Hear this BBWA Voters, Look at the Man Behind the Numbers!

Last week was a special week, besides being Thanksgiving, the Hall of Fame ballots were released to Baseball Writers of America (BBWA) voters. Voting results will be announced on January 6th.

Of course this is Andre's eighth, and hopefully final, time on the ballot.

I believe Andre's career statistics are reason enough for him to be inducted into the hall, its hard to tell if enough of the voters this year feel that way too, but if not, then they should look at the man behind the numbers if they need that final push to vote for him.

Anyone who has followed The Hawk's career knows how much effort he put into each and every game he played and his passion for being a role model to kids.

Last Tuesday, Andre gained the support of 500 more people I imagine when he represented the Florida Marlins along with pitcher Anibal Sanchez in handing out almost 500 turkeys to families in need in the Miami area at the Orange Bowl.*

That's the great thing about Andre; his caring nature didn't stop when he stepped off of the playing field for the last time. He has continued to speak to children in youth baseball programs, raise money for charitable causes and be a valuable member of the Miami community.

If negative traits such as gambling and steroid use can keep a player out, then why can't positive ones be a deciding factor of letting a player in?

BBWA voters - if you're going to punish the bad, then reward the good!

I wonder if anyone asked Andre to autograph their turkey.

*www.florida.marlins.mlb.com

Andre's Biggest Games - 11 Games of 5 RBIs or More

Hall of Fame players have big games; they can carry an offense and intimidate a pitching staff on any given day, which was often the case in Andre's career. He had 11 games during his career of at least 5 RBIs or more.*

1977, July 4th - vs. Chicago Cubs, Won 19-3
Game Stats: In 6 ABs - 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 3 Hits, and 2 Runs

1985, April 27th - vs. St. Louis Cardinals, Won 8-3
Game Stats: In 5 ABs - 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 4 Hits and 2 Runs

1985, Sept. 24th - vs. Cubs, Won 17-15
Game Stats: In 6 ABs - 3 HRs, 8 RBIs, 4 Hits and 3 Runs
(Became 2nd player in history to hit 2 home runs in same inning, pair of 3-run shots in the 5th inning.)

1987, June 1st - vs. Houston Astros, Lost 5-6
Game Stats: In 5 ABs - 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, 2 Hits and 2 Runs

1987, June 2nd - vs. Houston Astros, Won 13-2
Game Stats: In 5 ABs - 2 HRs, 7 RBIs, 2 Hits and 2 Runs

1987, Aug. 1st - vs. Philadelphia Phillies, Won 5-3
Game Stats: In 4 ABs - 3 HRs, 5 RBIs, 3 Hits and 3 Runs

1988, May 3rd - vs. San Diego Padres, Won 13-5
Game Stats: In 4 ABs - 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, 3 Hits and 2 Runs

1990, Aug. 4th - vs. Montreal Expos, Won 10-2
Game Stats: In 4 ABs - 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 2 Hits and 1 Run

1991, April 21 - vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, Lost 12-13
Game Stats: In 6 ABs - 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 3 Hits and 1 Run

1992, May 2nd - vs. Cincinnati Reds, Won 10-3
Game Stats: In 5 ABs - 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 2 Hits and 2 Runs

1995, Aug. 16 - vs. Atlanta Braves, Won 8-5
Game Stats: In 4 ABs - 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, 3 Hits and 2 Runs

Ask any pitcher that faced The Hawk in those 11 games and I bet they would tell you that he should be in the Hall of Fame without a doubt!

* www.baseball-reference.com

A Closer Look at Andre's 1983 Season

In 1983 unemployment in the US rose to 12 million, highest total since 1941 (sound familiar?), the final episode of M*A*S*H aired setting a record of 125 million watchers, and The Hawk was setting records of his own for the Montreal Expos.*

I've mentioned it before in a previous post that in my opinion, Andre's 1983 season was probably his best all-around offensive season. So good that I think we should revisit that season with a closer look.

Here's the numbers The Hawk put up that year in 159 games:
32 - HRs, 113 - RBIs, 189 Hits, 104 Runs, .299 Avg., 25 SBs, 36 2Bs, 10 3Bs, 341 TBs

What stands out about these numbers and that 1983 season?

1. Was the first Expos to have at least 30 HRs, 30 2Bs, 100 RBIs, and 100 Runs in a season. Only two other players in Expos/Nationals franchise history have achieved this, Vladimir Guerrero and Ryan Zimmerman.

2. Led the league that year in hits, total bases, sacrifice flies (18), extra base hits (78) and hit by pitch (9). Finished 10th in batting average, 2nd in slugging %, 3rd in runs, 5th in doubles, 3rd in triples, 3rd in homeruns, 7th in times on bases and 6th in at-bats per homerun (19.781).**

3. Set single-season club records at that time for home runs (32, now seventh), RBI (113, now fourth), extra base hits (78, now seventh), and sacrifice flies (18, still first)***

4. Had to expand his trophy case in the off-season after winning his fourth consecutive Gold Glove and third Silver Slugger awards. Almost added an MVP trophy as well, coming in 2nd in voting.

1983 was just one of several seasons that made Andre a Hall of Fame caliber player. But, no other season I think was a better indication of the 5-tool player he was and how dominate he was in the early 80s.

* www.thepeoplehistory.com
** www.baseball-reference.com
*** www.wikipedia.org

Looking Forward to 2010

Now that the World Series is over -- I can't believe people were making a big deal out of the Yankees not winning one for the last nine years, one every nine years sounds good to a Cubs fan -- anyway I digress, the baseball world will now turn it's attention to free agent signings, the new Cubs owner and the Hall of Fame voting in January, the latter being what I am anticipating the most.

But first, I just want to mention that I don't know a whole lot about the Cubs new owner Tom Ricketts, but I do know that Andre Dawson was his favorite Cub. Mr. Ricketts on Andre in recent interviews, "When he was here, he set such a high standard for future players. He was just awesome, a great gentleman who played on some really average teams."* Not sure how he will be as an owner, but any fan of Andre's is alright by me.

So Hall of Fame voting is around three months away, it's time to buckle down and really start campaigning on Andre's behalf. I know I'm not the only one that feels that way. When I came across the online petition "Get Andre Dawson in the hall," and posted the link on my blog, it had 65 signatures. That petition has now grown into 105 signatures in just a few months!

What better way to demonstrate why Andre deserves to be in the Hall than to share some of the comments from those signatures.

"I grew up in Montreal and had the opportunity to watch him play many times. He was the best I ever saw..."

"No one gave up their body to baseball the way he did."

"He was a 5 tool player, how many players are in the 300/300 club? Only 5, and Dawson is one."

"Best right fielder of the eighties."

If you want to show your support and haven't signed the petition yet, it's under my Recommended Websites.


*www.dailyherald.com and www.nbcchicago.com