Which Cap Does Andre Look Best In?

Since Andre's election to the Hall of Fame on January 6th, the question a foot has been will he be inducted wearing a Cubs or Expos cap.

What team should an elected player represent in the Hall of Fame has not been a prevailing debate for most of its history. Cal Ripken Jr., not a question, Tony Gwynn, not a question, Ryne Sandberg, not a question, etc. Gone are the days of a player playing majority of his career with one team thanks to free agency.

The reason it has been up for debate in Andre's case is that he spent more seasons (11) in Montreal while putting up majority of his statistics there. However as a Cub for six seasons, Andre rose to national prominence and became one of baseball's most well known ambassadors.

Here's a look at his numbers between the two clubs*:

Montreal Expos 1976-1986: 225 HRs, 838 RBIs, .280 Avg., 1575 Hits, 828 Runs, 253 SBs

Chicago Cubs 1987-1992: 174 HRs, 587 RBIs, .285 Avg., 929 Hits, 431 Runs, 57 SBs

As a Cubs fan I naturally want to see him don the Cubs cap on July 25th.

As an Andre Dawson fan I'm just glad he is a Hall of Famer regardless of the cap he will wear.

But as a blogger, I wouldn't feel right if I didn't share my opinion on this, so here it is.

Top Ten reasons Andre should be inducted as a Cub:

10. MVP trumps ROY. Andre's 1987 MVP award with the last-place Cubs is more impressive than this 1977 ROY award with the Expos. He was the first player to win the MVP on a last-place team, which in itself is true testament to the type of player he was. When most may have turned in a lack luster effort, Andre kicked it into higher gear.

9. 5-time All-Star with Cubs (1987-1991) versus 3 times as an Expo (1981-1983).

8. Career highs in Home Runs (49) and RBIs (137) as a Cub.

7. Joined the 300 HRs / 300 SBs club as a Cub.

6. The "C" logo on the Cubs cap makes sense. The logo on the Expo cap never looked like an "M." Amazing that franchise never changed the "JL" into a cleaner logo.

5. 3-100 RBI seasons as a Cub (1987, 1991 & 1992), only 1 as an Expo.

4. Hit more Home Runs at Wrigley Field (Cubs) than Olympic Stadium (Expos) (110 to 102)*. Even before he joined the Cubs in '87, he loved hitting in Wrigley.

3. Ryne Sandberg. While Hall of Famer Gary Carter was a teammate of Andre's in Montreal (1976-1984), Andre/Ryno was the Jordan/Pippen of Chicago baseball. The tandem should wear the same cap in the Hall. I'll let you decide which is Jordan in this equation.

2. The Cubs have stated that they'll retire his #8 if he enters the Hall as a Cub. First, let me say that I believe they should do this regardless of the cap he wears. Second, that statement is insane considering the cap he wears is ultimately the Hall's decision. Andre gets to share his input, but it's not his call. I think it would show a lot of class on the Cubs part to do it even if the Expos are chosen. If he is immortalized as an Expo in the Hall, then immortalize him as a Cub at Wrigley. But let's not take chances here; let's make the decision for the Cubs easy.

1. Cubs are forever. Expos are now the Nationals. 20, 30 years from now, kids won't even remember the Expos. Do you think kids today know who the Washington Senators were? I want the next generation of fans that visit the Hall of Fame to recognize the cap on his plaque and recognize him as one of the greatest Cubs ever!

* www.baseball-reference.com

Andre is Elected to HOF with 77.9%, Congrats Hawk!!!

Congratulations Andre on your long awaited and deserved call to the Hall!

For 21 seasons you gave baseball and its’ fans your heart and best effort when you stepped onto the field. Now that effort will be immortalized among baseball’s greatest for all-time.

I congratulate and thank the BBWAA voters for making the right decision; albeit one that should have been made sooner, but a decision that Andre, his fans and baseball deserve.

What makes it the right decision?

The right decision for Andre because he was truly one of the best during his time in baseball. He achieved greatness in his career by winning the NL Rookie of the Year in 1977 and NL MVP in 1987, winning 8 Gold Gloves, winning four Silver Slugger Awards, and being one of only three players to amass at least 400 home runs and 300 stolen bases.

The right decision for his fans because now everyone can recognize Andre the way we have for the last 8 years since he has appeared on the ballot, as a Hall of Famer!

