Finally, The Baseball Hall of Fame Gets One Right

Andre Dawson was the only player voted into the Hall this year. Waxing America called it, but we're surprised that Burt Blyleven didn't make the cut: he missed by five votes. Roberto Alomar also missed by a whisker-thin eight votes.  Mark McGuire didn't come close.

The totals:

Andre Dawson 420 (77.9%), Bert Blyleven 400 (74.2%), Roberto Alomar 397 (73.7%), Jack Morris 282 (52.3%), Barry Larkin 278 (51.6%), Lee Smith 255 (47.3%), Edgar Martinez 195 (36.2%), Tim Raines 164 (30.4%), Mark McGwire 128 (23.7%), Alan Trammell 121 (22.4%), Fred McGriff 116 (21.5%), Don Mattingly 87 (16.1%), Dave Parker 82 (15.2%), Dale Murphy 63 (11.7%), Harold Baines 33 (6.1%), Andres Galarraga 22 (4.1%), Robin Ventura 7 (1.3%), Ellis Burks 2 (0.4%), Eric Karros 2 (0.4%), Kevin Appier 1 (0.2%), Pat Hentgen 1 (0.2%), David Segui 1 (0.2%), Mike Jackson 0, Ray Lankford 0, Shane Reynolds 0, Todd Zeile 0.

- Barry Orton

Comments

[anon]

*sigh* Blyleven and Alomar deserved it. And three is a good number. Singleton inductees just don't seem right.

[Tim M.]

But - - will Dawson go into the hall wearing a Cubs hat, or an Expos hat? He always said the Expos never "respected him".......

[Troy Thiel]

If he goes in as an Expo he should speak french. But seriously, I saw a couple of dozen games in 87 from the Right Field Bleachers (Yes Lee Eliah I had a job!) and it was an amazing performance by the Hawk...Sosa's 98 was ridiculously cool too...although "pass the juice" took on a new meaning at that time...Blyleven and Alomar should go in next year...anyone know who else is coming up that might be a shoe-in?

[Michael Basford]

Who knew David Segui's mom was a BBWAA member?

[mgm]

McGuire will never get in, IMHO. Pujols will get in first.

[Thomas J. Mertz]

Yeah, Andre deserves it. Just a joy to watch and one of the best arms I've ever seen.

[Barry Orton]

Here's a link to the box score for April 29, 1987, perhaps Dawson's best day as a Cub. He went 5 for 5, hit for the cycle, and threw a pitcher out at first on a hard single.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN198704290.shtml

The HoF decides which hat inductees wear, and Dawson has expressed preference for the Cubs, although his best performing years were with the Expos, who treating him poorly, and where the Astroturf destroyed his knees. One expects the HoF will go with the Cubs, mostly for marketing reasons.

[Jim Jones]

Congratulations to Andre Dawson.

I'm still confused by the Blyleven fetish. If he ever gets in he will own the worst ERA in the Hall, by an embarrassingly large margin (Blyleven=4.74 vs Red Ruffing=3.80). And Ruffing shouldn't be in the Hall either.

He played a long time and if Quantity=Quality then I guess that's the only argument.

[Ty O'Mara]

Jim, you goofball, you're reading those stats wrong.

But, I have to agree with the main idea that you are putting forth: it is getting too easy to get into the HOF. Blyleven, maybe, OK, but I don't care about Alomar or the rest on the list. The BWAA should be careful not to cheapen the Hall. But, then again, we all have our favorites, don't we? Ray Berres, long-time pitching coach for the White Sox died a couple years ago(in his nineties). No one knew how to handle a pitching staff better, or how to get his pitchers through the season in tact. He was one of baseball's humblest and greatest gentleman. I guess you need some stats to go along with that--that's why it is so good to see Andre Dawson elected. I guess we all have our own Hall of Fame. Ron Santo will never be in mine, but Jose Cardenal, Adolfo Phillips, and Dick Bertell were elected long ago.

[Peter Rickman]

Best part of my week was hearing that Andre Dawson got into the Hall. He was my boyhood hero growing up. He'll go in as a Cub, I predict. I sure hope so.

I always loved the way Dawson played the game. But he was a nice guy too. Being an enamored 8- or 9-year old (don't remember how old I was, maybe even 10), I wrote to him a letter about how much I liked his baseball-playing and that he was my favorite player. I included my favorite baseball card of him as well and asked him to autograph it -- and I dutifully included a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Not only did he autograph the card and send it back to me, he included a note as well. Classy move from a guy who had just won an MVP and helped get the Cubs into the playoffs. It sure meant a lot to me as a kid. Until my parents renovated my boyhood home, my poster of Andre Dawson hung on the wall, long after I left home for adult life.

Hall of Fame membership couldn't happen to a nicer guy or a finer ballplayer.