Six Degree of Andre Dawson

Everyone has heard of that game where you can link Kevin Bacon to any actor based on movies he’s been in. Well, I thought it would be fun in anticipation of Andre being voted into the Hall of Fame to show the unique connections he has with some of the players already in the Hall.

Let’s get started.

Willie McCovey – Andre and Willie are the only two players to have hit 2 home runs in the same inning twice. (Andre did it in 7/30/78 vs. Braves and 9/24/85 vs. Cubs)

Willie Mays – Andre and Willie make up 2/3rds of the 400 HRs / 300 SBs club along with Barry Bonds.

Paul Molitor – Won 4 Silver Sluggers (1987, 1988, 1993 & 1996), Andre won 4 (1980, 1981, 1983 & 1987).

Johnny Bench – Won the M.L. Hutch award in 1981, Andre won in it 1994.

Bill Mazeroski – Won 8 Gold Gloves at 2B, Andre won 8 for OF.

Billy Williams – Along with being another Cub great, was inducted in 1987 the same year that Andre was named NL MVP for the Cubs.

Eddie Murray – Won the 1977 AL ROY, Andre won the 1977 NL ROY.

Rod Carew – Won both the ROY and MVP awards ten years apart (1967, 1977) as did Andre (1977, 1987).

Gary Carter – Not only were they Expo teammates but both have their numbers retired by the Expos (Carter 8, Dawson 10).

Cal Ripken Jr. – Made the # 8 famous, Cal’s Orioles’ jersey #, and Andre’s Cubs’ jersey #.

Frank Robinson – Hit 49 home runs, a career high, and led the Al in 1966. Andre also hit 49 home runs as a career high and led the NL in 1987.

Bruce Sutter – Made his MLB debut the same year as Andre in 1976 (Sutter 5/9/76, Andre 9/11/76).

Ozzie Smith – Both greats retired from the game after the 1996 season.

Tony Perez - Both finished their distinguished careers with a life-time batting average of .2794.

Steve Carlton – Not only did Andre get the best of him in their meetings (.291 avg. 4 HRs, 14 RBIs), but both were born in Miami, FL (Carlton – Dec. 1944, Andre – July 1954). When Andre gets elected, they will be the only two players in the HOF that were born in Florida.

Ryne Sandberg – Not only were they teammates, but Ryno praised Andre in his Hall of Fame induction speech. “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. He did it the right way, the natural way, and he did it in the field and on the bases and in every way, and I hope he will stand up here someday.”

Source: www.baseball-reference.com

2700-400 is Andre's Ticket to the Hall of Fame

With the Baseball Hall of Fame balloting upon us, the player whose name will once again get a lot of buzz is Andre Dawson. Last year Dawson received 67% of the vote, falling a tad-short of the required 75%. Over the past few years we’ve heard many good reasons why Dawson, aka “The Hawk”, deserves to be enshrined in Cooperstown.

Personally, I believe his career numbers and his philanthropy off the field are reasons enough for his induction, but if the BBWAA aren’t yet convinced then maybe putting one statistic in perspective may be the last hurdle they need to clear.

We’ve all heard of these “milestone clubs” that automatically put players in the Hall of Fame. Two of the most famous are the 3000-hit club and the 300-win club. However, there are some clubs that don’t get much attention but if we study them closely—they too can mean automatic enshrinement. And what I like about these clubs is that they manifest themselves directly from the voting patterns of the voters. In other words, every player who has accomplished the feat has been elected to the Hall of Fame.

One of these exclusive clubs is the 2700-400 Club (2700 hits, 400 home runs). Every single eligible player in major league history that has accomplished these two milestones is in the Hall of Fame, except, you guessed it, Andre Dawson.

The chart below demonstrates my above point:Notes: Ken Griffey, Jr. is the only active player who has achieved the milestone and it is safe to say he’s a future Hall of Famer. Barry Bonds and Rafael Palmeiro are not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame. In their cases it’s safe to say that if the dark cloud of the steroids scandal wasn’t hanging over their heads, they too would be sure-fire Hall of Famers.

So as we can see from the iconic names on this exclusive list, 2700-400 is not any easy milestone to achieve.

To further prove my point—let’s look into the future to see which active players are approaching 2700 hits and 400 home runs. The chart below shows all the active players with at least 1700 hits and 250 home runs. I highlighted in yellow the players I believe have a realistic chance or even an outside chance at 2700-400. But of course, everyone can make their own determinations.

Notes: As we can see, I only highlighted the 8 players that I believe have a realistic or outside chance of achieving the milestone. And what do they all have in common? They are all potential future Hall of Famers.

So the point is, 2700-400 are sure-proof numbers for Hall of Fame induction. 12 of the 15 retired players that have achieved the milestone are in the Hall of Fame. But remember, Palmeiro and Bonds are not yet eligible. So Dawson is the only eligible player not yet in. As for active players-- it’s safe to say, the ones who will reach the milestone are all going to be Hall of Fame worthy.

So my message to the BBWAA:

Study the 2700-400 Club. Once you see the names on the list, you’ll realize how special it is. Once you look at the active players, you’ll realize only the future Hall of Famers will enter the club because it’s a club only reachable by Hall of Famers.

Andre Dawson is a member of this club.

Stats and charts courtesy of baseball-reference.com

The 8 Gold Gloves

Fielding is rarely a statistic that comes into consideration regarding baseball's hall of fame. The only player I can think of that was inducted largely on the defensive aspect of the game was Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith.

What made Andre such a great all-around player was his ability to save as many runs with his outstanding glove as he created with his bat. He won 8 Gold Gloves in his 21-year career, six in which were in consecutive years (1980-1985, two additional Gold Gloves in 1987 and 1988).

I believe Andre would have won additional gold gloves later in his career had he began his career playing on natural grass rather than hard artificial turf during his time as a Montreal Expo. Despite that, only two outfielders in Major League Baseball history have won more Gold Gloves than Andre, Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays, both are in the hall of fame*.

Andre's fielding percentage for his career was .983 (1.000 is the highest possible %).*

*www.wiki.answers.com