break one of the above mentioned rules.

While growing up in the 80s and 90s, I got the benefit of watching some amazing ballplayers careers, some of which are still going. I watched Mark McGwire take center stage in 1987 and build a hall of fame caliber career. I watched Ken Griffey, Jr. arrive in 1989 and begin a career that continues today. Barry Bonds would develop from a threat at the plate and on the basepaths to the man that holds the record for most home runs in a career. Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens would prove to be some of the most dominant pitchers to ever play the game.

I also got to see the end of careers that would lead to Cooperstown. Ozzie Smith amazed me every year for his work ethic and what he could do on a ballfield. Nolan Ryan proved that sometimes you are just that much better than everyone else. Cal Ripken broke the “unbreakable” record as baseball’s new Iron Man. Mike Schmidt would epitomize the defense first mindset that so many coaches would preach and prove that a focus on defense didn’t mean there could be no offense. Rickey Henderson would steal bases at a pace like no other.

Through all of this, my father would talk most about some of the “unsung” players of the times. It was guys like Dale Murphy and Kirby Puckett that showed hustle and a respect for the game like few others that he would point out to me. Players like Gary Carter and Frank White that would quietly put together amazing careers that he would sit and talk to me for hours about. He wanted me to understand that baseball did not always have to be flamboyant and over the top. That respect for the game should always be admired. Even when the player that most epitomized that concept was wearing the “C” of the hated Chicago Cubs.

Andre Dawson was just that. A man who played the game because he loved the game. Quiet and never “over the top”, Andre simply went out and put forth his best effort day in and day out. He focused on his craft. He pushed forward and put together a career that some would debate the possibility of a trip to Cooperstown some day. He kept his head down, called men “sir” and ladies “ma’am”, and simply let his game lead him where life would take him. He was a player that was so far “off the radar” that he never graced the cover of a Baseball Digest in his 20 year career.

On the day of his election to the Hall of Fame, Andre Dawson would spend time visiting the graves of his grandmother and his mother. The single largest influence on his life, his grandmother, was always a favorite topic of Andre’s. He was fond of giving her credit for his education, relating the story that she would not allow him to go pro out of high school, demanding he attended college first instead. She taught him to be humble and thankful for the roads laid before him and to understand that his talent and work ethic would lead him where he wanted to be.

Andre would debut for the Montreal Expos in 1976. In 1977 he would play his first full year in the National League, posting a .282 batting average with 19 home runs, 65 RBI, and 21 stolen bases. Combined, those statistics would garner the young outfielder a Rookie of the Year award.

In 1979, Andre would start to draw more attention to himself and the young franchise just outside of the United States northern border. With a .275 batting average, 25 home runs, 92 RBI and 35 stolen bases, he would finish 25th in the voting for that year’s National League Most Valuable Player award.

The awards and accolades would start to accumulate the following season. In 1980, Andre would move up the ladder in MVP voting, finishing after hitting .308 with 17 home runs, 87 RBI and 34 stolen bases. He would lower his strike out total that season, cutting it in half from previous years. He would also earn his first Gold Glove and first Silver Slugger awards.

1981 would find “The Hawk”, as he had become known, making his first All Star Game appearance as well as bringing home another Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award and finishing second in the MVP balloting in a strike shortened season that threatened the livelihood of the game itself.

The early to mid 1980s would find Andre constantly among the best of the game. From 1982 to 1986, Dawson would earn two more all star appearances, four more gold gloves, another silver slugger and finish in the top 25 of the MVP voting twice. He would lead the league in hit in 1983 and he would consistently take the field in over 130 games every season.

It was 1987 that Andre Dawson would truly be thrust into the spotlight. Baseball’s ownership would be accused of collusion to keep the players from earning more money through a still very young process known as free agency. Seeing the astroturf of Olympic Stadium in Montreal as a contributing factor to his ailing knees, Andre was ready for a change and found himself without a team in the spring of 1987. In one of the most historic moves by any player to date, Andre and his agent showed up to the Chicago Cubs’ spring training site and presented management with a signed contract that was missing one small piece, a salary. Andre agreed to play for one season for the Cubs for any amount they cared to fill in. The Cubs management would call his bluff and offer him a below market value $500,000. Andre agreed and immediately joined the club.

That season, Dawson would win the National League MVP award, hitting .287 and leading the league with 47 home runs and 137 RBI. He would appear in the all star game that July, win a Gold Glove for his defensive work and bring home a silver slugger award for his offensive prowess.

The Hawk would continue his storied career for another nine seasons before retiring from baseball. He would play for the Chicago Cubs through 1992, appearing in the All Star Game every year except the last one and earning one more Gold Glove for his work. He would play for two seasons for the Boston Red Sox of the American League and return to the National League with a very young Florida Marlins team for the final two seasons of his career, providing as much leadership off the field as on.

When looking back at his career, Andre is most fond of his 1987 season. Not just for the accomplishments of awards and statistics, but because for that one season it was all about the game he loved and not about the money that was quickly beginning to characterize it. Andre was happy to take the field for the small amount that the Cubs gave him, just to be given the opportunity to continue playing the game the way he wanted to, and showing the respect it deserved.

From all of us here at BaseballDigest.com, congratulation to Andre “The Hawk” Dawson for your achievements and recognition in being elected to the Hall of Fame. We all look forward to your enshrinement this summer.

From me personally, thank you, Mr. Dawson, for giving me a player worthy of looking up to. Reminding me constantly that it was about the game, not the money. And thank you for all the conversations you sparked between my father and myself, they will never be forgotten.

You are a legend in this game…

…even if you were a Cub.

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Topics: Andre Dawson, Ballfield, Barry Bonds, Baseball Fan, Basepaths, Cal Ripken, Dale Murphy, Gary Carter, Hall of Fame, Ken Griffey Jr., kirby puckett, Man Mike, Mark McGwire, Mike Schmidt, Nolan Ryan, Ozzie Smith, randy johnson, Rickey Henderson, roger clemens, Work Ethic