Andre Dawson: An Unfortunate Baseball Hall of Fame Snub

On Tuesday January 9^th when the announcement was made, the Baseball Hall of Fame opened its doors and welcomed its two newest members. Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn were deservedly voted in by the Baseball Writer's of America. Both men epitomized what it means to be a professional athlete, role model, and sportsman. Unfortunately, one name was glaringly absent from the list of new inductees yet again. Andre Dawson on his sixth attempt fell short of being named on the required 75% of the ballots and was denied entry into Baseball's hallowed hall for another year.

Any discussion of Hall of Fame snubs should begin with Andre Dawson. He was one of the most feared and respected sluggers of his day. ESPN's Jayson Stark wrote in his article Open Hall's door for these nine names, "I covered the National League in the 1980's. And every debate about the best player in the National League back then included Dawson's name." Being one of the dominant players at your position is one of the Hall of Fame's well documented requirements. According to Mr. Stark and many others, Dawson easily met this requirement.

Andre Dawson's baseball resume speaks for itself yet for some reason the Baseball Hall of Fame is not listening. He was the 1977 National League Rookie of the Year. He also earned the Sporting News Player of the Year honors in 1981 and again in 1987. The same year he was named the National League MVP; an award he was runner up for in 1981 and 1983. The Hawk, as he is affectionately known, was also a nine time All Star and earned eight Gold Gloves for the outfield over his 21 big league seasons. In addition, Dawson won four Silver Slugger awards and in 1994 was named the Major League Hutch Award winner.

Andre played for four different teams including the Montreal Expos whom he broke into the Majors with, the Chicago Cubs where he earned MVP honors, the Boston Red Sox, and finally the Florida Marlins before retiring in 1996. He still currently works for the Marlins organization as a Special Assistant to the Marlins' team President. While playing for the Expos from 1976-1985 Dawson set the then franchise single season records in many categories including Home Runs with 32, RBI's with 113, and extra base hits with 78.

He currently ranks 29^th on the all time Home Run list with 438 and 28^th on the RBI list with 1591. Even more impressively, Andre Dawson is one of only six players to hit at least 300 home runs and steal 300 bases. The other players are Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonds, Willie Mays, Reggie Sanders, and Steve Finley.

The Hawk's former teammates describe him as a true leader and professional both on and off the field. In his own Hall of Fame induction speech Dawson's teammate Ryne Sandberg had this to say, "No Player in baseball history worked harder, suffered more, or did it better than Andre Dawson. He's the best I've ever seen. I watched him win an MVP for a last place team in 1987, and it was the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen in baseball." Sandberg went on to add, "He did it the right way, and I hope he will stand up here someday." Those are high words of praise from a Hall of Fame player that witnessed first hand the ability Andre Dawson displayed time and time again.

Carrie Muskrat from MLB.com in her own article on Andre Dawson titled Hall Doors closed to Dawson in 2007 asks, "How revered was he? On May 22, 1990 the Cincinnati Reds intentionally walked Dawson five times in a 16-inning game. The Cubs won, 2-1." Events like that are rarely seen in baseball anymore, and it goes to show how truly dominant of a hitter Andre Dawson was.

In this era of baseball when steroid rumors are running rampant and the things that made America's National Past Time great are being tossed by the wayside isn't it time the Game recognizes the men who made it great. Andre Dawson's numbers speak volumes on why he should be inducted into the Hall of Fame and the respect he is given by former players and teammates who themselves have gained entrance into the Hall lend even more credence to the Hawk's case.

I believe ESPN baseball writer and analyst Jayson Stark said it best when he commented, "So consider his whole package of credentials-power and speed, defense and award votes, and the all-important non-statistical side of him, the leadership and the respect he commanded among his peers. Consider all that, and it's tougher to figure out why Dawson shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame than why he should."

With the 2007 inductions now passed, it is time to congratulate those who were voted in, but it is also a time to reflect on why one who so deservedly should be granted entrance into the Hall of Fame, Andre Dawson, was not voted in. Only time will tell if the Hawk will ever take his rightful place among the honored elite of Baseball, but for now, much like the Chicago Cubs team he achieved fame with, he will have to wait for next year.