The right decision for baseball because one day I’ll be able to show my child Andre’s display at Cooperstown and be able to tell him, “Andre played the game right, reciprocated the respect fans and peers showed him and played through the pain of his knees to become one of the game’s greatest.”

Now, isn’t that good for baseball, to have Andre in the Hall of Fame to serve as one of baseball’s great examples of how hard work and persistence pays off?

Congratulations once again Andre, you’ve earned the honor of being called a Hall of Famer!

If you would like to congratulate Andre on this achievement and his career, leave a comment below and I’ll send it to him.

Winners of the Hall of Fame Predictor Contest

Andre was the sole induction for this year's Hall of Fame class with 77.9%. Three people picked him as the only player to get elected: Gooseneck (78.3), Ronnie Phillips (78.6) and Danny (81.2).

Gooseneck is the winner with the closest % of the three, Ronnie is second. Gooseneck, email me with your choice of one of three prizes, the Mickey Mantle, Nolan Ryan, or Cal Ripken cards. Ronnie, email me your first and second choices.

30-Year Old Cardboard was almost dead-on with Andre's %, guessing 77.8, however he also chose Roberto Alomar to be elected. Since he was so close with the %, I'm going to send him a honorable mention prize!

Thanks everyone for participating!!!!

Entries in the Hall of Fame Predictor Contest

Here's the final entries in the Hall of Fame Predictor Contest. Good luck everyone.

Wickedortega
Roberto Alomar - 75.7%
Barry Larkin - 78.1

Jonathan
Andre Dawson - 80.3%
Bert Blyleven - 75.4%

hlrzr32
Andre Dawson - 80.7%
Roberto Alomar - 79.9%
Bert Blyleven - 77.2%

'30-Year Old Cardboard
Roberto Alomar - 81.3
Andre Dawson - 77.8

Tai
Andre Dawson - 79.8%
Roberto Alomar - 76.2%

Danny
Andre Dawson - 81.2%

Peralta's Point
Andre Dawson - 80.2%
Bert Blyleven - 76.8%

Ronnie Phillips
Andre Dawson - 78.6%

gooseneck
Andre Dawson - 78.3%

Andre Belongs, Just Compare His 162 Game Average!

It’s no big secret that Andre played most of his career in pain due to his knees. Because of that he was usually limited to less than 150 games a season. In fact, in his 21 seasons, he only played 150 games or more 6 times.

If you look at his 162 game average statistics compared to several Hall of Famers, he is right on par with them. For the purpose of this post, I chose 6 similar batters: Billy Williams, Reggie Jackson, Dave Winfield, Eddie Murray, Tony Perez and Willie McCovey.*

Dawson: 27 HRs, 98 RBIs, .279 Avg., 19 SBs, 171 Hits, 85 Runs, 6 seasons of 150+ G
Williams: 28 HRs, 96 RBIs, .298 Avg., 6 SBs, 177 Hits, 92 Runs, 13 seasons of 150+ G
Jackson: 32 HRs, 98 RBIs, .262 Avg., 13 SBs, 148 Hits, 89 Runs, 6 seasons of 150+ G
Winfield: 25 HRs, 100 RBIs, .283 Avg., 12 SBs, 169 Hits, 91 Runs, 10 seasons of 150+ G
Murray: 27 HRs, 103 RBIs, .287 Avg., 6 SBs, 174 Hits, 87 Runs, 16 seasons of 150 + G
Perez: 22 HRs, 96 RBIs, .279 Avg., 3 SBs, 159 Hits, 74 Runs, 9 seasons of 150+ G
McCovey: 33 HRs, 97 RBIs, .270 Avg., 2 SBs, 138 Hits, 77 Runs, 4 seasons of 150+ G

I think it should be noted that Jackson, Winfield and Murray spent more than double the amount of games in the DH position than Andre: Jackson – 630, Winfield – 419, Murray – 573 and Dawson – 171.

Andre loved playing in Chicago and for the Wrigley faithful. You can’t fault him for that, but if he had moved to the AL earlier in his career than 1993, can you imagine the numbers he might have put up offensively? I don’t think we would be having this conversation on whether or not he should be in; he would be in first or second ballot!

Regardless, he belongs in the Hall with the rest of those guys mentioned above!

*www.baseball-reference.com